The police, crime, sentencing and courts bill is the British capitalist state’s attempt to lash out and limit the impact of movements that have emerged and grown in strength over the past few years. These movements, like Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion, have necessarily emerged in protest against our imperialist state as it barrels on with its quest for profit regardless of the abuse faced by our planet and its people. They are movements that, on some level, knew they could not wait for the parliamentary left to act.
On the 22nd of March 2021, after our weekly community stall, the Birmingham branch of the RCG attended a demonstration held by Women’s Strike Assembly and supported by many progressive groups. The demonstration aimed to fight back against the bill and the violence of the police faced most harshly by women and BAME (black and minority ethnic) people. The speakers, including people from Acorn, Disabled People against the Cuts, XR, Campaign Against Prison Expansion, the public and more did a great job of showing the breadth of people suffering right now and the myriad of reasons the right to protest must be defended to make progressive change. And they pointed out that the abuse faced by Sarah Everard was not a one-off incident but that officers in the West Midlands Police, like PC Oliver Banfield (who was spared jail by the bourgeois ‘justice’ system) are also part of this systemic problem.
Our comrades emphasised that the police are part of the violent arm of an imperialist state which has an interest in racist and sexist oppression and climate destruction the world over. It’s their quest for profit that is at the root of the suffering and abused outlines at the demo. Our right to protest and organise openly as the working-class is key in fighting back and something that must happen regardless of the outcome of the bill. Socialist Cuba exemplifies the achievements that can be made by the most developed, revolutionary form of this resistance. Bringing the new edition of our pamphlet Revolutionary Cuba: The Streets are Ours! we showed what a working-class state can do for the environment, community safety and gender equality and the fight against racism, homelessness and hunger.
A week later, on the 27th of March, our comrades supported an action by Cubanos en UK calling for international solidarity with Cuba against the economic, military, political and media blockade of Cuba. The demonstration held in Canon Hill Park aimed to dispel the myths and outright lies perpetuated about Cuba by Britain’s bourgeois, biased media. We brought flags, placards, educational material and led chants and discussions.
Here’s a taste of our action today… turning out to support socialist Cuba ?? which has been a shining example in its response to the pandemic despite the crippling effects of the illegal US blockade in place for almost 60 years! ✊ #AbajoElBloqueo #endtheblockade pic.twitter.com/BnGSP6PKxJ
— Birmingham RCG (@birminghamrcg) March 27, 2021
The class nature of the British state means it has no interest in the fundamental change required to build a safe, free and sustainable future. In fact, it has expressed its interest in doing just the opposite; limiting the rights to protest, move freely and abusing those it claims to protect. We must organise in opposition to this attack and socialist Cuba illuminates the path we must take. Find and message us on social media as @BirminghamRCG to find out about our meetings, demonstrations or community stalls. Let’s build a better world.
