There’s been a lot of talk about the limits of antifascism in Britain, but less clarity about what comes next. The Re-imagining Antifascism text from Plan C is one of the more serious attempts to answer that question.
The recent Re-imagining Antifascism publication by Plan C is one of the more serious and grounded attempts in recent years to get to grips with the changing terrain of the far-right in the UK. It manages something that a lot of antifascist writing struggles with: linking analysis, lived reality and practical experience without slipping into either abstraction or empty slogans.
One of its main strengths is how it frames the current moment. Rather than treating fascism as something marginal or exceptional, the text roots it firmly in a broader crisis of capitalism, nationalism and the border regime. That feels especially relevant given the rise of right-wing populism around Reform UK and similar projects. The point isn’t just that fascists exist, but that reactionary politics is becoming normalised across society in different ways.
That shift in framing matters. It allows the text to move beyond the idea that antifascism is just about turning up to oppose the far right when they appear. Instead, it argues, convincingly, that fascism is tied up with state racism, border violence and everyday forms of exclusion. Antifascism, in that sense, has to be more than reactive. It has to become a broader social and political project.
The critique of what it calls “actually existing antifascism” will ring true to anyone who’s been around for a while. The split between large but tightly controlled mobilisations on the one hand, and smaller, more militant but isolated groups on the other, is a real one. The text doesn’t just dismiss either side, but it does show the limits of both when faced with a far right that is both more diffuse and more embedded than before.
Where the document gets particularly interesting is in how it tries to move past that. The emphasis on community defence, migrant solidarity, and the overlap between anti-racism and antifascism points towards something more rooted. The examples, whether that’s deflagging, neighbourhood organising, or mobilisations in places like Birmingham, make it clear this isn’t just theoretical. There’s something real already happening on the ground.
What stands out is the focus on process rather than fixed models. The text pays attention to how people actually come together, how trust gets built beyond small activist scenes, and how collective confidence develops over time. That’s important, because it shifts antifascism away from being an identity or a one-off action and towards something people can actually participate in.
The “Organise” section (especially towards the end) is probably the clearest expression of that. The emphasis there is on making antifascism something people can do, not just something they agree with. It highlights the need for different entry points, different levels of involvement, and ways of organising that don’t assume prior experience or political alignment. That feels like a necessary correction to some of the more closed or insular tendencies on the left.
At the same time, the document raises a question it doesn’t fully answer.
If antifascism is going to be expanded in this way, and if these local experiences are meant to add up to something more, what kind of organisation is meant to hold it together?
The text leans towards openness, flexibility and a diversity of tactics, which all make sense. But there’s a tension there. Without some kind of political organisation that can connect different struggles, carry lessons from one place to another, and maintain continuity over time, there’s a risk that these efforts remain localised or short-lived.
That leads to a more specific question: Is Plan C trying to be that kind of organisation?
At points, it feels like it might be. There’s clearly an attempt to develop shared analysis, to link up different local experiences, and to intervene at a strategic level. But it stops short of clearly defining itself as a political organisation in a stronger sense, something with an ongoing role in coordination, strategy and collective direction.
That’s not necessarily a flaw, but it is an open question. Different strands of anarchism have approached this differently. Some have argued for a more defined political organisation that can intervene consistently across different areas of struggle. Whether Plan C sees itself as moving in that direction, or as something looser and more experimental, isn’t entirely clear from the magazine.
What is clear is that the current situation demands more than what we’ve had. The growth of the far-right, the normalisation of reactionary politics, and the wider social crisis all point to the need for forms of antifascism that are more embedded, more practical and more connected to everyday life.
In that sense, Re-imagining Antifascism works best as a contribution to an ongoing discussion rather than a finished answer. It offers useful analysis, grounded examples and a willingness to think beyond the usual limits. At the same time, it opens up the strategic question that probably needs to be faced more directly: how to turn these kinds of practices into something more sustained, coordinated and politically effective.
If nothing else, it’s a solid step in the right direction and a good basis for pushing the conversation further.
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