In 1986 when the Anarchist Communist Federation (ACF) was launched the old ‘advanced guard’ of the industrial working class in Britain had taken a serious beating. The steel workers and miners had been defeated, the later after a fierce strike of over a years duration. After attending the founding conference of the ACF the assembled delegates joined the massed picket of News International at Wapping. Another struggle that felt the full weight of the state thrown against it, led to defeat by the unions despite the combativity of the pickets.

Since then we’ve seen our class suffer a series of defeats whilst fighting a retreating defensive battle, misled and sabotaged by its ‘leaders’ at every turn. The state had increased its powers at our expense and in this time has received only one notable bloody nose — when its forces were resisted during the imposition of the infamous Poll Tax. Its mistake having been of attempting to attack our entire class head on. Since then the attacks have continued, world-wide, as the ruling class has attempted to grind us further into the ground. But where there is oppression there is resistance.

The ACF has been reporting, analyzing and, where our forces have allowed, actively participating in this resistance. Be it in the struggle against the Criminal Justice Act or against the Job Seekers Allowance, supporting workers in struggle or opposing the Asylum Bill. Those fights continue. We shall continue.

We shall continue to build our organization despite the dark times our class is living through laying the bedrock for the emergence of a mass libertarian communist movement by bringing together working class militants nationally and internationally around our communist program and communist organization.

(Source: Retrieved on May 13, 2013 from web.archive.org.)