Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack has said the landslide election win Labour enjoyed this summer was more an “anti-Tory” vote than active support for Labour.
Speaking at a Labour conference event on the rise of the far-right in Britain, the affiliated union leader said: “Unless the Labour movement offers hope to people then people will go in other directions.”
Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana, who also spoke at the panel, warned too: “When we have austerity, that deepens inequality.”
The MP, who lost the Labour whip in July after rebelling over the two-child benefit cap, also said “our fight is for a future where no one is left behind or discriminated against.”
The LabourList event in partnership with the FBU also featured journalist and historian Taj Ali – who spoke about his background growing up in Luton.
He said: “The far right do not get to speak for the white working class, or any multiracial working class.”
The event touched on the far-right riots that rocked the country this summer, about which anti-racist campaigner Suresh Grover said: “The violent racist riots represent a new phase in far right organising.”
Wrack also spoke during conference to the floor in his last act as TUC president, with his term ending.
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Wrack told delegates: “The New Deal for Working People, delivered in full, has the power to improve the lives of millions of people.
“But it can only be the start…Our duty as a movement – and Labour’s duty in government – is to offer hope. That means investment in new, secure, unionized jobs, decent homes and good quality public services.
“We saw the effects of despair and lack of hope this summer, when riots were fueled by racist and far right narratives. They were fed by years of Tory scapegoating of migrants and refugees.
“Our message is that we stand together – that we are united regardless of our differences.
“Our enemies don’t sail the channel in flimsy boats. They travel the world by private jet and they play financial games with our futures and with the future of our planet.
“If we are divided we will always lose. But if we stand together, the cause of labour is the hope of the world. Let us offer people hope.”
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