IN OCTOBER 2016 I was the convener for Cable Street 80. Through two rallies and a spirited march, we celebrated the mass anti-fascist mobilisation of 1936 that stopped thousands of Oswald Mosley’s uniformed and jackbooted fascists invading the Jewish areas of London’s East End. Commemorations have taken place every 10 years, more recently every five.

When we drew up our desired speakers list for Cable Street 80, one of the first names we pencilled in was Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran anti-racist, anti-fascist activist who had won the Labour leadership a year earlier with a huge mandate from the membership. 

He made clear that he intended to continue this area of activism on the very day he was elected. Minutes after his acceptance speech, he headed for Hyde Park to address a national rally in support of refugees.

Jeremy replied instantly to our Cable Street 80 invitation. That was the easy part. On the day, matters were more complicated. 

The Labour right’s battle against his democratic mandate was already in full swing. The abortive “chicken coup” was followed by a new leadership election in late summer 2016. 

Cable Street 80 would be Jeremy’s first outdoor appearance after his decisive victory over the hapless Owen Smith. During that leadership election Jeremy repeatedly experienced an unprecedentedly aggressive, hostile media harassment. We had to prevent that marring our event.

Our first rally that day, with Labour MPs Rushanara Ali and Dawn Butler, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady plus several community activists, took place in Altab Ali Park, Whitechapel, a park named after a young Bengali clothing worker murdered by racists nearby in 1978. 

We marched from there to the Cable Street mural, with Jewish, Bengali, trade union and anti-fascist banners and a Yiddish street band playing stirring music. 

Our closing rally took place in St George’s Gardens, behind the former town hall, site of the huge and striking Cable Street mural. Our regular planning meetings took place in Unite Community’s HQ in the basement of that building. 

We arranged for a team of stewards to meet Jeremy the minute he arrived and whisk him into the Unite office before the media posse could get near him. It worked. 

Jeremy sat down, greeted everyone, and took out a cake from his bag to share with the stewards, who included many young Bengali activists.

We wanted to keep him safe there until shortly before he was due to speak but he was determined to see and hear the other speakers, especially Cable Street veteran Max Levitas, then 101 years old. 

That involved jostling through the herd of reporters, but we succeeded. Jeremy received a tremendous reception when he came to the microphone as our final speaker. 

His message was so powerful and heartfelt. He conveyed a vision of a society that could overcome xenophobia and hate, which would support, not condemn, people seeking asylum, and help build a world of peace, solidarity and unity. He described learning about Cable Street from his mother, who had been there in 1936. 

Five years later, in 2021, we did it all again but on a smaller scale in Covid times. Jeremy again was our final speaker. Our opening speaker was Apsana Begum MP, who had been one of the volunteer stewards five years earlier. As co-chair I introduced her as “the MP for the Cable Street mural!”

I have encountered Jeremy on so many anti-racist, anti-fascist, pro-refugee mobilisations over the decades. For many years I believed the first occasion was in the late 1980s, at a small anti-fascist demonstration just off Whitehall. 

I spoke for the Jewish Socialists’ Group (JSG) alongside activists representing other campaigns. But one MP addressed us too — Jeremy Corbyn. 

I was struck then not only by the clarity and radicalism of his message, but by his no-frills persona and the ease with which he mingled with activists. Today, when so many politicians seem terrified to encounter the public, Jeremy remains at ease with everyone. 

I was, however, wrong about dates. In 1986 on the 50th anniversary of the iconic battle, there was a commemorative march that ended in a green space parallel to Cable Street. 

At one end were stalls of participating groups, in the distance a platform with speakers. We stayed near the JSG’s stall looking after our eight-month old twins — it was their first march! 

I wish now that I had wandered down towards the platform where the veteran Jewish communist and anti-fascist, Phil Piratin, was speaking, together with several members of the Campaign Group of left-Labour MPs. 

I recently discovered a copy of the leaflet for this event. The first speaker it listed was Jeremy Corbyn!