A Slippery Slope

Our own prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has bonded with Italy’s far-right leader, Giorgia Meloni. And he has stood by his Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, as she warned of an invasion on our southern coasts. Braverman herself was primed to speak alongside Hungarian far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán in Brussels last month — a decision Sunak refused to block. Meanwhile, their position in the polls continue to plummet, unable to persuade the public that refugees are to blame for the past fourteen years of economic decline. These are not signs of a party reluctantly adopting an electoral strategy. These are signs of a party actively embracing the growth of far-right populism, no matter the electoral cost. These are signs of a country — and indeed a continent — on a slippery slope to fascism.

This term should not be used lightly. There are many acts that are terrifying enough on their own terms without warranting that label. But beware, fascism doesn’t arrive in uniform overnight. It arrives with suited politicians, one piece of legislation — or one emergency address — at a time. Earlier this year, Sunak claimed that democracy was being undermined by “extremists.” He’s right. It’s being undermined by a government that shows utter disdain for human rights at home and abroad.

The erosion of the right to asylum is part of a much wider, full-scale assault on civil liberties, particularly our right to strike, vote, and protest. Indeed, right across Europe, the freedoms of protesters are being crushed by governments that are desperate to hide their role in the unfolding genocide in Gaza — governments who will soon demonize the refugees their complicity has created. What will happen to those of us who speak out on the streets against the government’s latest abuse of power? Today, our government is rounding up asylum seekers. Who’s next?

The Cost of Cruelty

We must be prepared to stand up for everybody’s human rights, no matter who is curtailing them. The global humanitarian crisis will not be fixed by deporting refugees more cheaply, particularly if British foreign policy remains one of endless war, a leading source of displacement. Instead, it will further entrench a system that sees migrants as problems to be managed, not human beings to be cared for. Anti-migrant rhetoric has infected global politics for decades. Without a principled fight back, it may well infect global politics for decades to come.

Sacrificing other people’s humanity for electoral gain isn’t just wrong in principle. It is fundamentally misguided. That’s because it exacerbates the worst fears of the Conservatives’ most loyal base, benefiting populist leaders who offer reactionary solutions to crises that years of managerialism and inequality have failed to solve. Far from keeping the Conservatives out of power, leaning into anti-migrant rhetoric may pave the path for their right-wing revival.

Another path is possible: build lasting support for an immigration system based on respect, dignity, and care. One that actually tackles human trafficking through the only means of undermining the market: the provision of safe routes. Contrary to what you hear across much of our media, the British public are becoming more and more favorable toward immigration, and the vast majority support the rights of those seeking asylum. Making the positive case for immigration won’t convince everybody overnight, but appealing to the fundamental humanity inside us all is a good place to start.

Over the past forty years, I have seen politicians from all parties pit workers and refugees against each other. Many claim to speak for the working class. So why don’t they speak for refugees who have escaped economic destitution, or migrants in low-paid and precarious employment? Pitting them against white people who share similar economic conditions helps nobody, other than those at the top who benefit from division. Those who exclude migrants and refugees from their class coalition don’t just paint a flawed picture of society. They obstruct the path to a more hopeful alternative. That’s because marginalized groups are not mere victims. They are agents of transformative change.

Refugees and Migrants: Leaders of Tomorrow

From the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination to the Indian Workers’ Association, descendants of migrant communities have taught us how to build power in their workplaces and communities to achieve tangible change. In my own borough, there is not one food bank, mutual aid group, renters’ union, community garden, or cooperative that doesn’t rely on the dedication and contribution of refugees and migrants, working together to change the lives of everyone around them. Indeed, migrants and refugees who work in our National Health Service, in our schools, and in our social care system are living proof that society is often changed by people whose names we may never know. They don’t seek accolades. They don’t seek recognition. Instead, they seek belonging in a society that cares for each other and cares for all.

The Left is always looking for leaders. Look around you — and you will see leaders in the communities we are meant to represent. You will see first-, second-, and third-generation migrants building collective power in as many places as they can. It was black women in Hackney who founded Sistah Space, a community-based center to support African and Caribbean women affected by domestic and sexual abuse. And it was black women in Hackney — including those from Sistah Space itself — who organized spontaneous protest outside Hackney Town Hall in support of Diane Abbott.

There is a valuable lesson here: we need not choose between Parliament or direct action as battlegrounds for change. Instead, the struggle inside Parliament is intimately connected to the struggle outside of it. If any government sells arms to human-rights abusing nations, we will be outside the factories forming a blockade. If they squeeze our wages, we will be organizing in our workplaces. If they come for refugees, we will come together to resist their deportation. Inside and outside Parliament, we will prove the collective power of a movement made up of all backgrounds, all languages, all faiths and none.

The future of our movement is uncertain. All I know is that it cannot be imposed from above. It can only grow organically from below. In my own constituency of Islington North, we have achieved huge victories for each other by standing by our principles of redistribution, democracy, and peace. That is what we will continue to do — and I will always stand in solidarity with people who have come from afar to make this country their home. We should be celebrating the institutions and friendships we have created together. Instead, we continue to mourn our collective humanity lost at sea. Refugees and migrants should neither be pilloried nor pitied. They should be empowered as the political leaders of tomorrow. They should be at the center of an organized fight back against the assault on our democracy. They are the past, present, and future of a better world.