Hope Not Hate
Hope Not Hate Hop Naht Hett L'Espéthance, pas l'Haine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | David Huang |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Preceded by | Senriatown Cross-Community Alliance |
| Headquarters | 31 Harrison Street Senriatown Morwall |
| Ideology | Anti-racism Multiculturalism Localism Democratic socialism Minority rights Left-wing populism |
| Political position | Centre-left to left-wing |
| Colours | Hot pink |
| Greater Morwall Council | 1 / 101
|
| Morwall local government | 16 / 545
|
| Website | |
| www.hopenothate.es | |
Hope Not Hate (Swathish: Hop Naht Hett, Flurian: L'Espéthance, pas l'Haine) is a minor political party in Estmere, which operates in Greater Morwall. It was founded in 2015, as a successor to the Senriatown Cross-Community Alliance, by David Huang. Hope Not Hate is a centre-left to left-wing party. The party's platform ephasises anti-racism, multiculturalism, localism, democratic socialism, minority rights and left-wing populism. The party has a seat in the Greater Morwall Council, held by Huang, which supports the PSD administration. It also has 16 councillors throughout Morwall's borough councils.
History
Background
Hope Not Hate traces it's routes back to the Senriatown Cross-Community Alliance, which emerged in the Morwall neighbourhood of Senriatown in the 1980s.
Senriatown was, contrary to the name, home to a large number of South Coian immigrants from a variety of mother countries. The neighbourhood emerged as early as the late 19th century, but only became majority minority around the 1960s. The majority of the population had Senrian or Shangean heritage, but there were also those of Ansene, Kuthine and Siamati origin. Relations between the various ethnic groups were always fraught, in part due to historical enmities and in part due to "divide and conquer" tactics used by the Greater Morwall Constabulary which pitted the communities against one another.
In the late 1970s, tensions heightened with the outbreak of the Coastal Crisis which saw confrontation between Senria and Shangea. Encouraged by Shangean and Senrian state media, spats of violence broke out between Senriatown's two largest communities. This led the Greater Morwall Constabulary to launch a crackdown on the district, which at first was welcomed, but the Constabulary quickly lost the support of the neighbourhood's communities as the racist conduct of it's officers became more and more clear. Members of both communities were targeted by stop and searches.
The tactics of the Constabulary continued into the 1980s, long after the Coastal Crisis had come to an end, which generated resentment in Senriatown. The release of François Wu: The Criminal Emperor of Verlois in 1984 and the media storm which surrounded it ramped up anti-Coian racism in the Constabulary, which caused the crackdown to intensify. It was then that community organisers founded the Senriatown Cross-Community Alliance, with the intention of fostering a shared community spirit in order to fight against anti-Coian racism. The Alliance launched a number of campaigns to this end, including supporting candidates in local elections, and eventually succeeded with their aim of ending the Constabulary crackdown in Senriatown. The launch and success of the Hindleman inquiry into racism in the Constabulary was seen as the Alliance's crowning achievement.
The Alliance began to wind down activities in the 2000s, as many of the older members moved on and the younger members began to take advantage of opportunities within the Reform Party government.
Foundation
In 2015, David Huang and other organisers led an effort to reinvigorate the Cross-Community Alliance with the intention of campaigning in that year's local elections. Huang had been active in the Alliance as a child, and had become disillusioned with the Reform Party after the Reid government's crackdown on civil liberties and accusations of racism following the All Saints' Day attacks. He also saw the Progressive Social Democrats and the Left Party as too indebted to trade unions, with which he had had negative experiences.
Huang was ultimately able to attract the required number of members to register as a political party, and chose the name Hope Not Hate to broaden the appeal of the prospective party outside of Senriatown.
Modern party
The party was not able to win a seat in the 2015 election to the Greater Morwall Council, but it did elect 3 councillors to Morwall's borough councils. It was in 2019 that the party managed to gain a seat in the Greater Morwall Council, with Huang being elected as an MLA. The number of councillors who were members of the party also increased to 16. After the 2019 elections, the Progressive Social Democrats were the largest party on the Greater Morwall Council, but didn't have an overall majority. They therefore approached Huang and the Left Party, who agreed to support a PSD minority administration in a confidence and supply arrangement in exchange for policy concessions, including granting protected heritage status to a number of buildings in Senriatown.
Ideology
Hope Not Hate can be described as centre-left or left-wing. The party describes it's platform as anti-racist, multicultural, localist and democratic socialist. It considers the protection of minority rights to be a pillar issue, and has been described at times as left-wing populist. The party supports protecting the unique South Coian hybrid culture of Senriatown, and similar initiatives in other ethnic enclaves.