Londoners Fight Against Fascism
1936
This year a symbolic victory in the East End of London marked the beginning of the end for British fascism.
The fascists were led by Sir Oswald Mosley, a former Conservative then a Labour MP, who formed his own New Party then renamed it the British Union of Fascists after seeing fascism in action in Italy. The fascists’ passion for insignia, marching, paramilitary uniforms
– giving rise to the nickname ‘Blackshirts’, and giant rallies patrolled by muscular ‘stewards’ made them popular with those looking for a new direction in politics. They combined radical economic ideas to combat unemployment with antisemitism manifesting in attacks on Jews.
A threatened march through the heart of the East End on Sunday 4 October was particularly provocative. Residents of the largely Jewish neighbourhood called on Sir John Simon, the home secretary, to ban the march, but he refused and instead gave the
5,000 fascists a police escort.
Residents and their leftwing supporters spent weeks planning how to repel the fascists. On the day, under the slogan “They shall not pass”, they barricaded Cable Street with furniture, a bus and a tram.
An estimated 200,000 anti-fascists used improvised weapons such as sticks, stones, chair legs, rotten vegetables and the contents of chamberpots. Police officers on foot tried to clear the way, while their colleagues on horseback repeatedly charged the crowd. Running
‘The home secretary gave the 5,000 fascists a police escort’
battles at both ends of the street showed the determination of the protesters.
Finally the police admitted defeat, and told Mosley that his fascists would not pass. About 175 people were injured.
It was a great triumph of solidarity, although the worst series of antisemitic attacks in the East End by Blackshirts took place the following weekend. After the Battle of Cable Street, Sir John Simon finally took action and brought in the 1936 Public Order Act. It banned the wearing of political uniforms, and the use of ‘stewards’ at political meetings. This robbed fascism of the appeal that paramilitary forces had gained in Italy
Soon after the outbreak of the Second World War, Mosley was arrested and imprisoned as a danger to the realm.