The home secretary’s speech in Washington on Tuesday is a stark warning to all who value basic human rights for women, gay people and refugees fleeing war, persecution, poverty and climate change (UN rebukes Suella Braverman over her attack on refugee convention, 26 September). Suella Braverman’s readiness to casually rip up the 1951 refugee convention, born of the horrors of nazism, can only encourage the hard right and neo-Nazis everywhere.
The skies are already darkening across much of Europe. In the UK, their followers are constantly probing to whip up anti-refugee sentiment, the prison-like ship in Portland being only the most high-profile example. There are many others, such as cynical dog-whistling over deportations to Rwanda.
In the late 1970s, we faced a similar threat with the National Front (NF). We formed the Anti Nazi League, which, by drawing in hundreds of thousands of anti-racists, trade unionists, migrant communities and community activists, prevented the NF from breaking into the mainstream of British politics. Wherever the NF tried to organise, they faced a wall of opposition, helped hugely by Rock Against Racism.
We believe such a movement is necessary once more. Thankfully, anti-racists are already stepping up in opposition wherever refugees housed in hotels are being harassed, of which there are now a worrying number of examples. But we think we need to deepen and enlarge this process and reach into every workplace, housing estate, college and community.
Braverman, backed by Rishi Sunak, has crossed a line. Edward Heath sacked Enoch Powell from the shadow cabinet for his “rivers of blood” speech in 1968. Margaret Thatcher never repeated her disgraceful “swamping” speech of 1978. But today the Tory government is openly using the language of the hard and racist right. Multiculturalism is trashed. The association of refugees with language such as “invasion”, “threat to national security” and “criminality” has entered the political discourse. The Trump playbook is developing before our eyes here in the UK.
There is no time to lose. Giorgia Meloni, Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump are a warning. Braverman’s Tory message of hatred and divide and rule must be urgently resisted. She is no longer a fit person to be home secretary and the Home Office is no longer fit for purpose.
Peter Hain and Paul Holborow
Founder members, Anti Nazi League 1977
• The subheading of this article was amended on 30 September 2023 to correct the first name of one of the letter writers.
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
