I’ve been encountering a few of these guys in my local area and they’re broadly okay. I find myself mostly agreeing with their political line, but there still seems to be a degree of amateurishness to a lot of their activities. Their obstinate refusal to do away with outdated practices, such as the printing of a regular paper that they attempt to sell to people, definitely holds them back in my opinion.

In my area they have little if any influence with unions and other organisations, who spurn them mainly for their insistence on peddling their newspapers everywhere they go. For this reason, they’ve been effectively banned from groups aiming at a broader appeal, such as ACORN. Ironically, if these guys were to cut it out with the papers they’d stand a good chance of recruiting amongst these community organisations, I’d say.

Whether or not the leadership of the RCG adapts to the changing conditions of modern activist politics in the UK remains to be seen, but I hope they can refine their methods and grow their base. At the very least the hearts of their rank and file are in the right place.