ABSTRACT
The phrase “no platform” was coined by groups on the British far left, in 1972, in the paper of the International Marxist Group, and by other parties which allied to ensure that the National Union of Students adopted no platform at its spring conference in May 1974. The earliest formulations of no platform believed that it was appropriate to deny speaking opportunities to racists and fascists only. This dual prohibition reflected the labile nature of the main party which was intended to be subject to the ban, i.e. the National Front, which had both fascist and populist wings. It also reflected a failure to tease out two opposed justifications for banning such speech, a narrow prohibition on fascist speech only, and a broad willingness to limit the expression of all hateful words. The subsequent history of no platform is explored through the history of the Anti-Nazi League (an alliance committed to no platform) and Rock Against Racism (a group which believed in weaning young fascists from their politics through their interest in black and radical music). RAR allowed fascists a chance to participate in its events – but in constrained circumstances, likely to draw young fascists away from their previous support for the right.
