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In its first period, 1977–1982, the Anti-Nazi League was launched directly by the SWP; it was effectively its front organisation.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boothroyd|first1=David|author-link=David Boothroyd|title=The History of British Political Parties|date=2001|publisher=Politico's|isbn=1-902301-59-5|pages=303|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgSJAAAAMAAJ&q=%22anti+nazi+league%22|language=en}}</ref> Many trade unions sponsored it, as did the [[Indian Workers' Association]] (then a large organisation), and many members of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], including MPs such as [[Neil Kinnock]] and future MPs such as trade unionist [[Ernie Roberts]] and anti-apartheid campaigner [[Peter Hain]].<ref name="International Socialism">{{cite web|url=http://lovemusichateracism.com/about/ |title=The Anti Nazi League and its lessons for today |publisher=International Socialism | date=1 July 2019 |access-date=2023-02-16}}</ref><ref name="Sabbagh2018b" /> According to socialist historian [[Dave Renton]], the ANL was "an orthodox [[united front]]" based on a "strategy of working class unity", as advocated by [[Leon Trotsky]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Renton|first=Dave|title=''Fascism: Theory and Practice''|publisher=Pluto Press|date =25 December 1998|isbn =0-7453-1470-8}}</ref> Critics of the ANL, such as [[Anti-Fascist Action]]<ref>''Fighting Talk'' no.22 October 1999</ref> argue that the ANL's co-operation with "bourgeois" groups who work closely with the state, such as ''[[Searchlight (magazine)|Searchlight]]'' magazine and the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], rule out this description, making it a classic [[popular front]].
Most of the ANL's leafleting and other campaigns in the 1970s were in opposition to [[far right]] groups which it claimed were not just racist but fascist, such as the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]], an organisation led by [[John Tyndall (far-right activist)|John Tyndall]] who had a long history of involvement with openly fascist and Nazi groups. The ANL also campaigned against the [[British Movement]] which was a more openly Hitlerite grouping.
The ANL was linked to [[Rock Against Racism]] in the 1970s, which ran two giant carnivals in 1978 involving bands such as [[The Clash]], [[Stiff Little Fingers]], [[Steel Pulse]], [[Misty in Roots]], [[X-Ray Spex]] and [[Tom Robinson]], attended by 80,000 and then 100,000 supporters.<ref name="Love Music Hate Racism">{{cite web|url=http://lovemusichateracism.com/about/ |title=Love Music Hate Racism |publisher=Love Music Hate Racism |access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref>
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