We send our thoughts and solidarity to the family and loved ones of Jason Arday. The right wing press and the far right have orchestrated a racist witch hunt which has produced the most tragic result.
Hundreds of anti-racists marched through Falkirk against the far right.
Falkirk For All and Stand Up To Racism organised a Unity March from Callendar House into the town centre, backed by trade unionists including the Scottish TUC.
“Well done to the Falkirk For All organisers and members who worked tirelessly today to put on an amazing Unity March and rally. It was an important celebration of the town’s unity and the collapse of the far-right influence a year after they held the biggest far-right protest in Scotland. Despite months of planning their ‘The Right Unites’ hate rally attracted just over 100 racists from across Scotland. We outnumbered them 4:1! Antiracists are the majority in society, but we need to be organised.”
The far right has spent the past year trying to turn the Cladhan Hotel, which houses asylum seekers, into a permanent focus for racist agitation. On Saturday another anti-migrant mobilisation was called there. Around 15 to 20 masked far-right activists confronted the Unity March before police moved between the two sides, while a separate right-wing gathering took place at the hotel.
A town repeatedly targeted by the far right now has a rooted anti-racist movement capable of bringing hundreds out. It is the product of sustained local organising, arguments in workplaces and communities, and repeatedly challenging the claim that the racists speak for ordinary people in Falkirk.
In Maidstone, around 150 people joined a far-right mobilisation built by Kent activists, including the Kent Nationalist Movement.[3] Britain First leader Paul Golding turned up and put himself at the front, but this was not simply a Britain First march and his presence did not produce a dramatic increase in numbers. Anti-racists organised a counter-protest at King Street and Week Street and confronted the march as it moved through the town.
Maidstone is a good example of how the contemporary far right operates. It is better understood as a network than as a series of tightly bounded organisations. Local “patriot” groups, harder fascist activists, online personalities and national figures overlap, share audiences and appear on one another’s mobilisations. Golding’s presence in Maidstone fits that pattern: an established fascist leader inserting himself into a mobilisation that had been built by a local network.
Long Eaton
Around 25–30 far right activists and “auditors” gathered in Long Eaton before marching on the Best Western hotel.
Despite people travelling in from Wolverhampton Patriots, West Midlands Resistance, Unite the Right Lincolnshire, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, there was very little sign of local support. Even with late arrivals, children and auditors, the turnout struggled to reach 40.
Liverpool activist Ryan Ferguson appeared to make a Nazi salute before the march. A man who gestured at the group was chased as protesters shouted, “lefty scum off our streets”, and had a drink thrown over him.
The march was then repeatedly disrupted by rows within its own ranks. Ferguson and Manchester activist Alex Robinson scuffled after racist chants including “Who the fuck is Allah?” and “white power”. Police intervened twice.
At the hotel, protesters entered the grounds, knocked on doors and windows and had to be pushed back by police. The whole thing soon fizzled out. One disappointed marcher was heard complaining that there were no “lefties” there.
For all the effort put into bringing activists in from across the Midlands and beyond, the Long Eaton mobilisation exposed the far right’s weakness on the ground.
Edinburgh
The Edinburgh mobilisation under the Scottish Defence League name was smaller still.
A few familiar hard-right activists used the old SDL label, in contrast to the softer “patriot” branding now preferred by much of the street right, but there was little sign of any serious revival. The group was small and met hostility from ordinary passers-by.
Taken together, the weekend showed a far right that remains active and connected, but far from uniformly strong. Its networked character allows small groups to borrow slogans, speakers and prestige from one another, while harder fascists can operate inside a broader anti-migrant milieu. But that does not mean every protest is a breakthrough, and we should not inflate their numbers or present scattered actions as more substantial than they are.
Sheffield
Tonight we protested against Restore Britain who shockingly were meeting at the Crookes social club.
They eventually had about 20 at the meeting including Sammy Woodhouse who spoke at Tommy Robinson’s protest in London. We meet a couple of people who came to the club because they wanted to book it but we’re shocked to find a restore meeting .
A big thank you to all who phoned up and turned up to show the club it is not acceptable to facilitate a group who espouse remigration and are a political home for the far right.
Love Music Hate Racism
Hull
Around 150–200 people turned out for the Love Music Hate Racism gig in Hull last night, a strong showing that brought together anti-racists, trade unionists, young people and local campaigners. The event showed there is a real audience for a positive anti-racist message in the city, and that opposition to the far right is not confined to counter-protests. Cultural events like this can help draw in people who may not yet see themselves as activists, build confidence and strengthen the local networks needed when racists try to mobilise on the streets.
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