08.05.2002

Dancing in the streets of the capital

Like many town and cities in Britain, Edinburgh held its May Day march not on May Day itself, but on the following Saturday, May 4. The attendance was noticeably smaller than in previous years with only around 1,000 present compared with around twice that the previous year, but this did nothing to detract from the high spirits of the celebrations. Last year's event took up the Palestinians' struggle as its main theme, which increased the numbers on the march by bringing out a significant section of the islamic community. This year too the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign was one of the many related campaigns present. The march followed its usual route along Princes Street, led by an open-top bus carrying a brass band that played as we marched - although their choice of music for the occasion seemed a little out of place ('Living the Vida Loca' and 'Dancing in the street'). However, the musicians redeemed themselves by playing 'The Internationale' as we arrived at the rally. For most of the march though the singing and chanting of the demonstrators drowned out the brass band. The rally in Princes Street Gardens featured a wide range of speakers from various backgrounds, representing numerous campaigns and organisations. RMT general secretary Bob Crow called for the repeal of the anti-trade union laws and demanded an end to privatisation. He was followed by leading SSP member Carlynn Leckie, representing the Unison medical secretaries who had been out on strike. The speaker from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign called on the demonstrators to boycott all Israeli goods and in fact everything Israeli except for the Israeli peace movement. SNP MSP Margo MacDonald spoke about the BNP gaining seats in England. Carlynn Leckie had also referred to the dangerous rise of the far right with regard to Le Pen and the BNP gaining three seats in this country. Both statements were of course accurate, but offer perhaps an insight into the way that the two speakers view the world. However, MacDonald's attempts at playing to her audience ended with an unfortunate truism: "The workers, united, will never be divided," she proclaimed. Presumably she meant 'defeated'. I wonder if that applies to English workers too. Paul Robeson junior, son of the famous American singer and activist, recounted his experiences in both Britain and the USA, including being tailed by MI5 after publicly calling Thatcher a racist. He compared Blair's plans to charge the parents of truanting children with new measures in the USA, which give the authorities power to evict from public housing anyone caught in possession of illegal drugs. He did make some strange observations with regard to the far right, suggesting that anyone who is a racist must also be a fascist and vice versa, and insisted on that old chestnut - fascism is something that appeals predominantly to the middle class in every case. Of course the far right may appeal to the petty bourgeoisie, but there is no doubt that the BNP gains most of its support amongst backward workers and the politically and economically degraded elements of society. Despite this Paul Robeson was such an engaging speaker, he managed to delay the demonstrators' departure to the pub to watch the cup final. Sarah MacDonald