8 August 2024
Cooperation Town organisers and members are appalled by the recent fascist attacks on our communities. We are saddened that we have to deal with this kind of violence yet again, but determined that the long term answer to fascism is not more policing or harder prison sentences, but building stronger communities of solidarity on our streets and our estates.
We believe that the violence we are witnessing now didn’t grow in a vacuum. It is a result of the UK’s colonial legacy, years of Tory austerity, racist borders and an economic system designed to subjugate and impoverish our class.
While we condemn the perpetrators attacking our communities, we want to acknowledge that this violence stems from a neoliberal system that pits us against each other in order to distract us from the real problem and keep the system going.
Cooperation Town was born out of antifascist organising. Our founders came out of direct action groups fighting to stop far-right attacks on migrants and racialised communities. We fought the fascists on the streets and, when needed, we stand ready to fight them again.
However, alongside traditional responsive street antifascism, our organisation was set up to develop a proactive and long term model of community solidarity through action. We believe that by creating spaces for trust and collaboration at the neighbourhood level, we can support communities to cooperate, flourish and root out some of the causes of fascism, before it gets a hold.
Cooperation Town members, who come from many different backgrounds, prove that we are stronger when we work together, learn to know each other and develop ways to cooperate across differences.
While our friends and comrades take direct action to stop fascist thugs around the country, our members will be celebrating the achievements of our movement at Cooperation Town Hub in Gospel Oak, north London.
Join our celebration this Friday at 2pm in Camden.
Join your local community food co-op.
Join an antifascist direct action group.
Join a trade union, a tenants union or a credit union.
Don’t despair, organise.
www.cooperation.town
Download the statement here.