The CRE Midlands Office established a monitoring group to bring together local agencies in the Midlands to share information and agree action on combating racist groups.

The objectives of the group are to:

• collect and disseminate information on racist far right activities;
• circulate best practice on the best methods of mobilising and combating racist activities;
• act as a catalyst for a programme of joined up action at regional and sub-regional levels;
• share good practice and learn from others' experiences in the run up to elections;
• clarify corporate responsibilities to promote good race relations in the community under the terms of the Race Relations Act; and
• work effectively with the media to minimise the risk of information being misinterpreted, misunderstood or distorted during election campaigns.

Background

The CRE Midlands Office was concerned about the effect which the racist far right were having on community tensions in the Midlands region. Many areas in the region were electoral targets for racist political parties and leaflets had been circulated exploiting community concerns and misrepresenting facts, particularly about asylum seekers.

CRE Midlands organised a conference in Walsall in March 2004: "Combating Racism through the Ballot Box: Meeting the Challenges of the Racist Far Right". It was attended by 200 people from local organisations, received a large amount of positive press coverage and made a big impression locally. It was followed up by a conference report concentrating on the practical action which local organisations can take to counter the myths spread by racist organisations.

The conference identified a need to bring local agencies together to look more systematically at organised racist activity and working in partnership to tackle it. To fill this gap, the CRE Midlands Office decided to establish the Midlands Monitoring and Networking Group on the Far Right.

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Who was involved?

The meetings are organised and chaired by CRE Midlands and held at their Birmingham offices.

The Safe Communities Initiative (SCI) Team attends every meeting. They share information about their work programme and provide the group with information about national policy.

The membership list for the group includes:

• Race Equality West Midlands
• West Midlands Police
• Regional TUC
• Regional Action West Midlands
• EMBRACE
• Citizens' Advice Bureaux
• Midlands Race Equality Councils
• Crown Prosecution Service
• Local Criminal Justice Boards
• Government Offices for the Regions
• Wolverhampton City-wide Black and Minority Ethnic Community Forum
• Regional Development Agency
• Organisations which work with asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants
• Representatives of faith groups

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What happened?

Several organisations in the region were keen to get involved because they recognised the threat which organised racist groups posed to community relations in the region. The group meets every three months and meetings are usually attended by around 12-20 people. They agreed to widen their original aims to look at general community tensions and religious, as well as racist, extremism.

The meetings provide an opportunity for sharing information on community tensions, potential hotspots and good practice in tackling racial hatred. They exchange advice and agree ways to work together to achieve the aims which their organisations have in common. Meetings also provide an opportunity for representatives of different communities to share their views on the effect which racist activity is having on them.

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Achievements

The group has played a valuable role in shaping the policy and practice of the Safe Communities Initiative. They have provided SCI with robust intelligence on community tensions in the Midlands and have acted as a think tank, advising on the development of SCI's agenda. They also provided SCI with support and advice with their 2005 Defeating Racial Hatred Conference (See SCI Case Study 8).

The group is able to respond quickly to rising tensions in the Midlands region. Following the London bombings on 7 July 2005, the group met promptly to share information. This was followed a few weeks later by a community briefing meeting, attended by around 40 people from a variety of organisations. The meeting was an opportunity for West Midlands Police and the CRE to tell local agencies about how they were dealing with racial, religious and community tensions following the bombings. It also allowed agencies let police know about the effect which the bombings had had on communities in the Midlands. The meeting was inevitably tense, but a clear agenda kept it focused while allowing everyone to have their say.

The group provides a sounding board for Race Equality West Midlands publications, such as What Happened to Far Right Political Parties in the West Midlands in June 2005. The report looked at the performance of political parties with core beliefs which embrace racism in the General and Local Elections in 2005.

The group produced an outline joint party statement for local areas to adopt in the run up to elections. The statement provided an opportunity for local politicians to make a commitment to the multicultural make up of their area and to making sure that their political campaign is conducted fairly and free from racial hatred and prejudice. The statement was adopted by many areas in the region including Derby, Solihull, Coventry and Leicester.

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Learning points

• Local agencies can play an important role in making people aware of the negative effect racist organisations can have on a local area and responding to racist myths with fact.
• Working with Racial Equality Councils and other voluntary and community sector organisations is a good way for local agencies to find out about the make up of their communities and problems they are facing.
• Choose a credible local figure to chair a network meeting. Make sure that attendees are given the opportunity to have their say but keep meetings focused on practical action which local agencies can take.
• When organising network meetings, be aware of resource pressures on attendees, particularly those from small voluntary organisations. They may find it difficult to come to every meeting.
• Tackling racial hatred can involve challenging political parties, particularly the racist far right but sometimes mainstream parties as well. Make sure you are aware of how far your organisation can go and take legal advice if necessary.

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More information about this case study

• Alex Goldberg, Commission for Racial Equality (agoldberg@cre.gov.uk)
• Zahid Nawaz, Senior Adviser to Commission for Racial Equality Midlands (znawaz@cre.gov.uk)
• Helal Shahid, Commission for Racial Equality Midlands Region (hshahid@cre.gov.uk)

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