Is a summit really the best Scotland can do to counter the far-right?
Carol Young, Deputy Director of CRER, reflects on this week’s anti-far right summit.
Along with many colleagues from across the Third Sector, CRER was invited to attend a summit hosted by First Minister John Swinney this week. An exciting prospect; we prepared extensively to discuss an issue which has long deserved not just strong public acknowledgement, but a strong public policy response.
Early communications suggested that this was an event to discuss tackling the rise of the far right, and perhaps people influenced by the far right, or at least parties with a right-wing agenda.
An indication later developed that the event would address ‘polarisation’ in our society. Judging by the prevailing wind of press messaging, this probably followed on from the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex in the Equality Act 2010.
By the time the event was held, the language describing its purpose had widened still further. There was now a general aim of ‘strengthening and protecting democracy in Scotland’. However, we reasoned, this doesn’t mean NOT discussing the rise of the far right. Does it?
The summit was held in two parts, daytime and evening. Those of us with an evening invitation (like distant cousins at a wedding) could read the initial publicity about the higher profile daytime event in the intervening time. Keen eyed evening attendees would be able to play ‘spot the difference’ with the press photo from the earlier session. It had a plusher venue which was more accessible by public transport; a roundtable set up enabling everyone to sit facing each other in a collegiate manner; the odd cup on the table, suggesting that the delegates were given tea and coffee on arrival (evening folk would wait from 5.30pm until the end, at almost 8pm, for this).
A list of the great and the good who had accepted invitations to the daytime roundtable was published. A slightly confusing mix of politicians, public bodies and other notables. The unpublished evening guest list included strategic anti-racism and race equality organisations, practitioners involved in Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme and many colleagues from grassroots community organisations living with the day-to-day realities of inequality, prejudice and discrimination.
Hearing from the groups directly affected by right wing ideology late in the day, after having secured commitments from decision makers and representatives of public bodies rather than before, seemed like locking the door after the horse had bolted.
Not to mention being out of step with the ‘values’ which attendees were asked to pledge their allegiance to; participation and openness, the sharing of power, accountability and equal opportunity. A mysterious and broadly worded pledge document (pictured above) was left on each evening attendee’s seat before arrival time, then never mentioned again. Which was perhaps just as well. The people sitting in those seats have long been calling upon Scottish Government to act in line with these values, which are our bread and butter.
To the First Minister’s credit, he participated in a lengthy Q&A which took up the majority of the session. Normal protocol is to take a few questions and then leave the delegates to talk amongst themselves; recorded (if you’re lucky) by Civil Servants. It was his summit, after all, and he boldly tried to answer a large number of very challenging and often heart-rending questions.
Attendees spoke of being on the receiving end of the hatred which is increasingly fuelled by far right rhetoric. They spoke of their exhaustion; of the relentlessness of working in these spaces when nothing seems to change. They spoke of long, long histories of attending meetings such as these. Where nothing seems to change.
Had CRER been one of the lucky ones selected to pose a question, we would have liked to ask the First Minister what he will do now to make that change. The event ended without concrete conclusions or commitments.
In 2015, we asked Scottish Government to talk about the rise of the far right in its Race Equality Framework 2016-2030. We not only had a seat at the table in developing this – we co-wrote it. But it was indicated that this was not the place to discuss the far right. A forthcoming Hate Crime Strategy would tackle it.
We tried to include a section on the rise of the far right in Scottish Government funded guidance for schools which we developed in 2017, along with colleagues in the anti-bullying charity, respectme. This was eventually, grudgingly negotiated down to one sentence – too contentious for the readership. And besides, the forthcoming Hate Crime Strategy would tackle it.
The Hate Crime Strategy of 2018 did not tackle it.
We appealed to Scottish Government colleagues to now actively include this in the more recent iteration of Hate Crime Strategy, in 2023. We felt, and still feel, that those colleagues knew and understood the weight of the issue. Yet sadly, one small commitment to develop education resources to tackle the rise of the far right was as much as we could muster.
We understand that Scottish Government also wrote to Police Scotland in 2023 urging them to take action on online radicalisation and the specific threat posed by Patriotic Alternative (which has since splintered, with former members at the heart of new political party Homeland, who are likely to stand for election in Scotland next year. The far-right in Scotland always reinvents itself when the heat is on, as covered in our previous report on community cohesion in Scotland).
But why is publicly tackling the rise of the far right always someone else’s job, or a job for another day?
If we had successfully initiated action against the far-right in 2015, would we even have needed a summit ten years later?
Racist 'siege culture’ is having a deep effect in Scotland. The fact that the racist rioting of summer 2024 didn’t spread to Glasgow or Edinburgh is no reason for complacency – previous experience suggests that this is more to do with Scottish exceptionalism than a genuine sense of societal good will.
A belief amongst some white people that violent racial conflict is not only inevitable, but desirable, is being pushed in an incessant and insipid way in Scotland on a daily basis. Look at any online news comments section where a person of colour is featured. The mentality behind every misinformed ‘stop the boats’ comment can be traced back to a dangerous movement with intention to maim and annihilate our families, friends, colleagues and neighbours. There was zero recognition of this at Scottish Government's summit.
Instead, issues of poverty and disenfranchisement were pushed as an explanation for racism. This was countered by some attendees, but persisted nonetheless. More than a million people in Scotland are living below the margin. Black and minority ethnic people are over twice as likely to be living in poverty. Socio-economic exclusion may be weaponised by the far right, but suggesting that this is the driving factor for racism is nothing short of demonisation of the working class.
As one attendee pointed out, white supremacy is the true culprit.
Since 2015, CRER has spoken out about the following developments directly affecting Black and minority ethnic communities in Scotland:
A ‘whites only’ foodbank set up in Glasgow by the fascist group National Action
Police Scotland failing to address deliberate far right disinformation (including in comments on its own social media) attacking Roma and East and Southeast Asian communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading at one point to waste management workers becoming so concerned with the ‘threat’ to their health that they unilaterally withdrew services in one of the most diverse areas of Glasgow
Successful attempts by far right political activists to infiltrate community councils in Scotland, including a holocaust denier who advocated bombing and killing people for ‘the greater good’
An upsurge in Prevent referrals for far right terror threats and unclear / unstable / mixed ideologies, many of which are ultimately far right and may include racist ideology alongside misogynistic or anti-state motivations
An upsurge in hate crime over 2022-24 to the highest level in a decade, with an average of 9 racial hate crime charges per day (this predates the introduction of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act)
‘Mosque invasions’ in Glasgow, Cumbernauld and Northern England orchestrated by a white Scottish man named as the founder of Britain First and UK wide leader of the ‘Britain First Defence Force’
A number of terror convictions for plots to bomb or attack mosques in Scotland, including cases where explosives and large caches of weapons have been recovered
The emergence of the largest regional branch of Patriotic Alternative right here in Scotland, including a ‘youth wing’
The emergence in Scotland of the UK’s first open branch of Active Club, a ‘fascist fitness’ movement preparing for a race war to establish white supremacy and eliminate Black and minority ethnic communities, especially those who are Muslim or Jewish
No sources are provided for the above, because we encourage you to Google some relevant search terms and see the ensuing wreckage for yourself.
CRER would not be in a position to know about these developments if not for the efforts of dedicated investigative journalists and anti-fascist organisations. Honourable mentions must be given to Billy Briggs and Jamie Mann of The Ferret news service, as well as the staff and leadership of Hope Not Hate, an England-based anti-fascist organisation who have never lost sight of the links between neo-Nazis in their constituency and in ours.
Why is it left to these people to track and speak out against the looming threat in our midst?
The First Minister described the summit as "...the start of a process.” So what will he do to ensure that this threat is at last taken seriously?
We can’t hold off any longer. CRER intends to find out.