'Left Unity' describe themselves as 'the new party of the left of Britain' and they held a public discussion in London to share their thoughts on some of the emerging themes following the US election results.
Trump's victory poses a real threat. We need to work together to push back the right-wing tide. Join us tomorrow https://t.co/C0Zwnz1Rj7
— Left Unity (@LeftUnityUK) November 11, 2016
"Trump's election has unleashed a tide of racism and reactions in the US and very much in the same way as the Brexit outcome did in the UK," said Kate Hudson, a left-wing activist who is national secretary of Left Unity group.
"Trump's victory and the divisive and vicious rhetoric by which he was elected is giving encouragement to the far-right across Britain and Europe, emboldening the racists, misogynists and homophobes. These are dangerous times where we are seeing a shift of the whole center of politics towards the far-right, and we must all work together to combat this," Hudson added.
Luke Cooper, a UK-based academic and campaigner, spoke about why he thinks a political outsider like Trump was able to conquer the established political elite in the US:
"What we are seeing is a huge shift in international politics as a result of a man who wishes to 'Make America Great Again' — this very slogan can be translated as meaning 'Make America White Again' and is nationalistic to its core," Cooper said.
"It has been years of complacency and the lack of action by left-wing leaders that has allowed us to reach the stages we have reached today. In my opinion large factions of the electorates in both the UK and the US have used the ballot boxes to show their anger towards the kind of politics that has left them behind," he told Sputnik.
What fantasy world do people live in where Clinton is left wing? This isn't a failure of the left it's a failure of liberalism.
— Harvey Kartel (@HarveyKartel) November 9, 2016
Socialist activist and UK-based writer Neil Faulkner was one of the panel members speaking during the event and earlier he had told the audience:
"Our strength never lies in divisions…"
But it was very much a display of 'divided states of humanity' even during the well-intended group discussion of this event.
