Sabby Dhalu, Stand up to Racism Co-Convenor, writes about how we work together to combat the slide to war and the rise of the far right, which are inextricably linked.
As the Middle East descends into war and the far right is emboldened internationally, it’s vital that we make the links between nuclear weapons, war, declining living standards, the rise of racism, and Islamophobia. The recent attacks on Iran follow one of the largest, most advanced, and direct strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran in June 2025. For two and a half decades unpopular wars in the Middle East have been accompanied by Islamophobia and racism to justify wars and dehumanise people.
These are dark times. We are seeing the sharpest rise of the international far right than at any other point in the post war era. The far right is leading in opinion polls in Germany, France, and Britain. In Britain the level of support for the far right today is unprecedented.
Ongoing wars and the rise of the far right should serve to remind us that fascism’s rise to power in the 1930s led to the greatest loss of life, destruction, and devastation to humanity in the Second World War, and culminated in nuclear bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. CND’s work in commemorating these catastrophic events, their impact on Hibakushas, and the importance of learning from history, is vital.
Last year the Labour government announced £30 billion of spending on nuclear expansion. Meanwhile investment in the economy and funding for the elderly and disabled people was cut, so Labour is sticking to Tory austerity and continuing the cost of living crisis.
Real wages have declined for almost two decades since the 2008 financial crisis. This is a critical difference between the current situation and the growth in support for the National Front in the 1970s. From 1970 onwards real wages were increasing up until 2007. The bailout of the bankers led to the massive increase in government debt, but it’s the people who are paying for this through austerity.
This is a political choice and that’s why racism, particularly attacks on refugees and migrants, is being used to scapegoat, divide, and distract. This economic catastrophe and toxic hateful racist campaigns have led to the unprecedented rise of the far right in Britain, with the rise of Reform UK electorally and the biggest fascist demonstration in British history back in September 2025 under the slogan ‘Unite the Kingdom’. Divide the Kingdom would have been a more accurate slogan.
Billionaire Elon Musk – who infamously seemed to give a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration –
bankrolled this demonstration and effectively agitated for a fascist coup in his address to the event. Musk’s nuclear expansion ideas are so ambitious they even extended to calls for nuking Mars!
So we must build the fightback. The best response to the biggest fascist demonstration in British history must be the biggest anti-fascist demonstration in British history. I’m very pleased that CND is part of the movement to turn the tide against the far right and is supporting the Together Against the Far Right demonstration on Saturday 28th March.
Together is supported by a range of celebrities including Sir Lenny Henry, actors Christopher Eccleston, Mark Rylance, David Harewood, singers Paloma Faith, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and a range of others. The TUC, affiliated trade unions, the British Medical Association, NGOs including Friends of the Earth, Amnesty International UK, Greenpeace and campaigns such as Stand up to Racism, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop Trump UK and others are supporting this initiative. I look forward to seeing CND members on 28th March.