Thinking about our activism in 2025

I write a strategy review looking at our activism and the context we have to operate in about every couple of months. They’re being written more frequently than I used to do, simply because things are getting ‘interesting’. That’s ‘interesting’ in a historical level of turbulence way! There are only the two of us behind this project plus a few allies dotted around. So, any strategy has to be realistic about what two people in their late sixties can actually achieve. In the interests of transparency, I’m posting the latest review, with just a couple of minor edits taking out sensitive pieces of information.

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Why do I need to write yet another strategy review? Because, ‘events’ are happening at such a dizzying pace, we need to take a few steps back to try to understand what’s going on and how that will dictate what we do with our activism this year, and going forward into the future after that. Obviously there are other factors that will dictate what we do with our activism ranging from family commitments, a desire to have a life outside of activism through to our health and, last but by no means least, a desire to stay under the radar of the authorities. There’s also avoiding completely overwhelmed by events and simply giving up.

The political and social context we have to operate in

Fascism and authoritarianism are on the rise, that’s undeniable. There seem to be quite a few flavours of it on offer at the moment, that’s for sure. Here in the UK, a lot of left/liberal commentators seem to be fixated on Nigel Farage’s Reform movement. I’m calling Reform a movement as opposed to a political party because of the way it’s structured. I suppose it could be said that at least Reform are being honest about their autocratic tendencies and that should they ever get near the levers of power, we’ll have a good idea of what we’ll be dealing with.

The problem is that with the left/liberal focus on Reform, the Labour government aren’t getting the rigorous scrutiny they deserve. Starmer is leading a government that seems only too happy to jump into bed with the banksters and corporations such as Blackrock. That jumping into bed involves government facilitating the agenda of the banksters and corporations in such a way that us mere mortals will be getting royally screwed over. It’s a government that is only too happy to facilitate the intrusive digitisation of every aspect of our lives to the point where we have no privacy and everything we do is open to surveillance and monitoring. It’s a government that is setting out on mercilessly hounding and demonising anyone with a disability. It’s a government whose supporters such as Tony Blair have shown no hesitation in dismissing people’s mental health issues. It’s a government that seemingly hates the natural world that we all depend upon for our survival. It’s a government that shows quite a few tendencies that could be described as fascist. Yet, there are some idiots in what has been dubbed by some as the ‘truth movement’ who will describe Starmer’s government as ‘communist’. Where do we begin in trying to educate these people?

Starmer and his cronies in government are hated across the board, that’s for sure. Understandably, many people are looking for alternatives. The problem is that those ‘alternatives’ tend to be autocratic outfits such as Reform. Reform’s leader Farage has very close links with the reactionary tech magnate Peter Thiel who is openly autocratic, authoritarian and misogynistic into the bargain. Reform getting anywhere near the levers of power would be a case of being tossed out of the proverbial frying pan into the fire.

Then there’s little Tommy Robinson, currently banged up in the nick, and a street movement of his supporters. Deluded supporters who think he’s some kind of saviour when in reality, he’s a fully owned asset of the rabidly Zionist state of Israel. The problem is that we can’t raise any criticism of Zionism without being branded ‘anti-semitic’ by people who really should know better. Another problem is that little Tommy Robinson, and the marches in support of him, are getting attended by people who once would have been considered by some people as progressive. Sadly, tragically even, this is down to the left a) abandoning the working class and b) going down the rabbit hole of identity politics, leaving many people feeling politically homeless. The thing is, being politically homeless shouldn’t be used as an excuse to jump on any reactionary band-waggon that happens to come along. In an ideal world, it should be taken as an opportunity for considered reflection. The problem is that in an age of social media and information overload, considered reflection is hard to undertake.

Then there’s Trump and his tech-bro cronies such as Elon Musk. Zionist puppets and high tech authoritarians – what a f**king grisly combination that is! Sooner rather than later, I suspect that buyer’s remorse is going to kick in for a growing number of people in the Make America Great Again movement. When that does happen, things in the USA are going to get really interesting, turbulent and, difficult to predict…

How are things going to pan out here in the UK? That’s a hard one to predict and as I’ve said previously, prediction is a mug’s game. Sadly, I can’t rule out more street disturbances like those we saw in the wake of the horrific murder of three young girls at a dance event in Southport last summer. The anger is boiling away under the surface and all it takes is one event and stirring up by actors with nefarious intent for clashes to break out on the streets. On a more positive note, in the face of the assault on nature by Starmer and his cronies, I kind of sense that a return to de-centralised, 90’s style environmental activism may well be on the cards. In the face of this, top down, contrived movements such as XR are going to be pretty much dead in the water.

What can we do?

This is the world we have to operate in. One that’s fraught, tense and becoming more dangerous by the day. What can two people in their late 60s do that’s going to make the slightest bit of difference? The first thing we can do is make sure we’re not overwhelmed by a barrage of news, manipulated news, shit stirring from dodgy actors and the like. As activists, self care for our mental and physical health are vital. That means knowing when to switch off, take a break, go out into the countryside and just chill out. It also means being realistic about what we can actually achieve. However, while we need to be realistic, we also need to be flexible so that we can respond to changing circumstances and still keep going.

The practical activity with the community vegetable plot in the park is ticking over, albeit that having more people on board for this year would be desirable. My assessment is that for a variety of factors ranging from a poor harvest to the consequences of geo-political machinations, food security will be coming up on the radar of a growing number of people. Without getting overly political with how we publicise the plot, we need to think about how the need to localise and de-centralise how we produce our food can be integrated into the posts we make and any future leaflets that we produce. The community litter picking will be resuming in time for the Great Avon Clean Up – and after the winter we’ve been having, there’s a lot of debris ro clear up!

As far as propaganda goes, both the Stirrings from below and At the grassroots blogs are doing reasonably well on Substack. However, we cannot afford to take anything for granted in these troubled times. Substack is a US based outfit. The US is going down the proverbial s**tter. Whether it’s government censorship of any dissident voices or the country simply starts to fall apart at the seams, we cannot guarantee that Substack are going to be a reliable host going forward into an ever more turbulent future. At some point, sooner rather than later, we need to think about an alternative host for the blogs. In so doing, we also need to accept that given the way things are going, we may never find a viable alternative that supports freedom of speech and dissent, and is based in a country that isn’t inclined towards censorship. We may have to contemplate the prospect that at some point in the not too distant future, having an online presence may not be an option for us.

I’ve said this many times over the years but never really followed it through because we had the comfort blanket of an online presence – at some point, we need to think about reverting to analogue ways of getting our message across. The proven, easy ways of doing it are stickers and posters. We have a fair number of stickers and also, designs in the pipeline that can be turned into stickers. These designs can be re-configured to make posters as well. As the spring and summer beckon, we really do need to make the effort to get out and get those stickers (and posters where appropriate) up.

The more difficult way of getting a message across is the tried and trusted paper. Writing, laying out and getting a paper printed is the easy part. It’s the distribution that has always proved to be a pain in the arse. There may well come a time where if we can’t find a reliable online host for our blogs, a paper will be the only option left open to us. If push comes to shove, the two of us will have to bite the bullet, get a paper out and undertake the slog of distribution ourselves. The only saving grace is that there’s likely to be an up-tick in the number of street protests in both Bristol and Bath that would provide suitable distribution opportunities. Ideally, I’d like to bring out a paper that’s a collaborative effort with other people. That means that whatever title and format it takes is something that will be up for discussion rather than an attempt to repeat what we’ve already done with papers since we moved down to Keynsham.

I’m also thinking of getting some A6 cards printed up with a brief summary of what our project is about. These can be handed out to people we know or, quietly left in a suitable venue. Whether this goes down the route of promoting Stirrings from below and At the grassroots as separate projects, or we come up with a joint project promotion, is something that’s up for discussion.

Conclusion

I’ve said a few times in the past that we’re entering ‘interesting times’. This time round, I really mean it! What this review has been about is trying to understand just what the f**k is happening in the world at the moment. More importantly, it’s about how what’s happening could well have an impact on how we can operate as we head into an uncertain and turbulent future. Following on from this, it’s been about working out the best, and most realistic way we can carry on operating while ensuring that we don’t get burnt out. Alongside of this, it’s recognising that in an increasingly turbulent world, we have to be flexible and adaptable in how we operate. That means having to confront some unpleasant truths about how we could well face constraints on what we can do as censorship becomes more onerous.

This is not a strategy review that I particularly wanted to write. It’s not how I envisaged our final decade or so of activism ticking along as we gradually wind down. It’s not really how I want to spend that last couple of decades of my life, that’s for sure! However, we owe it to our community and to future generations to carry on as best we can in the face of increasing difficulties and adversity. Being the stubborn bastard that I am, I’ve no intention of throwing the towel in until age related decrepitude dictates otherwise!

Dave A