Cable Street's Legacy: Uniting Across Difference Against Sectarian Extremism in Britain
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sarah-sackman. "Ninety years on, the lessons of the antifascist battle of Cable Street have never felt more relevant | Sarah Sackman | The Guardian." October 4, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author, a Labour MP, argues that just as diverse East End communities united 90 years ago to stop fascist marchers at Cable Street, modern Britain must unite across religious and ethnic lines today to resist new extremist threats from both the far-right and Islamist extremists. She says the solution isn't just tougher policing and laws, but also a positive, inclusive vision of patriotism that celebrates Britain's diversity rather than letting extremists divide communities against each other.
Conclusion
Britain must respond to rising sectarian extremism (both far-right and extreme Islamist) by uniting diverse communities around a shared, inclusive 'progressive patriotism' rather than succumbing to division, following the model of solidarity shown at the 1936 Battle of Cable Street.
Premises
- In 1936, diverse communities (Jewish residents, Irish dockers, Somali seamen, trade unionists, socialists) united to successfully block Mosley's fascist Blackshirts at Cable Street, demonstrating the power of solidarity across difference.
- Britain currently faces renewed sectarian threats from both far-right extremists (balaclava-clad mobs, arson attacks on immigrants) and extreme Islamist violence (attacks on Jewish ambulances, stabbings, the Heaton Park murders).
- Extremists on all sides deliberately create division in order to exploit it for their own ends.
- Responses that fuel culture wars, incite further violence, or remain silent on antisemitic violence make the situation worse rather than better.
- A recent example (the Somali Bravanese community and Finchley Reform Synagogue reciprocally supporting each other in 2013 and 2026) shows that cross-community solidarity against hate is still achievable today.
- A hard-edged government response (proscribing the IRGC, increased policing investment) must be paired with a positive, inclusive vision of patriotism to be effective.
- An attack on any British community (e.g., British Jews) constitutes an attack on Britain itself, since British identity is constituted by its diversity.
Assumptions
- National identity ('Britishness') can and should be defined as inherently pluralistic and tolerant rather than ethnically or religiously homogeneous.
- Solidarity between different communities is achievable and sustainable as a political strategy against extremism, not just a historical anomaly.
- Government policy (proscription, policing) and cultural/political rhetoric (patriotism) are both necessary and mutually reinforcing tools against extremism.
- The far-right and extreme Islamist threats are sufficiently analogous to be addressed through the same unifying framework.
- Silence from anti-racist groups on antisemitic violence is a meaningful contributing factor to societal division, implying such groups have a responsibility to speak out on all forms of hate equally.
- Historical analogies (Cable Street) remain instructive and applicable to contemporary, structurally different threats.