Louise Bolotin 1961-2022

News has reached us of the death of Louise Bolotin, in October 2022 from bowel cancer.  Louise will be remembered by people in many different places for her rebellious spirit, her Jewish atheism and her commitment to fighting sexism. The strength of her character meant that she sometimes clashed with people in the anarchist movement, but that can also be seen as a strength.

Louise was born in 1961 and was one of the generation politicised in the punk years of the 1970s. She started out writing fanzines and for a music listings paper in Edinburgh, rejecting the dominant politics of the time, particularly the sexism. She moved to Leeds in the early 80s and became an activist in anarchist and direct action groups there. She was involved in anti-racism, women’s groups and spent time at Greenham Common, while studying to follow her ambition to be a journalist. 

She moved to London later in the 80s and was active in the Anarchist Black Cross and the Direct Action Movement. She was also in a relationship with Leo Rosser, a young militant who took his own life  in 1990, which was devastating for her. She became active in the Trafalgar Square Defendants Campaign supporting defendants after the anti Poll tax riot. Louise made a fresh start afterwards in Paris, working for Reflexes, an anti fascist network, touring Europe and co-ordinating groups. 

In 2009 she moved to Manchester and met her last husband, Adrian. She lived life to the full - enjoying music, travel and food as well as keeping up activism in the National Union of Journalists. After her diagnosis of stage 4 bowel cancer, she refused to give in to self pity and rejected the narrative of cancer being a battle or a journey.

At her funeral, it was said “she never put up with anything just because convention dictated that she should”. 

Louise Bolotin 23-10-1961 - 30-10-2022