27.10.2025 / News /

No Pasarán! UVW Joins East London in Pushing Back Far-Right Mobilisation

“We celebrate this victory, because it is a victory. Our collective pressure has pushed UKIP out of Tower Hamlets. But there is much work to be done. We ought to push the far right from every single borough, city and country. Organise, unionise, join us!”
Nelly Ospino, Executive Committee representative, United Voices of the World

On Saturday 25 October, the far-right group UKIP attempted a demonstration in Whitechapel as part of their ‘mass deportations tour’. They were banned for the day from Tower Hamlets, home to Casa UVW, and forced to hold their demo somewhere else instead.

UVW stood with local residents and community groups, including Fala Latin Americans, Kanlungan UK, and Migrants Rights Network, to defend East London and make clear that fascism has no place here. Hundreds of people showed solidarity, and UVW proudly brought banners and drums, shouting from the top of our voices: No Pasarán!

At the rally, Nelly Ospino delivered a stirring speech on behalf of UVW, driving home a clear organising message; that the only way to fight fascism is for workers to join and “organise in a union — not any union, one where you participate, take action and win.“ They highlighted the vital contributions of migrants to the UK as people—not just economic assets—but as neighbours and members of their communities. They also drew attention to Tower Hamlets’ long history of working-class resistance to the far right and outlined UVW’s approach to fighting racism and xenophobia through direct action, community and solidarity. Read Nelly’s speech in full:

Hello, thank you for having me, my name is Nelly Ospino and I have the honour and privilege to represent the trade union United Voices of the World.

We are here today out of an obligation to resist and fight fascism in all its forms, as organisers, antiracists and most importantly as trade unionists.

UVW is a proudly independent migrant led trade union that strikes first and negotiates later. A union that focuses on organising the global working class through direct collective action, strategy and litigation. Our union has a clear message for every single racist: we are migrants, we aren’t scared and we aren’t going anywhere!

We all know that migrants have built this country, that we are at the very fabric of this nation. From the NHS to every single statutory service, we see the undeniable contribution of racialized people to the UK. However, our contributions should not be the reason why we are owed humanity, it should be because we are your neighbours, your community, people and because migration is normal and a right.

We remember that Tower Hamlets has a rich history of migrant and working-class people resisting and fighting the far right, we see our work in UVW as part of that ongoing history of resilience. With every dispute, we fight racism one workplace at a time.

In United Voices of the World we understand the rise of the far right, its racism and xenophobia as material, and discriminatory structures created by an exploitative capitalist system that scapegoats’ differences. We as a union refuse to fall in classist analysis of our current political climate. This is not a simple issue of white working-class people being too stupid to make informed decisions, but it is the true dangerous minority, the (1%) mobilising the rage and dissatisfaction of a people, with lies and deception.

It is therefore that we know that the only way to fight fascism is organising. Under capitalism we are all workers, and as workers we should be unionised and organised. Not in any union but in one where you can participate, take action and win.

We call upon every single person here to organise, if you are not doing so already. Organise your workplaces, homes, neighbourhoods and communities. Set a red line and push fascism out of every space. History has shown us that organising is truly the only way we can fight the far right.

We celebrate this victory, because it is a victory. Our collective pressure has pushed UKIP out of Tower Hamlets. But there is much work to be done. We ought to push the far right from every single borough, city and country. Organise, unionise, join us!

No pasaran!