AFA argued that there would now be a need to respond to the rise of the British National Party politically by orienting towards working class communities. This led to the formation of the Independent Working Class Association in 1995. From 1998, they formed groups in Islington Oxford, Hackney and a few other areas, and were rewarded with the election of a local councillor in Oxford in 2002. In 2003, the IWCA was launched IWCA as a national organisation.
The IWCA has adopted controversial but successful tactics of community action to fight anti-social behaviour. The group has also been criticised for refusing to take positions on international issues,and refusing to focus on opposing racism.