Respect party calls for ban on EDL demonstrations

Apr 27 2010 by Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Post

Left-wing party Respect called for a ban on demonstrations by the far-right English Defence League, as it launched its election manifesto.

Birmingham candidate Salma Yaqoob, the party’s leader, joined high-profile candidate George Galloway in London to launch the manifesto, which also includes plans for an annual anti-racism concert in every major city.

Respect says it is hoping to gain seats in Birmingham Hall Green, where Ms Yaqoob is standing, and in Poplar and Limehouse, London, where Mr Galloway is the party’s candidate.

And it says it would be willing to work with Labour if there is a hung Parliament.

Measures in the manifesto include a ban on demonstrations by the English Defence League (EDL), which held a protest in Dudley earlier this month that put the town into lockdown.

There were 12 arrests as the EDL and Unite against Fascism (UAF) held rival events at different sites in the town. Nearly 700 police officers were called in and dozens of roads were sealed off.

The EDL, which has also held demonstrations in Birmingham which descended into violence, says it is opposed to Islamic extremism. Critics accuse it of having links to the far-right and claim it is simply opposed to Islam and Muslims in general.

The Respect manifesto also includes plans for annual anti-racism concerts in every major city in the country, based on London’s annual Rise anti-racism festival, which ran from 1996 to 2008.

Ms Yaqoob said: “Respect will never support a Tory government whose policy of immediate and massive cuts combined with tax breaks for big business and the very wealthy would be a disaster for the economy and most peoples’ lives.”

But it would be willing to work with other parties if they agreed to build more council homes, to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and to introduce proportional representation for the House of Commons, she said.

Ms Yaqoob, who is also standing in local elections for the Sparkbrook ward on May 6, came within 3,289 votes of winning the Sparkbrook & Small Heath seat from Labour in the 2005 general election.

However, the Hall Green constituency has different boundaries. Liberal Democrats are also targeting the seat.

Respect originally grew out of protests against the Iraq war organised by Birmingham Stop the War Coalition, which was chaired by Ms Yaqoob.

Trotskyite organisation the Socialist Workers Party took a leading role in the party until Respect split in 2007, with Mr Galloway and Ms Yaqoob on one side and the SWP on the other.