New Release: “When We Touched The Sky; The Anti-Nazi League 1977-1981″ by Dave Renton
This is the first book-length history of the Anti-Nazi League and the anti-fascist campaigns of the punk era – surprisingly, perhaps, given that this was a period when the National Front were at the peak of their success and the campaign against them was unprecedented in strength and prominence in post-war Britain.
A number of factors played a part in the subsequent downfall of the NF and the lengthy dry spell suffered by Britain’s fascists in the 1980s and 1990s – not least the internal wrangles inherent in far right politics, and the rise of a mainstream right-wing leader, in Margaret Thatcher, whose stance on immigration was sufficiently hard-line to tempt many deserters back the Conservative party. But the ANL and other aspects of anti-fascist campaigning such as Rock Against Racism can justly claim to have played a significant part in this downfall too.
Author Dave Renton was involved in the revival of the ANL in the early 1990s, which happened in response to a similar resurgence of fascism in the form of the British National Party, and in more recent campaigns against the growing electoral threat posed by the BNP in areas outside their traditional stomping grounds of East London – including Sunderland. He has also written widely on historical and political themes in general, and on fascism and anti-fascism in particular. As such he is well placed to write this book. He tackles the subject academically, with extensive research and interviews with key participants, but also with the enthusiasm of an active participant in the subject he is chronicling.
This is a comprehensive but thoroughly readable history of a key period in the fight against fascism. It is also particularly timely now, when vigilance, determination and unity are as crucial as ever in defeating the threat posed by the rise of the BNP and its racist, divisive views.
When We Touched the Sky is published by New Clarion Press, 5 Church Row, Gretton, Cheltenham GL54 5HG, UK.
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