Hi John,

The results are in: the 2022 local elections have been disastrous for the electoral far right, who have been roundly rejected at the polls yet again. 

We’ve been reflecting on how campaigning around the local elections went, and what this means for our work in the coming months. And this got us thinking about everything we’ve already achieved together this year. This email is a bit of a long read - but it does contain a lot of good news, which I’m sure we all welcome at the moment!

Here’s why the local elections are such a strong example of what the HOPE not hate community can achieve when we all work together in the fight against hate: 

• We held three weekends of action in areas being targeted by the far right and elsewhere, delivering thousands of leaflets with teams of volunteers to spread hope in communities around the country. Even being confronted by Britain First yobs didn’t hold us back!
• The HOPE not hate community donated over £6,000 to our ‘local elections fighting fund’. 
• Our spoof far right ‘party political broadcast’ encouraging voter turnout got hundreds of thousands of views on social media, and was shared by a number of high profile figures with target audiences we were aiming to reach with our messages encouraging them to vote. 
• Our research team worked round the clock monitoring far right candidates and sharing intelligence to support local anti-far right organising, as well as sifting through far right election leaflets sent in from HOPE not hate supporters around the country.
• Our polling drew attention to the shocking scale of youth disillusionment with politics demonstrated. We secured press coverage for our election messages and research in regional papers across the country, leading to the resignation of a candidate whose past social media posts suggested "the removal of all immigrants”.

Thank you so much for your support and for making all this possible. While we should take a moment to celebrate, it is important to remember that while the results mark a defeat for the electoral far right, the same is not necessarily true for the hate they spread. Far right ideas continue to influence mainstream political and media narratives. And without a viable electoral route, the British far right has increasingly emphasised other forms of activism in recent years, posing different threats. 

Together we can win more victories against hate: will you be part of the fight back? 

If you can’t afford to donate right now, you can read and share this ‘good news roundup’ instead.  

And there’s more! Here are some of the other successes we’ve had together this year:  

• Our work has been covered in a broad range of press outlets, reaching new audiences with our messages of hope. Earlier this week our research was featured on Channel 4’s episode of Dispatches covering the far right, which you can watch here).
• Despite thinly veiled threats from Stephen Lennon a.k.a. Tommy Robinson, we continue to keep up the pressure on the far right thug after the incredible response to our investigation crowdfunder from the HOPE not hate community. He’ll be back in court in the coming weeks and we will continue to work tirelessly to try and make sure that Jamal and his family see Robinson pay up.
• Thanks to HOPE not hate supporters and a range of incredible Uyghur and human rights groups, an amendment to the Health and Care Bill means that the NHS is now responsible for assessing the level of risk associated with suppliers and whether they should be blacklisted. This covers the procurement of goods made using forced labour, including Uyghur communities in China.  
• We launched our new Deradicalisation Unit to address the growing number of requests we’ve had about people being drawn to far right extremism, particularly through online radicalisation. We’ve recruited a new caseworker and psychologist to offer support and advice for those who may be at danger of “going down the rabbit hole”.
• As part of the parliamentary debate on the Online Safety Bill, HOPE not hate was namechecked for our research and a number of MPs across the political spectrum raised our concerns about smaller and non-mainstream platforms not being covered by the proposed legislation. 

We can only do this work because of our members, who chip in whatever they can afford monthly. If you’re not already, will you become a member of the HOPE Action Fund today?

Thank you for everything you do,

Nick

Nick Lowles
CEO, HOPE not hate