NO EDL IN CAMBRIDGE!

Cambridge Unite Against Fascism

'We are Cambridge’ unity statement

Trade unionists, politicians, faith group and community leaders are signing up to a unity statement, opposing the racist English Defence League and supporting the multicultural “We are Cambridge” event in the city on Saturday 9th July.

You can add your name by e-mail here cambridge.uaf@gmail.com

We the undersigned strongly oppose plans by the ‘English Defence League’ (EDL) – a group linked to the Fascist British National Party (BNP) – to demonstrate in Cambridge on July 9th.

The EDL is a racist and Fascist group dedicated to attacking Asian people and Muslims. EDL members have embarked on a violent campaign aimed at those they see as "legitimate targets". These have included in recent months attacks on Unite Against Fascism meetings in Brighton and East London as well as intimidating staff and customers at a well known Liverpool Community Bookshop. They have also threatened trade unionists at May day events.The EDL are deeply Islamophobic – bigoted against Muslims – which is as unacceptable as any other form of racism. The EDL's  aim is to divide us by making scapegoats of one community, just as the Nazis did with the Jews in the 1930s and the National Front attempted in the 1970s. Today they threaten Muslims. Tomorrow it could be Jewish people, Hindus, Sikhs, black people, lesbians and gay men, travellers or Eastern Europeans.

There is no place for EDL racists or the BNP in Cambridge’s multiracial, multicultural and multi-faith community. We need the utmost unity against their poisonous aims.We also urge people to attend the ‘We are Cambridge’ multicultural demonstration to be held in the city centre on July 9th.

Signatories - more coming in every day

Richard Howitt MEP, Councillor Lewis Herbert - Leader City Labour Group, Councillor Adam Pogonowski - Leader of the Green Party on Cambridge City Council, Kevin Courtney - Deputy General Secretary NUT, Mirza Baig -
Vice Chair Cambridge Muslim Council, Councillor Margaret Wright, Councillor Gail Marchant-Daisley, Councillor Jeremy Benstead, Councillor Kevin Price - Chair King's Hedges Labour Party, Councillor George Owers, Councillor Zoe Moghadas, County Councillor Simon Sedgwick-Jell, County Councillor Robert Dryden - Unite, City Councillor Kevin Blencowe -Deputy Leader of the labour group, Councillor Mike Todd Jones, Councillor Carina O'Reilly, Councillor Caroline Hart, County Councillor Tariq Sadiq, Bashir Malik - Cambridge Muslim Council, Shaikh Abdul Mabud - Cambridge Islamic Academy, Tom Woodcock - Cambridge Trade Union Council and Cambridgeshire NUT, Martin Smith - National Officer Unite Against Fascism, Richard Rose – Cambridge Love Music Hate Racism and R*E*P*E*A*T Records, Seymour Patrick - Xstream East Radio and Ten City Nation, Ron Singh and other members of Kissmet, Ruth King, Qassim Idrissi, Christine Pettengell - Cambridge Save Our Schools, Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum, Julia Drummond - Cambridge Unison County Branch, Huw Jones – school governor, Paul Turnbull – CWU Eastern No 4, Matt Kelly – Cambridgeshire NUT, Sue Birtles - Hertfordshire County Unison Rep and South Cambs Labour party, Dan Cooper – Unite Central Cambridge, Ian Allinson - Unite EC Member, Robert Fox - CWU Eastern No.4 Branch, Daniel Zeichner - Chair Cambridge Labour Party, Carol Gerrard - PCS revenue branch president, Robert Evans - Chair Castle Labour Party, Frank Wood Unite EC & London & Eastern Health RISC Chair, Ian Wallace - PCS DWP Cambridgeshire, Ann Galpin - NUJ Cambridge branch & TUC Disability Comt, Anne Packer – PCS DWP Cambs, Jill Eastlands – UCU CRC Equalities Officer, Pete Monaghan – UCU CRC Branch Secretary, Mike Black – PCS Cambridge, Andrew Osborne – Unite Cambridge & District Safety Officer, Strawberry Fair Comt, Mamur Shaikh, Tony Burton – Branch Chair Cambridge FBU, Pete Gillard - Unite London and Eastern Region, Martin Harding – Cambridge FBU, Jo Green – Unite Cambridge, Simon Baker - Gren Mind Gigs, Thomas Pinney, Yusuf Timms – FBU London Region, Miles Curtis Watson – Cambridge Union of School Students (pc), Howard Pheasant - Unite Cambridge, Jamie Andrews - Cambridge CWU, Jeannie Booth, Aidy James Stevens - Chasing Melfina, Jacob Morris, Anna Hector, Graham Askew, Fallen (Band), Pam Stacey - Cambridge Medical Unite, Jon Duveen - NUT Cambridgeshire, Martin Booth - Unison Cambridge Health Branch, Martin Briggs, Daniel Perret - Unite University Branch, Keith Murray - Cambridge Branch NUJ, Mark Evans - Cambridge Central Branch Unite, Tony McNeill - Unite LE/2218, Sara Bennett - Unite Executive Comt, Martin Bainger - Unison health Cambridge, Sofia Rose, Steven Macallister, Richard Johnson - Unison Rep Cambridge University and Colleges Branch, Steven Pulseton, Kerry Fairless - PCS regional chair Eastern England, Chris McCabe, Lorna Mansbridge, Floyd Doyle - chair of ASLEF Black & Ethnic Minority Representative Committee, and member of the TUC Race Relations Committee, Owen Holland and Jacob Wills - 'Songs After Dark', Andy Yates - Cambridge Aslef Branch (041), Graham Tranquada - President Bedford & District Trades Council, Paul Moffat - Eastern Regional Secretary Communications Workers Union, Fiona Harangozo - Student, Richard Edwards - PCS Eastern Regional Secretary, Chris Bird and Mina Boromond - Newseda.com, Patrick Schicker, Ms CC Milligan, Mark Palmer, Neil Kirkham, Maria Wylie, Colin Greenland, Susanna Clarke, Amy Gilligan - Cambridge University UCU, Emily Moody, Niki Smith - Local Secretary NASUWT, Mark Steele Secretary ASLEF District Council 5, Rachel Edwards - PCS Group Organiser Dept. for Communities & Local Government, Sam Omar - Jaffa Net Cafe, John Marais - Friends of Arbury Library, Adrian Clarke - FBU Regional Secretary East Anglia, Martin Booth & Cambridge Health Unison, Daniel Sly - Branch Organiser Cambridge Unison County Branch, Asa Benstead - Unison Cambs County Branch, Chris Free - The Users / The Sound of Pop Art, Bethan Rees NUT, Kim Green - NUT, Joe Bishop - NUT, Rose Elgar - NUT, Drew Wilkins - NUT, Louise Crook - NUT, Andy Cowan - Original Dope records, Laura Dumanski - Information Adviser (Connexions), Kat Postlethwaite, Rob Turner - Unison Cambridgeshire County Council, Marie Thompson, M Langren - CWU Easterrn No 4, R Anstee - CWU Eastern No 4, DJ Powell - CWU Eastern No 4, Tim Jennings - member of the Youth Parliament, Clive Peace - Cambridge Defend Council Housing, Trish Wrightz, David Faulkner, Lucy Howson, Steve Sweeney - Unison County Branch / Huntingdon and St Neots Trades Council, Ruth Graham, Iman Ibn Tahaikt, Tom Stocks - Young At Heart CSV, Lindsey Scott - Eastern CSV, Louise Gould - Cambridge CLP, Jordan Evans, Colin Shaw - NUJ, James French, Mick Stanners, Kenny Fryde, Nick Parker - Community Forum Cambridge Fans United, Tom Abraham, Rob Brooksbank, Andrew Cock-Starkey, Caroline Yates, Matt Hodgkinson - Green Party, Lorna Cox, L Valenzuela, Tim Knight-Hughes - Norwich UAF, Dr Ian Patterson - Fellow, Tutor, Director of Studies in English, Librarian & Keeper of the Old Library Queens' College, Jake Mancer, Adele Macdonald-Hewson, MENTER [Black and Minority Ethnic Network for the East of England], Elske Janssen - Long Road College, Christian Howes, Suzanne Morris, Susie Biller - Kettle's Yard, Adam Paget, George Breakfast - singer / songwriter, Keith Sands, Mike Eden - Cambridge University Press, Jo Wells - Cambridge Social Worker, Laura Morley, Veronica McDouall, Imran Keshani, Stewart and Ann Hemsley, Nick Levine, Revd David Maher and 15 members of the congregation at The Church of the Good Shepherd, M Landgraf - Dept of Zoology,