Community Solidarity Stroud District

Ceasefire Vigil speech, March 2025

On this page you can find the text and a video recording of the speech given by James Beecher on behalf of Community Solidarity Stroud District at the Stroud Ceasefire Now Coalition vigil, Friday 14th March 2025. The speech is followed by relevant links and resources:

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Speech text

I’m James Beecher from Community Solidarity Stroud District, a founding member of the Stroud Ceasefire Now Coalition. If you’ve not come across us before, we have flyers here you can take at the end.

We wanted to lend our organisation’s support to the movement for peace, justice, and liberation. One reason is our horror at the events of October 7th and what has unfolded since – piling misery on what was already an appalling situation long prior to last year.

In a recent article for Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Prof. Daniel Blatman and Prof. Amos Goldberg – historians of the Holocaust and genocide studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote:

“ethnic cleansing in the northern Strip, destruction of all of Gaza’s universities and most cultural institutions and mosques, destruction of government and organizational infrastructure, mass graves, destruction of infrastructure for local food production and water distribution – all these paint a clear picture of genocide.”

These facts, I am sure, are familiar and distressing to all of you.

As Israel again cuts of electricity and threatens supplies of drinking water in Gaza, and continues its raids in the West Bank, the situation can feel urgent.

But our movement will be a long one. So I want to talk about aspects of how we build and sustain that movement, in this country – in our district.

CSSD exists to build community led solidarity in the Stroud district to oppose the hatred of minorities and oppressed people arising from false and harmful information.

There have been dramatic increases in antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hatred directed at Palestinians whether they are Muslim or not.

Recently, the charity Tell Mama revealed that it had received 10,700 reports of anti-Muslim hate in 2023, of which 9,600 were verified incidents.

Their data show a marked increase in street-based abuse and a surge in online hate following the Southport attack and related riots.

Separate police figures show that Muslims were the most targeted group in England and Wales, accounting for 38 percent of religious hate crimes recorded up to March 2024, followed by Jews at 33 percent.

Yet, last week, the UK government has announced that it will withdraw all funding for the anti-Islamophobia charity Tell Mama. This has left the organisation facing closure.

We hope to mobilise community solidarity against Islamophobia.

And we also need to talk about rising antisemitism.

Unfortunately, any conversation on this topic has to recognise that much of the discussion of antisemitism in this country has become almost entirely divorced from any meaningful effort to oppose bigotry and prejudice, instead becoming only a cudgel to batter political opponents. This does not serve Jewish people. In particular, genuine expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people or the cause of liberation in Palestine, or critiques of either the Israeli state or the ideology of Zionism are frequently accused of being antisemitic when this is not the case. This distorts reporting on the prevalence of antisemitism. One negative consequence of this is the stoking of unnecessary fear among Jewish people. Another is that many activists become less willing to address antisemitism – or accept it does exist – because of disingenuous accusations.

However, it is the case that the prevalence of antisemitism has risen in the past year or so, whether in the form of verbal abuse, violent attacks, and the invocation of paranoid fantasies about Jewish control. This is happening nationally, locally, and internationally. The far right are seeking to hijack the situation. Elon Musk and Steve Bannon give Nazi salutes to appeal to antisemites and white supremacists. Tommy Robinson allies himself with Zionists in order to build his Islamophobic movement. The Homeland Party says neither Jews nor Muslims “belong [in the UK] and should be remigrated”.

And we’ve seen moments when antisemitism in our spaces has gone unchallenged or calls to address it are met with dismissive silence or defensiveness.

Yet, our movements are undermined when they are sent into a tailspin by this topic, and strengthened when we are prepared to deal with the issues with clarity.

Locally, we’ve seen swastikas scrawled on walls and kids play areas. Last year we also experienced an attempt to organise Nazi-sympathising meetings locally – on marking the anniversary of Hitler’s birth and another promoting the infamous antisemitic conspiracy The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. These meetings were to be addressed by John Hamer – a white supremacist spreading both antisemitism and Islamophobia.

We were pleased to see huge community opposition force the organisers to cancel those meetings.

We were also grateful to Palestine Solidarity Campaign Stroud District for supporting our efforts to expose Saskia Whitfield – a candidate to be our MP in the last election. She had tried to cloak her antisemitism, which extended as far as Holocaust denial and Nazi-sympathising, in the language of solidarity with Palestine or ‘anti-Zionism’.

In Community Solidarity, we firmly believe that safety for communities comes through solidarity. Those of us committed to liberation, justice, and peace, must oppose Islamopbobia, anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Jewish hatred and conspiratorial fantasies that falsely position Jews as orchestrating world events.

In the words of a Jewish activist in Pro-Palestinian work in the US, Dove Kent: “Solidarity is not easy. It is difficult, it is trying, it is facing disappointments in each other over and over again – and reaching for each other over and over again. It’s not walking away”.

We believe that we can identify commonalities and intersections between different forms of oppression – antisemitism and Islamophobia among them.

This does not mean that these kinds of oppression work in the same way, or that the experiences of those targeted by different forms of oppression are identical. There is work to do to learn about the experiences of people who experience marginalisation and racism – for example, to understand the inherited, intergenerational trauma in Jewish communities that can drive some Jewish people to uncritically support the actions of the Israeli state.

And we should accept the invitation of the Stroud District Muslim community at their free event on Saturday 22^nd March to break their fast, share the Iftar meal and learn about the importance of Ramadan, and the experiences and opinions of Muslims living locally.

As we stand together in silence tonight to reflect on ongoing violence, suffering and oppression, to reaffirm our desire for a permanent ceasefire and a just peace, let us also commit to caring for one another, to opposing racism and hatred, and to building safety for all.

Links and resources:

The speech does not reference but quotes from and is inspired by the ideas in “Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism” by Shane Burley and Ben Lorber. Buy the book from the Yellow Lighted Bookshop, or read on of these free online pieces “Making Sense of the Fight Against Antisemitism”, “How to fight antisemitism – and win”, “The Evidence is Clear – Antisemitism’s Threat Comes from the Right”

“There’s No Auschwitz in Gaza. But It’s Still Genocide” – Haaretz, 30th January 2025

“Press Release: Tens of thousands to demonstrate in London calling for an end to Israel’s siege of Gaza and attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank” – Palestine Solidarity Campaign, 14th March 2025

“UK government cuts funding to anti-Islamophobia charity Tell Mama” – The New Arab, 8th March 2025

“Elon Musk’s Inaugural Roman Salute Sparks Outrage, Far-Right Praise” – SPLC, 21st January 2025

“Steve Bannon’s Apparent Nazi Salute At CPAC Causes Uproar On Social Media” Huffington Post, 21st February 2025

“Nazi Meetings in Stroud? What?!” – CSSD – 15th April 2024

“The Light appoints Holocaust denier John Hamer as a regular contributor” – CSSD – 28th May 2024

“Our letter to the people backing Nazi-sympathising candidate for MP” – CSSD – 26th June 2024

“A ‘no-go zone’ for Jews? The making of a moral panic in London” – Ben Reiff, 972 Magazine, March 13th 2024

“The Ramadan Experience” Saturday, 22 Mar 2025, 6-7.30pm at The Maypole Hall: Join the Stroud Muslim Community to break their fast. Share the Iftar meal and learn about the importance of Ramadan. Booking required.

Evidence

The swastikas below were found in a kids playground in Stroud. They were removed by a member of CSSD. We have found others previously

Who is hijacking fears about food and farming?

Recently we’ve received enquiries about an upcoming event organised by a group calling itself “Our Free Town”.

Our Free Town sounds nice… it’s all about self-sufficiency, and creating “a cultural community in Stroud – a sense of well-being, togetherness, kindness and giving; a common-sense approach that aligns with how our local communities used to operate in the past”. What’s not to like?

A scratch below the surface, though, and it turns out to be the group of contrarians that distribute “The Light” paper in Stroud, operating yet another front group to recruit people into conspiracy beliefs and tolerance of far-right ideas, individuals and organisations (see footnote for more on the group’s origins). The group already variously brands itself as “The Info-Hub” or “Info-Hug”, “Stroud Freedom Group” and “Stroud Peace Hub”. Their stall promotes the “Our Free Town” initiative, as does the email list set up by another branded group, the “Beacon of Renewal” – used alongside “Stroud Freedom Group” to promote regular events at different venues since the physical venue “The Beacon” closed in January 2022.

Community Solidarity Stroud District has exposed and challenged the promotion of the far right, consistent climate denial, anti-women content, transphobia and homophobia, and events that have featured people with histories of antisemitism and Holocaust Denial in “The Light” and in events organised by the previously mentioned groups… but what’s our problem with “Our Free Town”. Aren’t the ideas promoted things we support too? Wouldn’t it be a good thing if the contrarians get involved in this sort of initiative and moved away from their harmful ideas?

The problem is that the initiative doesn’t represent a move away from contrarian ideas – but an attempt to recruit people through a cuddly project.

“Our Free Town” organises foraging events and farm volunteering, alongside lecturers by pseudoscientists and quacks. It directs people to a website which promotes “fearless speech”, and turns out to be a gateway to climate science denial, back issues of “The Light”, “Stroud Freedom Group” events, and attacks on “woke” that would be at home in the Daily Mail, at the Conservative Party conference, or – indeed – in “The Light”.

There’s also a new “Our Free Town” Magazine edited by Richard House, also the editor of a “Best of The Light” book and author of regular pieces in “The Light” paper (sometimes more than one piece in the same issue).

What about their upcoming event?

It’s called “Supporting Farmers for Food Security Symposium” which sounds worthy. The flyer is a bit strange though – full of computer-generated imaginary images of farms – with solar and wind energy as the hellish alternative. With a big logo for the “No Farmers No Food” movement, which appears grassroots. The DeSmog site has revealed there is a Climate Denial Network Behind [this] ‘Classic Astroturf’ Farmers’ Campaign, however.

Then there’s the speakers:

We’ve written about Sandi Adams previously as she’s been hosted in Stroud several times, despite our request organisers think again due to the horrible antisemitic content she hosts on her website (she has removed much of it, claiming it was put there by a webmaster without her knowledge, but to this day still hosts a nasty documentary on the “Jewish Crucifixion of Russia”). Adams also promotes anti-environmental conspiracy theories.

The compere is Charles Malet from “conspiracy theory-oriented online media outlet” UK Column, which has “areas of overlap with the far right” (in the words of this Hope Not Hate ‘Case File’). Examples include Malet himself equating gender affirmation surgery with “genital mutilation”, and the media outlet as a whole pushing Nazi-era conspiracies about the “Kalergi Plan”, a version of the paranoid and racist Great Replacement/White Genocide fantasy that imagines a plot to “replace” white Europeans through migration.

Another speaker, Richard Vobes – a former TV writer turned YouTuber (who has also been featured in “The Light”) – pushes a range of paranoid ideas. These include a fantasy not entirely unrelated to the ‘Great Replacement’ – again denying the agency of people from other countries seeking refuge or a better life in the UK. For him its plausible to wonder if these people are UN soldiers being brought in to police a future lockdown.

One of the farmers speaking (Mark Byford) works with The Sovereign Project, promoting dangerous and false pseudo-legal solutions that often land desperate people in big trouble. The ‘sovereign citizen’ beliefs behind this group are imported from the US, originating with the far right extremist antisemitic Posse Comitatus movement. He recently posted a link to the “Great British PAC” on social media, describing this as “at last some real sanity”. A letter announcing the launch of the group talks of how “it will “the right must be united” to “save the country from the socialists”. The organisation enthusiastically places themselves as operating in the spirit of the new US administration and it’s dramatic attempted use of executive powers to attack marginalised people and force an overwhelming “shock doctrine“-style dismantling of social support: “This is how Trump and Musk are reshaping America”. In the United States, a political action committee or PAC is a tax-exempt organization that pools campaign contributions and donates those funds to campaigns.

Conclusion

While “Our Free Town” or their farming event might seem harmless enough, that’s the point. It’s not intended to introduce people from the far-right or conspiracy fans to the pleasures of growing vegetables. Instead, the aim is to funnel people with an interest in self-sufficency, or local food towards the far-right. If some of your friends innocently stumble across this and think it seems nice, put them right. We would recommend directing energy to better local projects like Transition Stroud or Stroud Commons – or, the many existing food initiatives, Stroud Community Agriculture, for example. Regarding the politics of food, there are also national initiatives like the Real Farming Trust and Landworkers’ Alliance. The latter is launching a new campaign to ‘Re-Root Agroecology’, we’ll end this article with some of their words:

“it’s not enough to just farm with nature, without acknowledging that not everyone is able to access land and green spaces. It’s not enough to nurture diversity in our farming systems if we’re not fighting for justice and anti-oppression in our workforce. It’s not enough to provide cheap food at affordable prices at the expense of farmer’s wages, just as it’s not enough for farmers to fetch a good price for quality produce if it’s not accessible to those at the sharp end of food poverty. “

“The fact that farming is political has been brought into even sharper focus recently by the ongoing farmer protests around changes to agricultural inheritance tax. This controversy has foregrounded issues around land ownership, corporate power, generational renewal, farm income, and much much more. While the LWA stands in solidarity with the many farmers who may suffer from this blunt-instrument policy (our own members included), we firmly condemn the blatant attempts by the far-right to infiltrate the farmer’s movement and further their fascistic agenda.”

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Footnote – the curious origins of “Our Free Town”

It’s not the most important thing to say, but for anyone interested in the backstory of “Our Free Town”, it’s worth us mentioning that the name is a rebrand. The initiative was launched with quite a lot of fanfare in November 2023. On the YouTube channel of conspiracy influencer Richard Vobes, Stroud was heralded as the first UK incarnation of the idea.

One Small Town is a project of South African “scientist” Michael Tellinger, who writes books about how humanity is a species created by aliens intending to use us as slaves to strip-mine our planet. The internet is peppered with examples of Tellinger’s bizarre legal subterfuges, including his attempt to avoid paying off his mortgage on the grounds that banks had created the money that they had lent him. There’s a Facebook page created by people who report on his various scams, including a free energy device.

Funnily enough, for someone who envisages a “world without money”, Tellinger seems quite happy to take ours. One Small Town is enabled by a cryptocurrency token (Tellinger’s own-brand version of Bitcoin), and he will sell you some – ironic, given the way that “The Light” rails against digital currency and alternatives to cash.

There’s hardly any mention of Tellinger, or his funny-money, or One Small Town, in Our Free Town publicity. Perhaps the group has moved away from this model, but regardless – this origin story is yet another example of the way in which this isn’t as positive or grassroots an initiative as it might first appear.

“Deportation is NOT a show, these are people’s lives”

The government's cruel handling of asylum seekers as a spectacle is deeply disturbing - deportation is NOT entertainment - these are people's lives

The UK government’s recent handling of asylum seekers is deeply disturbing and concerning, particularly its decision to release footage of deportations. This move has been widely condemned as a form of “state cruelty as spectacle,” with critics arguing that it mirrors the American-style use of “trauma porn”—the exploitation of human suffering for political gain.In addition to the deportation footage, the Home Office has been increasing enforcement activities, including raids and arrests targeting individuals suspected of illegal immigration.

These actions are part of a broader strategy to demonstrate a tough approach to immigration control. Furthermore, the Home Office has paused the processing of asylum claims for thousands of Syrians, leaving many in a state of uncertainty. This decision has been met with criticism from human rights organizations, which argue that it exacerbates the vulnerability of individuals fleeing conflict.

As seen in the U.S., where images of border crackdowns and detention centers are often publicized to deter migration and rally nationalist sentiment, the UK government appears to be employing similar tactics. Labour MP Clive Lewis described the release of deportation footage as an attempt to “mainstream racism,” warning that such actions normalize dehumanization. In the U.S., graphic imagery of migrant families being separated or detained has been used to justify harsh policies, and the UK’s recent approach seems to be following the same blueprint.Beyond the optics, the Home Office has also escalated enforcement measures, including immigration raids and the mass freezing of asylum applications for thousands of Syrians. These policies leave vulnerable people in limbo while allowing the government to appear “tough” on immigration. However, as with American policies that rely on shocking visuals to shape public perception, the UK’s approach raises serious ethical questions.

Labour MP Clive Lewis criticized this move, stating that such footage “mainstreams racism,” and emphasized that “the government is enabling the mainstreaming of racism.”

We argue that such tactics not only fail to resolve the crisis but actively harm those seeking refuge.

“Deportation is NOT a show, these are people’s lives” quoted from Safe passage UK‘s statement on Instagram.

Opposing a far right ‘march’ in Cheltenham – report

Photo of no-one in montpellier gardens, with overlaid images of the calls for the "PEACEFUL demonstration against mass immigration and the solidarty confinement of TR" as they appeared on Facebook, and the text: "Despite spamming a load of local Facebook groups, a demonstration in support of far-right organiser Tommy Robinson was attended by a grand total of 0 people. Meanwhile dozens of people gathered in Cheltenham to discuss how to oppose the far-right in the county!

Supporters of CSSD travelled to Cheltenham today to join dozens of people in gathering to oppose an advertised far-right “march” in the town. Whether they were put off by this organised opposition or the cold weather, no-one turned up to demonstrate in support of far-right organiser Tommy Robinson, currently in prison for contempt of court after repeating false claims about a Syrian refugee. Robinson has a long history of far-right organising, racist incitement, and has imprisoned several times previously – for assault (in 2005, plus a suspended sentence in 2011), for using false travel documents (2012), and for mortgage fraud (in 2014).

We’re delighted to report that the far right demonstration was so peaceful – no-one turned up. But we’re not complacent. All around us we see the rise of racism, xenophobia and far-right rhetoric. We will continue doing what we can to build community-led solidarity to oppose the hatred of minorities and oppressed people arising from false and harmful information. That includes turning out in numbers to make clear the far-right will face opposition if they ever attempt to organise in the streets of Gloucestershire.

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Oppose the far right in Cheltenham, Saturday 8th February

We are supporting the call from the Gloucestershire branch of Unite Community to mobilise to show opposition to the far-right this weekend in Cheltenham.

This Saturday local trade unionists and campaigners will be gathering as of 11am. around the entrance Regents Arcade on High Street Cheltenham

Unite Community is a branch of Unite the Union open to retired and unemployed people. They say:

“Unite the Union is one of the TUC trade unions organising for the Hearts Union week. A protest entitled “Unite – Gloucestershire Patriots” is taking place this Saturday in Cheltenham .. this has nothing to do with UNITE, nothing to do with trade unions and is not in the interests of the working class that needs to stand united – white, Black, Asian people, irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, faith – against austerity and against racism and all forms of discrimination. United in Struggle – against austerity and racism.”

The far-right demonstration is due to begin at 12 noon in Montpelier Gardens – with Facebook posts advertising it claiming there will be a march down the Promenade/Montpelier walk to the High St” (see screenshot below)

Trade unionists, antifascists and antiracists will be gathering as of 11am. around the entrance Regents Arcade on High Street Cheltenham.

Organisers Unite Community Gloucestershire say: “The proposal is we meet in the High Street an hour earlier and decide the next steps… we need numbers – the far right are manipulating people worried about rents, winter fuel allowances, poor housing and linking that to a racist, anti migrant message. Local trade unions need to make clear that we are the ones who can and will fight on all workplace, social and economic issues”.

Please join if you can – travel in groups or with buddies especially in the vicinity of Montpelier Gardens.

We do not know how large the far right demonstration will be, see below for more advice on keeping yourselves and others safe.

Share the call to rally on Instagram

Share the call to mobilise from Gloucester and District Trades Council on Facebook

Practical Protest Tips from Liberty

Tips for Mobilising Against Fascists Coming to Your Area, from the Antifascist Network

The far-right demonstration, organised “against mass immigration and the solitary confinement of TR” [“Tommy Robinson”, or Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – founder of the English Defence League and currently imprisoned for contempt of court, repeating false allegations about a Syrian refugee through a screening of a film, in contravention of an order from the High Court. As we wrote in our article about the way in which “The Light” paper promotes the far right, in response to their article praising Robinson, Robinson is one of the most well known far right activists in Britain.

He was the founder of the violent far right street movement the ‘English Defence League’. Before this he was a member of the far right British National Party. He was a co-founder of far right Islamophobic organisation Pegida UK. Robinson has a long history of far-right organising, racist incitement, and has previously been imprisoned for for assault (in 2005, plus a suspended sentence in 2011), for using false travel documents (2012), and for mortgage fraud (in 2014).

Below is the publicity for the far-right demonstration we were alerted to earlier this week:

apologies for the short notice but next Saturday the 8th of February we will be organising a strictly PEACEFUL demonstration against mass immigration and the solitary confinement of TR we will meet 12pm montpellier gardens, cheltenham and we will be marching down montpellier walk/ promenade towards the high street. Please feel free to bring your flags, posters, banners etc but please keep it peaceful and not draw a bad name to ourselves. Let's unite the patriots of Gloucestershire! please share if able @stoptheisolation

Holocaust Memorial Day event 2025, Sunday January 26th 2-3pm

We will hold our annual Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Lansdown Hall (as we did last year) from 2-3pm on Sunday January 26th. More information below.

This Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.

The event will be presented by Adam Horovitz, poet and member of Community Solidarity Stroud District, and will feature the following speakers from anti-racist, community and faith groups:

Liz Whiteside from Stroud District Together With Refugees
Tony Davey, the Mayor of Stroud
Andy Woolley from Stroud Trades Council
Steve Saville, Curate of Stroud Parish Churches
Joel Levy from the Three Counties Liberal Jewish Community will say Kaddish, the Jewish mourning prayer
Mustafa Davies from the Stroud Muslim Prayer Hall
Colin Levine from Gloucestershire Na’amod
Rami Emad, Stroud resident and Syrian Refugee
Ela Pathnak Sen from Stroud against racism

The Stroud Red Band will also perform at a variety of points during the event

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s Theme for 2025 is “For a better future”. They say: “There are many things we can all do to create a better future. We can speak up against Holocaust and genocide denial and distortion; we can challenge prejudice; we can encourage others to learn about the Holocaust and more recent genocides.”

We look forward to seeing you at what we hope will be a powerful event.

Share and invite friends on Facebook

Share our HMD poster to your Instagram story

More dodgy meetings from Project Libertas at the Old Convent

In April a group called “Project Libertas” planned to host two Nazi meetings in Stroud – celebrating Hitler’s birthday and promoting the antisemitic forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.

Community opposition led to the organisers cancelling these meetings.

The group is a splinter from the group that hands out “The Light” – paper. They’re a distinct group but with a pretty similar approach to the world.

It’s this group that was responsible for inviting Katie Hopkins to Stroud – not long after the paper had printed a fawning interview with her.

They continue to organise meetings with dodgy speakers who spread hatred and fear with baseless conspiracies.

Meanwhile, “The Light” paper has adopted the man who was due to speak at the Nazi meetings – John Hamer, a white nationalist and Holocaust denier who spreads hatred of Jews and Muslims online – as a regular contributor. And the people who hand the paper out in Stroud seem to think that’s no big deal, and keep handing it out.

Dodgy events at The Old Convent

Sandi Adams has been invited to speak in Stroud 4 times, most recently by “Project Libertas”.

In July 2020 Adams published an article titled “The Truth is anti-Semitic” which repeated vile claims that have been and are still used to persecute the Jewish community and are extremely harmful. Adams also hosted a notorious, 12-hour long highly antisemitic pro-Nazi Holocaust denial documentary.

Adams has blamed this content on her then website manager, deleting some items she claims were published without her knowledge or permission. However, she continues to host blantant antisemitism on her website, including a ‘documentary’ called The Jewish Crucifixion of Russia, which concludes “Although it is believed the Soviets lost power years ago, the Jewish hand behind [Communism] is very much alive today.” Adams describes this ‘vital’ and adds a grossly antisemitic cartoon featuring a Jewish ‘puppetmaster’.

As well as repeatedly hosting Sandi Adams, The Old Convent has been host to James Delingpole on at least two occasions – again at the invitation of “Project Libertas”.

Since the pandemic, Delingpole has been embracing increasingly extreme conspiracy theories and their politically extreme proponents including Colin Robertson, a white nationalist who has enthused about “torpedo[ing] boats carrying refugees”.Before that, he had a long history not only of denying the science around climate change, but of attacking climate scientists and activists, to the point of repeatedly inciting violence.

Project Libertas has also organised two meetings at The Old Convent featuring Andrew Bridgen, a former MP expelled permanently from the Conservative party for making offensive and baseless comparisons between the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the Holocaust.

And the group is planning to hold a meeting with leader of the far-right Heritage Party David Kurten, who has recently been promoting “remigration” – the forced return of non-European immigrants and their descendants to their place of origin.

We don’t think anyone should have anything to do with The Old Convent until they take a clear stance against bringing hate to our town.

Below are adverts for the recent event featuring Sandi Adams and Andrew Bridgen, and the previous advert for the planned Nazi meetings Project Libertas intended to host – and which they advertised with images of Adolf Hitler and nasty content about “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.

We joined the “Love not Hate – Stop the Far Right” rally in Stroud

On Saturday 10th August 2024, Stroud Love Music Hate Racism organised a rally in response to the racist riots and violence that had been taking place in the preceding week.

Emma Calcutt from Community Solidarity Stroud District read a statement on behalf of the group, which you can watch on our YouTube channel below – and share on Facebook at this link.

We’ll be adding more videos from the event as we can.

Join us at the Stop the Far Right protest in Stroud, 10th August 2024

Community Solidarity Stroud District invites all our supporters to join us at the Stop the Far Right – Stroud event tomorrow Saturday 10th August from 12noon at Wallbridge, organised by Stroud Love Music Hate Racism.

We have been distressed to see the dramatic upsurge in racist violence recently, as we were reeling from the horrific attack on children in Southport. Sadly, neither of these things have come out of the blue. Racism has been rising in recent years, particularly targetting Muslims and asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants – but as always entwined with anti-Blackness and willing to scapegoat anyone who can be marginalised, as racists aim to promote forms of white supremacy and nostalgia for the days of imperialism.

Our group exists to build community led solidarity in the Stroud district to oppose the hatred of minorities and oppressed people arising from false and harmful information. We launched in January 2022 to challenge the way in which a paper handed out for free in our District and nationally, calling itself “The Light”, had defended a man convicted of inciting racial hatred for broadcasting threats of violent antisemitism.

Since then we’ve written extensively on how “The Light” paper promotes the ideas, organisations, and individuals of the far right – including “Tommy Robinson”, whose work over decades and recent reappearance on twitter thanks to Elon Musk has done so much to stoke the racist violence we have seen in recent weeks. In Issue 31, “The Light” defended a previous protest that turned into a riot against asylum seekers being housed in a hotel in Liverpool, widely known to have been promoted by far right organisations including Patriotic Alternative.

Read our article on How “The Light” promotes the Far Right

In March 2023, “The Light” sought to suggest that “toxic masculinity”, and men’s “domination and rage” – of the kind resulting in the tragic consequences of the murders and violence inflicted in Southport – “could also be understood as men resorting to their innate biological responses in trying to cope when they find themselves trapped in an insane society.” And in February this year, it published an article that claimed “psychopathic” “elites” were deliberately “destroying” society through a programme of “mass economic immigration of alien cultures leading to the mass rape of young children”.

Read our article on the anti-women pattern of content in “The Light”

As This Ends Now said recently, “The weaponisation of this tragedy under the false guise of protecting women and girls is unacceptable, and a phenomenon we have seen before. This tragic crime should not be used as a justification for further hatred, racism and violence. Male violence against women and girls is an epidemic that cannot be solved by racist violence.”

This Ends Now statement – read in full

We will be at the Wallbridge protest on Saturday in solidarity with people fearing possible racist and misogynist violence locally, and as part of a national upsurge in anti-fascist activity which is sorely needed.

We know that those of us who oppose the far right, racist and misogynist violence are many. Yet we must not be complacent, nor think that Stroud is immune. And we must remember that it is not only mainstream media organisations and politicians who have pushed racist rhetoric – but publications and people presenting themselves as “alternative” or “independent”. And let’s not forget the so-called comedian Katie Hopkins, who called refugees cockroaches, and who the local far-right brought to Stroud to do her “standup” act. Twice.

In 2010 the far right British National Party attempted to set up their media office in Salmon Springs in Stroud. Community opposition saw them off, but this year we’ve seen concerning developments.

The recent general election featured an “Independent” candidate for Stroud’s MP Saskia Whitfield, a person who publicly shared the most blatant far right content. Her candidacy was supported by the “infohub” that hands out “The Light” paper. She thankfully won fewer than 300 votes, but while that is an embarrassing result of 0.5% of the vote, it is a significant number of people willing to vote for someone who thinks the UK fought on the wrong side in the second world war. And, of course, over 6,000 people in Stroud constituency voted for Farage’s Reform party and its attempt to scapegoat migrants for every problem in the UK (and many candidates with vile views).

Read our letter to backers of the Nazi-sympathising candidate and their responses

Earlier in the year, we saw the grim spectacle of people making excuses for two Nazi themed meetings – one organised to mark Hitler’s birthday, and another to promote the antisemitic conspiracy the Protocols of the Elders of Zion which the Nazis used to justify their genocide of European Jews.

Read our article about the Nazi meetings and the community response

Though the group that had organised these events cancelled them, “The Light” paper has since taken on the planned speaker, John Hamer, as a monthly contributor – giving him a platform to share antisemitic conspiracies about the reasons for the world wars.

Read our piece about John Hamer’s racist worldview

In recent years we have seen the traditional far right joined and frequently supported by a new phenomenon – what others have called “the cosmic right”, “mirror world“, “conspirituality“, or “diagonalism” – where conspiracy influencers draw disillusioned, vulnerable, or fearful people to baseless theories and far right bigotry. People interested in alternative ideas, who are critical of how government managed the pandemic, or public services, or the climate crisis, are being preyed on and recruited into movements that dress up old antisemitic conspiracies in new language, and present opposition to feminism and anything that can be deemed “woke” as part of a return to “natural” hierarchies alongside their enthusiasm for “natural” medicine.

As some of you will know, The Times revealed that the millionaire who first spread false information about the man who killed three children in Southport, is known for spreading false information about covid and climate change, as well as anti-trans bigotry. She had been promoted by TalkTV and GB News. The words in her tweet led, following amplification by a Russian fake news aggregator website, and hateful grifters Robinson, Andrew Tate and Nigel Farage (click for a collation of links for more background on this person and their part in the story)

Racist riots and attacks followed, making clear beyond doubt the terrible real life consequences that can follow a few words of misleading, racist content.

Join us, Stroud Against Racism, the Radical Youth Space for Educations (the RYSE) and others at Stop the Far Right – Stroud event tomorrow Saturday 10th August from 12noon at Wallbridge, organised by Stroud Love Music Hate Racism.

More – read the Radical Youth Space for Educations statement on this week’s race riots.

Read a statement from Stroud Against Racism.

Our letter to the Stroud News and Journal – in full

Madam,

Whilst the General Election result thankfully showed Stroud voters had little appetite for the fringe far right candidate they nominated, nonetheless Marcus Blackett and Richard House’s nonsense about our group, and about independent candidates, (including in the pages of this paper) must not be allowed to stand unchallenged.

It is regrettable that these individuals chose to nominate, for Stroud MP, someone who repeatedly quotes Hitler, suggests he has been unfairly maligned, promotes claims that the Allies “fought on the wrong side” in WW2 and we “should have fought with the fascists…not the other way round”, and repeatedly puts forward the idea that Hitler “cleaned up perverted Berlin” and that “once again” it’s time to do the same.

It is remarkable that when we warned them about their candidates’ extensive hateful social media history, her backers obfuscated, deflected, and reacted with wild and unfounded smears about us.

Why is it hard to understand that we choose to oppose the reactionary and extremist activities of the Info Hub stall crowd that distribute “The Light”, out of a sense of responsibility?

We are a group of citizens who have been raised, like most people in this country, to detest fascism and to know that it’s our civic duty to fight it when it rears its ugly face. Far from being the monolithic block alleged by House and Blackett, we include amongst our group, people who voted for at least three different major parties, and none.

Thankfully, “The Light” crowd’s fringe, Nazi-sympathising candidate, who they brought in from Cheltenham, got fewer than 300 votes (0.5%) and will hopefully now go away and leave Stroud in peace.

It would be wonderful if the purveyors of the reactionary fear-mongering, climate change denial, political nihilism and hatred of the Other contained in “The Light”, packed up and followed in her wake, and stopped blighting the district’s High Streets.

We look forward to SNJ printing this letter as our right to reply,

Yours faithfully,

Adam Horovitz, Alex Raeburn, Caroline Molloy, Christian Hayward, Denise Needleman, Emma Calcutt, Freddie Janke, Hannah Boss, James Beecher, Jacqui Stearn, Jeremy Green, Lynn Hanaan, Megan Sheer, Simon Jacobson – on behalf of Community Solidarity Stroud District

We sent the letter above to the Stroud News and Journal on Friday 5th July. On 10th July 2024, they published a heavily edited version of this letter – removing a lot of detail we feel is crucial. We don’t know why. The evidence for what we describe is available (and was shared with the editors of the paper). And yet, on the other hand, all sorts of false claims about our group have been printed or hosted in the comments section of their website without evidence.

What appeared in the paper is below, we’ve shown the sentences they chopped with ~~strikethrough text~~, as this best illustrates the impact of their editing. Why do you think they edited our letter?

Madam,

Whilst the General Election result thankfully showed Stroud voters had little appetite for the ~~fringe far right candidate~~ they nominated, nonetheless Marcus Blackett and Richard House’s nonsense about our group, and about independent candidates, (including in the pages of this paper) must not be allowed to stand unchallenged.

~~It is remarkable that when we warned them about their candidates’ extensive hateful social media history, her backers obfuscated, deflected, and reacted with wild and unfounded smears about us.~~

Why is it hard to understand that we choose to oppose the reactionary and extremist activities of the Info Hub stall crowd that distribute “The Light”, out of a sense of responsibility?

Thankfully, “The Light” crowd’s ~~fringe, Nazi-sympathising~~ candidate, who they brought in from Cheltenham, got fewer than 300 votes (0.5%) and will hopefully now go away and leave Stroud in peace.

We look forward to SNJ printing this letter as our right to reply,

Yours faithfully,

Read our previous letter to Saskia Whitfield’s backers, including screenshots of her social media posts