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With far-right violence blighting the UK over the last few days, Mick Lynch has delivered some much-needed balance. The RMT leader and well-known trade unionist gave a speech in Belfast, urging people in working class communities to defeat the scourge of division.
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Famous for his bombastic and succinct public addresses, Saturday was no different to his usual performances. He told counter-protesters facing down far-right activists that ‘every generation’ must be compelled to fight hatred and fascism where they encounter it.
Channelling Tony Benn, the 62-year-old reiterated that there is no ‘final victory’ against the threat of far-right insurgency, and urged those in attendance to stand in solidarity against hateful rhetoric and dog-whistle politics.
His speech was a brief one, but the message was clear: Mick Lynch says he is prepared to turn out ‘every week, in every town’ to oppose the violence on our streets – and he wants working class citizens to do the same.
“The working people of the UK, Ireland, and Europe are going to defeat hatred. The message of our class is that we’re one people united, in one struggle. We refuse to be divided, we won’t let these people get amongst us and cause us to hate each other. We will come through.”
“We must fight these fights in every generation. Tony Benn once said there is no final victory, and no final defeat. We have to fight these battles again and again. We fought them in the 1930s, the 1950s, and the 1970s – we won’t allow the right-wing to dominate our community.”
“We will come together every week, in every town, and bring the message in solidarity to people within our communities. We are with you, and we stand with you no matter what they try to do to us.” | Mick Lynch
