Austerity policies were imposed including means-testing the winter fuel allowance, delay in abolishing the two-child cap on benefits, and cuts to disability benefits.

Even before coming into office, Labour abandoned plans for a Green New Deal (GND) which could have tackled poverty and the climate emergency and created safe, well-paid, unionised jobs.

Instead of standing up for worker unity and the rights of refugees and migrants, Labour has sought to out-do Reform in xenophobia and cruelty towards migrants. Trade unions must defend their migrant worker members and defend the permanent leave to remain, together with advocating easier routes to asylum and to acquire citizenship.

Trade union freedom

There are no independent trade unions in totalitarian societies. When far-right governments come into power they limit trade union freedoms or ban unions. Some fascist governments have smashed up the existing labour movement and required workers to join their own puppet trade unions, which discipline workers, rather than providing any genuine representation.

Independent trade unions can operate most easily in a society with democratic liberties, free speech, and a free press. Many trade unions in the world today operate in contexts of repression, jailing of union leaders, no legal right to strike and savage state repression. Worker solidarity is needed to defend independent trade unions everywhere. Fighting fascism is trade union business.

Exploiting division

Far-right and fascist movements seek to divide workers by attacking migrants, refugees, LGBTQ+ people, women, Muslims, black people disabled people and any group they decide to scapegoat. They mobilise the politics of hatred to transfer responsibility for hardships workers suffer under capitalism from the capitalist class to other workers. Unions need to counter this hatred and show that united trade union action can benefit all workers.

One indicator of the highly reactionary nature of Reform UK is this party’s declared intention to repeal the Equality Act 2010. This would put the clock back more than 50 years in respect of race and sex discrimination. It would remove rights to equal pay and rights to challenge discrimination in education, training and employment, as well as the provision of goods and services. This proposal shows how racist and misogynist the far-right is. Already Reform-controlled councils have shut down initiatives to promote equality and respect for diversity. Repealing the Equality Act would encourage every bigot to air their prejudices and give a green light to employers to discriminate.

Repeal anti-union laws

While trade unions should never rely solely on the law, but should trust in their capacity to organise industrial action, it would be a step forward for workers in Britain if all anti-union laws were repealed. The Employment Rights Act, 2025 contains some improvements, but does not remove all the restrictions on trade unions imposed under Prime Minister Thatcher in the 1980s and subsequently. Workers also need laws which grant positive rights including the right to belong to a union, to make employers recognise unions and to support collective bargaining.

Austerity

Far-right parties do not offer real solutions to the economic and social grievances of working people, the poor, and the unemployed. They do mobilise these issues as a basis for winning electoral support. A Labour Government which has imposed austerity policies has given the far-right a terrain on which to organise. The trade union movement must link struggles against the far-right with the struggle against austerity policies. It is not enough to explain to people struggling with low pay and rising living costs that Reform UK will not answer their problems; the labour movement also needs to fight for better pay, good jobs, and high-quality public services.

Environment

The far-right denies the existence of climate change. They ignore the fact that pollution of the environment hits the poor hardest. They counterpose jobs to protecting the planet. The labour movement must demand green jobs and campaign for a just transition from fossil fuel production to greener energy. We must campaign for water and energy to be brought back into public ownership and for socially responsible production.

Defend the workers’ movement

The danger from the far-right comes both from politicians in suits and fascists organising on the streets. The labour movement needs to build up its own stewarding force to protect labour movement meetings, events and demonstrations. We must defend our right to organise and to protest.

Internationalism

May Day is a day when workers celebrate internationalism. May Day 2026 takes place at a time when Russia’s all-out imperialist war against Ukraine is in its fifth year and US imperialism is launching wars and coups and threatening invasion of many countries. The war launched by the US and Israel on Iran threatens mass suffering for the Iranian people, environmental disaster, if oilfields are set alight, and the spread of the conflict throughout the Middle East. The US has already committed war crimes such as the sinking of an unarmed ship and failure to attempt any rescue of the survivors.

The labour movement must oppose the drive towards re-militarisation and any UK involvement in supporting US imperialism and its wars.

Elections

Vote in the May elections for anti-austerity and anti-war candidates and for candidates who will stop the far-right. The labour movement must support electoral reform to create a fairer voting system than first past the post.

Build a united front against the far right

The labour movement needs to organise with community groups, oppressed groups and civil society organisations to stop the far-right. This organising work needs to be both electoral and workplace- and community-based. It’s important who people vote for, but politics is not only about voting. The people of Minneapolis showed the power of community organising in protecting the working population against ICE. We need this sort of grassroots organising to protect communities and turn back the threat from the far-right and fascists.