On Sunday 9 October Rushanara Ali MP marked the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street by speaking at two events organised by local community groups including Cable Street 80, and an event organised by the London Jewish Forum and the Jewish Leadership Council.

Speaking at a rally organised by Cable Street 80, Rushanara said:

“It’s an honour for me to be with you today as the local Member of Parliament for this great constituency and to welcome you here on this very important anniversary.

We stand here together to mark the eightieth anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street. I want to start off by thanking David Rosenberg and the group of people who brought us all together to mark this great anniversary so let’s give them a big round of applause.

Eighty years ago, thousands of East Londoners stood together against fascism and intolerance. The Battle of Cable Street was a fight that brought many communities together: the Jewish community, the Trade Unions, and many others.

It is because of their struggles that we can live in greater safety and in greater harmony today. But the battle continues. We are gathered in this park, named in memory of Altab Ali, a young man who was brutally murdered in 1978 and named in recognition of the fact that racism continued.

When I was growing up in Tower Hamlets in the eighties and nineties I saw another community, the Muslim community, who also fought for the East End to be a place safe from hatred, a place safe from racism and a place safe from intolerance.

So while we mark the anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, let us remember the fight against racism, islamophobia, and anti-semitism continues across our society. The EU referendum has exposed deep divisions across our country and given way to a concerning rise in hate crime.

Ladies and gentlemen, today we send a message: to continue the struggle against intolerance and to always fight to protect all our different communities.”