BATTLEGROUNDS on the streets of Britain and worldwide were the hot topics for debate at the Morning Star’s one-day event in London.

Speakers providing a much-needed focus on Stopping Reform and the Far Right kickstarted the day, followed by a hard-hitting session on The New World Order and the Drive to War.

Among the respected anti-fascist voices taking on the role of Cassandra were MPs Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn, alongside Julia Bard of the Jewish Socialists’ Group, and historian and activist Louise Raw.

Opening the conference, Carolyn Jones, vice-chair of the Morning Star management committee, said: “As we all know, stopping the rise of the far right will require a shift away from the policies and politics that cause the poverty and insecurity, the homelessness and distrust that’s around us.

“We need to be the ones offering hope and a real political alternative. Last week, we saw half a million people come together in a magnificent show of force against the far right. Across the country, too, local people are coming out to defend their streets against the poison spouted by those wanting to play on the insecurities, the anger and the desperateness of people who are just trying to do their best to make ends meet.”

Sabby Dhalu, co-convener of Stand Up To Racism, told the packed hall: “We face dark times, both here and internationally.”

In the coming elections, she said, “Reform UK is set to make the biggest gains in the English elections — England is letting the side down, unfortunately. We’ve seen a former Tory councillor calling for people of Pakistani heritage to be shot.”

Reform candidate Derek Bullock hopes for a seat on Bolton local authority, one of 5,000 council places being contested in England on May 7. There are also several mayoralties, and elections for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, in what is seen as a serious test for all the big parties.

In the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, an account in Bullock’s name commented on a news article: “Shoot the P***s on the spot.” He has since claimed that screenshots of the post were faked.

“There’s better news,” said Dhalu, “latest polls are showing that Reform could be beaten in the Welsh Senedd and the Scottish Parliament.”

Turning to the next major demonstration in London, she said: “On 16th of May we’ve got a big battle coming up in the fight against fascism. The next Unite the Kingdom demonstration will take place, so we have got to mobilise the biggest, broadest demonstration against fascism on that day. When we mobilise, when we unite, we can win.”

Alongside her, in a conference which platformed more women than men, was Louise Raw, labour historian, founder of the annual Matchwomen’s Festival, and more recently, of Survivors Against Fascism. This latter movement supports survivors of child sexual abuse and issues a powerful challenge to the far right in their claims to protect women and girls.

Raw started with something of a confession: “I’m quite obsessed with the history of women and anti-fascism in this country, which there isn’t a book on, yet, because I’m supposed to be writing it, but I’m too busy with the actual anti-fascism!

“There’s an unbroken chain of women fighting fascism in this country, and it began in 1923 with a mill worker in Lancashire called Ethel Carnie Holdsworth. She was the first person in this country we can call an anti-fascist. She published an anti-fascist journal, and the fascists tried really hard to destroy her and put her in prison, and they failed miserably.”

Holdsworth and her husband started a radical magazine, The Clear Light, in 1923 and relaunched it the following year as the organ of the National Union for Combating Fascism.

Part of Raw’s anti-fascist activism has been to take on the claims made by Tommy Robinson (real name, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) that he and his followers support survivors of child sexual abuse.

“In Telford he was parading survivors, they were on the platform with him. He said, ‘we speak for survivors,’ and that allows them to say, ‘we’re the good guys — the left aren’t going to help them, because they’re too woke.’

“This leaves survivors of child sexual abuse really vulnerable — if they want to make their stories heard — because the far right seep in, and kind of seize them.

“It happened to a friend of mine, who is a grooming gang survivor. The far right seized on her, and when she said ‘Oh, hang on, I’m not Islamophobic. I don’t want you using my story,’ they told her to kill herself. So that’s how much the far right really care about survivors.

“So, I started speaking out myself, as a survivor, because I thought we needed that voice on the left. Is it working? Well, the far right are trying to put me in prison at the moment — I can’t talk about it, but you know, I think that’s a five-star review.”

The Survivors Against Fascism banner had attracted many other survivors, said Raw, who wanted to make it part of their activism,
“The left should be the place for survivors.”

A warning about the far right’s infiltration of trade unions came from general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) Steve Wright, who spoke of his union’s educational work with members, “because the far right are targeting firefighters — they see them as an opportunity — and it’s an issue for other unions.

“It’s about understanding where the far right grows. We know that they thrive when wages are low, when inequality is there, where racism is allowed to thrive.

“They stand for division; trade unions stand for unity.”

Veteran MP Diane Abbott challenged the conference with the view that the trade union movement should put its own house in order, when it came to fighting racism. Some unions, she said, would say that many of their own members supported Reform.
“It starts with our own movement.

“It shouldn’t be surprising that, in answer to a prolonged economic crisis, we’ve seen the emergence of a series of far-right parties in this country. Too many people — including our own Labour Party leadership — have allowed the far right to set the agenda on race and immigration.”

Jeremy Corbyn referred to the lessons from history, warning: “Conceding ground to fascists does not make them go away. It makes them grow.

“Now, in 2026, this is the perfect storm for the far right in every conceivable way. We have falling living standards, we have a continuation of austerity, we have a weak and failing government — and a government which is petrified of Reform. Their idea of challenge is to concede ground.”

Positive campaigning on issues which affected people’s living conditions was the best way forward, he said.

One of the speakers focused on warnings of the drive to war was Carol Turner, vice-chair of CND, who said: “The Morning Star is one of our strongest allies in the peace and anti-war movement, and in my opinion, this discussion that’s taking place here this morning is probably one of the most important strategy discussions we could be having.

“The world is closer to nuclear war than ever before. President Trump has his foot pressed heavily down on the accelerator.”

While he was fervent in appealing to his MAGA base, said Turner, “in practice, he defends the interests of US imperialism.”

Calling attention to events at RAF Lakenheath, which has had US nuclear bombs since July 2025, Turner said: “Britain’s nuclear expansion is not only a danger to every single person in Britain, it’s a danger to Europe and beyond.”

Cassandra voices, indeed. And for anyone who might dismiss these dire warnings about the rise of the far right, and a spiralling towards permanent warfare, we need only remind ourselves and others: Cassandra foretold the fall of Troy, and she was right about every damn prophesy in her time.