Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football on why he’s supporting the Counterfire appeal

Today I’ve donated to Counterfire’s appeal. It’s an outfit I’m impressed with. Organisations far bigger haven’t set up a left-wing cafe; Counterfire has wit and flair, imagination and success. No other group comes close to matching the breadth and creativity of their Festival of Dangerous Ideas. Counterfire’s website is impressive too, and they are the backbone to the People’s Assembly and next year’s No Glory in War campaign.

I’ve never been a Trotskyist  but if it wasn’t for the SWP’s initiative behind the late 1970s Anti-Nazi League, and even more importantly for me, Rock Against Racism, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. For that I’ll always be grateful to their brand of politics.

Likewise, when others were found wanting, the SWP initiated the Stop the War Coalition, an absolutely vital campaign during the darkest days of Blairist New Labour. Counterfire – with the single-minded purpose of campaigning initiatives – stand in this tradition and deserve support.

Do I agree with them on everything? No, not at all. They’re still a bit too Leninist for my liking, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas isn’t festival enough, and the website isn’t broad enough. I’m glad to write for it but there aren’t too many other voices from ‘outside the family’. But the point is they’re trying, and there’s not too much of that on the left right now; much of the left is only too content with going through the motions and fighting past battles to settle old scores. So my money is well spent giving Counterfire the support they deserve.

Mark Perryman is a part-time research fellow in sport and leisure culture at the University of Brighton and co-founded the self-styled ‘sporting outfitters of intellectual distinction’, aka Philosophy Football