20.12.2001
Burnley SA statement
Report welcomed
Burnley Socialist Alliance welcomes the Burnley Task Force report [published separately, but forming part of the Cantle report as a whole - EF] of December 11, and agrees that poverty, poor housing and social deprivation were major contributory factors to the unrest in the town last summer. The report is also right to condemn the far-right BNP for spreading racist ideas; the report says that some of the white population has been influenced by such ideas.
While there are useful recommendations that might give a kick-start to people and organisations that were complacent or complicit in racism, it is clear that fundamental problems in Burnley have yet to be seriously tackled. We stand by our submission to the task force, which is included as an appendix in the report.
As long as Burnley as a whole is starved of investment, with areas of unfit housing, job losses, poor health, poverty and despair, there will continue to be a serious risk of the BNP preying on that despair, with their politics of hatred. Burnley Socialist Alliance will continue to stand up clearly for putting people before profit, being clearly anti-racist and for campaigning for a better deal for everyone who is suffering from New Labourà¢â¬â¢s callous disregard for the needs of ordinary people.
The Socialist Alliance is concerned that the problems are getting worse. The loss of 450 jobs at Michelin and of 300 jobs at Rolls have come after the riots, and will have a direct effect on the lives of hundreds of families in the area.
Tess McMahon, SA candidate in the recent Burnley borough council by-elections, said: à¢â¬ÅTrying to encourage white and Asian people to mix more is of course very praiseworthy, but canà¢â¬â¢t achieve much when the very fabric of peopleà¢â¬â¢s lives is disintegrating. The Labour government should act now to support manufacturing jobs in the area. It should also provide the money our MP says is needed to sort out the townà¢â¬â¢s housing crisis.à¢â¬Â
The Socialist Alliance is also very critical of David Blunkettà¢â¬â¢s recent comments about race, and it accuses him of playing into the racistsà¢â¬â¢ hands. They agree with Shahid Malik, of Burnley, and a Labour NEC member, who said: à¢â¬ÅThere are many fascists and racists who will perversely draw comfort from David Blunkettà¢â¬â¢s comments.à¢â¬Â
They take issue with Blunkettà¢â¬â¢s point about English learning. Pauline Farrell, another SA candidate in the local elections, said: à¢â¬ÅEveryone wants to learn English - ità¢â¬â¢s just not true to suggest thereà¢â¬â¢s thousands of people resistant to the idea. So ità¢â¬â¢s down to the government to make sure the colleges can provide all the courses needed.à¢â¬Â
But in any case, the disturbances werenà¢â¬â¢t about whether people could speak English or not; the young people on the streets back in June, both white and Asian, could all speak English. Thatà¢â¬â¢s not what the riots were about. And when Stephen Lawrence was murdered by racists, they werenà¢â¬â¢t interested in how good his English was, only in the fact that he was black.