Hope not Hate

Hope not Hate (stylised as HOPE not hate) is an advocacy group based in the United Kingdom which campaigns against racism and neo-fascism. It has also mounted campaigns against Islamic extremism and antisemitism. It is self-described as a "non-partisan, non-sectarian organisation." The group was founded in 2004 by Nick Lowles, a former editor of the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight (from which it split in late 2011). It is backed by various politicians and celebrities, and it has also been backed by several trade unions.

Hope not Hate was founded in 2004 by Nick Lowles, former editor of the anti-fascist Searchlight magazine. Having experienced street racism as a child, Lowles became involved with the anti-fascist movement as a student volunteer at Sheffield University. Lowles had previously worked as a freelance investigative journalist, working for television programmes including BBC Panorama, World in Action, Channel Four Dispatches and MacIntyre Undercover. Between 1999 and 2011 Lowles was co-editor, and then editor, of Searchlight magazine. He was appointed MBE in 2016 for his services in tackling extremism.

The Deputy Director is Jemma Levene, who previously worked as Head of Campaigns at Jewish cultural education charity SEED, and at the Orthodox Union in New York. The Political Organiser is Liron Velleman, Policy Officer for the Jewish Labour Movement.

Hope not Hate functioned as part of Searchlight until 2011, when the organisations split. As a standalone organisation, Hope not Hate took with it two of the three units of Searchlight: Searchlight Educational Trust (SET), a charity; and Searchlight Information Services (SIS), its research and investigative function. The organisation now consists of Hope not Hate Educational Ltd (a charitable wing) and Hope not Hate Ltd (focused on campaigning and investigative work). From 2010 to 2015, Ruth Smeeth worked as Deputy Director; since then, she has been a director.

HNH is funded by charitable trusts, trade union funding, and individual donations.

During late 2012 and early 2013, the Searchlight Educational Trust (SET), which later renamed itself to Hope not Hate Educational (HNH Ed: the charitable wing of Hope not Hate),) received three separate payments totaling £66,000 thanks to a funding agreement signed by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Conditions in the funding agreement prohibited the funds to be spent on anything other than "educational work", which also included a prohibition on political campaigning. The focus of the allocated funds was to establish community partnerships in four key areas which were prone to EDL activity, including sharing positive local stories and strengthening community bonds.

The organisation encourages voters to support alternatives to far-right extremist movements; it also publishes allegations of violent activities by anti-Muslim organisations such as the English Defence League. It presented a 90,000-person petition to the European Parliament protesting against the election of Nick Griffin as an MEP.

Following the murder of Jo Cox, Hope not Hate launched a nationwide #MoreInCommon campaign, with the blessing of the MP's family, hosting meetings across the UK which focused on healing divisions which were caused by the EU Referendum, culminating in 85+ events on the weekend of 3/4 September 2016. In December 2016 The Guardian newspaper joined a Hope not Hate training workshop, revealing the work which was undertaken by its community workers on the doorsteps in south Wales.