The 25th anniversary meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in the Kyrgyz capital may offer a glimmer of hope that international relations do not need to be defined by endless confrontation, writes KENNY COYLE
Remarkably, the roles of the Communist Party and the Jewish community has been wilfully unremarked upon by sections of the left in their clamour to claim Cable Street as an anti-racist victory spearheaded by undefined socialists. History teaches us otherwise.
Alone in the labour movement, the Communist Party was at the forefront of the fight against fascism in Britain.
Anti-semitism was the essential feature of 20th-century fascism: a fact readily understood by communists and Jews. Mainly centred in London’s East End, the Party’s membership among Jews was out of all proportion to the size of the Britain’s Jewish community, accounting for around a tenth of total CP membership.
A champion motorcyclist, trade union organiser and communist, Clem Beckett went from Britain’s speedway tracks to the battlefields of Spain, where he gave his life resisting Franco’s forces at Jarama. GEOFF BOTTOMS pays tribute to this remarkable anti-fascist
Driven by anti-fascism and anger at Britain’s policy of non-intervention, thousands volunteered to fight in the Spanish civil war. Historian RICHARD BAXELL reflects on their sacrifices and enduring significance
CJ ATKINS commemorates one of the most dramatic moments in working-class history
Once again Tower Hamlets is being targeted by anti-Islam campaigners, this time a revamped and radicalised version of Ukip — the far-right event is now banned by the police, but we’ll be assembling this Saturday to make sure they stay away, says JAYDEE SEAFORTH



