Battle of Wood Green (1977)

Sat Apr 23, 1977

Image: Anti-fascists clash with cops (Pic: Phil McCowen) [socialistworker.co.uk]

On this day in 1977, 3,000 anti-fascist demonstrators harassed and attacked National Front fascists who were attempting to march through the North London borough of Haringey, an event known as the Battle of Wood Green.

The National Front was an electoral force comprised of unified factions among the far right. It was led by AK Chesterton, who was a former member of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF). The National Front was known to engage in racist violence in years prior.

Historian David Renton describes the opposition to the march as containing both peaceful and radical elements: "Communists and churchmen addressed a rally at one end of Duckett's Common, [while] a contingent composed of more radical elements in the crowd broke away and subjected the NF column to a barrage of smoke bombs, eggs and rotten fruit."

Notably, Jeremy Corbyn, then a local councillor who supported a militant response to the fascist demonstration, was quoted in the Hornsey Journal: "Why did the police allow the National Front to march through the busiest shopping area of North London, an area populated by several of London's largest immigrant communities?...How much longer must it be before fascism is banned from our streets?"

• Date: 1977-04-23
• Learn More: socialistworker.co.uk, www.jacobinmag.com.
• Tags: #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Standing up for what's right for decades:

Jeremy Corbyn, then a local councillor who supported a militant response to the fascist demonstration, was quoted in the Hornsey Journal: “Why did the police allow the National Front to march through the busiest shopping area of North London, an area populated by several of London’s largest immigrant communities?..How much longer must it be before fascism is banned from our streets?”