Catch up time

posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Wednesday, 8 July 2009, 13:27

The bad thing about having a break is the huge in-tray awaiting you on your return. And so it proves to be the case with me. I've just come back from a few days to be met with a list of seemingly never-ending jobs. Not that I'm complaining, I had a good time away, but now it's catch up time.

There is the August issue of the magazine to organise, our Organisers' Academy to get off the ground and reports to write. Most pressing is organising our trip to Strasbourg next week to hand in our Not in my name petition. Everything is finally falling into place, including a terrific video put together by the Blue State team, which should go out in the next 48 hours.

Our petition currently stands at just over 86,000 so hopefully the new video will nudge it up towards our 100,000 target.

Obviously there's been a lot going on in the press, some of which I followed from abroad but some which I had initially missed. There appears to be growing concern at the possibility of far right terrorism in the UK. We have been saying this for a while but we've been continually frustrated with how this overlooked by many in authority. There have been nine Britons arrested on terrorist related charges over the past couple of years but these have not received the same media (and police) attention as those Muslims arrested during the same period. Of course, the new found concern is a start but the real question is what the authorities do about it and most significantly whether they will finally accept a link between the everyday racist material, like that spread by the BNP, NF and more openly nazi groups, and wannabe far right terrorists.

I'm now on my way to the North East. Later this afternoon I'm meeting some key activists across the region to discuss where the campaign goes from here and then I'm on to Durham, where I'll be linking up with Unite, who are holding a three day training course for 140 activists from around the area.