Edinburgh
Rania Obead reports (featured image: Shea) – Well done everyone
Yesterday was a really victory
We well outnumbered the Fascists
250 in our side 30 in thier side
Our demo was energetic with chanting singing and dancing
Thanks for everyone help in organising and keeping the demo running for 6 hours
We showed the Fascists
Edinburgh is anti-fascist
We are all anti-fascist
And Refugee are welcome not the fascists.
We are many…
…they are few! (Photo: Shea)
Anti-racists outnumbered the far right in Edinburgh. (Photo: Shea)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKDUeo6s8N6/?igsh=ZXRtMGdkZmdrZW5l
https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-police-patrol-far-right-31715665
Glasgow
Phil reports – It was a helluva day in Glasgow. It finished at 10.20 pm. 7 fascists escorted away by police and we held our ground to see them off.
So two victories:
1) we prevented them from taking Buchanan St steps at 12 pm.
2) we eventually saw them off from the smaller steps further down the street. We never flinched. We were going to hold our ground till they left.
The police were appalling letting them stay there on the grounds of their right to protest despite them being the epicentre of disorder and assaults.
The police were clearly following orders from on high. We must 1) create a political storm about police actions and 2) have an urgent debate in the movement about the real and present danger the far right poses.
Keir reports – SUTR demo against Nazis still going strong in Glasgow – 7.5 hours later- –200 anti fascists chanting – 4 Nazis kettles by 50 cops. No Pasaran!
Anti-fascists and anti-racists still going strong in Glasgow after opposing the Nazis and Far Right from 12 noon today. We will stay until the last dregs of Nazis have left!#standuptoracism #stopthefarright #refugeeswelcome #glasgow #antifascist pic.twitter.com/r7WMNqLHeV
— Stand Up to Racism – Scotland (@SUTRScotland) May 24, 2025
Derby
Sue and James report – About 80 far right at their peak. We had about 100-120 at our peak and we held the war memorial area which they had advertised.
We had a great PA system which meant that we had music blaring out and a constant round of speeches. This demoralised them. We outstayed them. We got there for 11.15 and stayed until about 3.30 by which time their numbers had dwindled to half a dozen and we still had 60 70.
So the anti-racists were very serious and disciplined. The best thing was the very positive reaction we had from passers by, loads coming up to the SUTR stall and leaving their details and we gave out over 1000 SUTR stickers.
Lots of passers by stopped and stayed and listened and participated.So over the day we estimate that 200- 250 people participated on our side in some way. Lots of people saying ‘thank you for being here etc’.
The Far Right crowd were not well organised and a bit all over the place, but we shouldn’t be complacent about that…. they will learn. There were sufficient hard elements amongst them for them to try a bit of provocative pushing and shoving and for a while it looked a bit shaky.
Yasmine from Derby Stand up to Racism was an absolute star holding it all together.
It was a good day for our side, but these people are not about to go away and we will need to get used to the idea of getting bigger numbers out to counter them.
Bristol
Huw reports – about 120 anti-racists faced off 80 far right, with lots of police in between.
….and here are some of the outnumbered Bristol fascists: eventually there were around 75 far right compared to double that number of anti-racists.
Oxford
Julie reports – Today’s SUTR protest against the far right “Great British National Strike” mobilisation in Oxford was a sobering lesson about the dangers of new fascist movements rapidly developing in the current climate. The anti-fascist protest was just able to match their numbers at their height (around 60). We denied them their assembly point. They held their space for 5 hours as well as march through town.
Our side led a vibrant young and lively protest which outlasted theirs as they eventually dwindled away. Their march was pursued through town by our side exposing them for the racists and fascists they are.
The abusive and threatening behaviour of some of their side clearly caused discomfort in their ranks, as did being tarred as fascists.
Our chants included “Rising prices and inflation are not caused by immigration,” “Nazi scum want to see women and children drown at sea” The RNLI were collecting nearby so we gave them a plug as they have been targeted by the far right.
SUTR picked up a lot of new activists, distributed hundreds of flyers to build our SUTR meeting on Tuesday.
Coventry
David reports – A lively afternoon in Coventry. We held the space they had sought to occupy. The far right did not make a single speech, did not have a platform and did not take the streets of Coventry today.
SUTR mobilised an hour before the far right right on their proposed meeting point (Godiva Statue in Broadgate the main Square). People turned up on time and we started earlier than they did. By the time they arrived they could not take the centre of the square for their rally. We had organised a loud sound system with music and a microphone. This meant the ‘street noise’ was ours as well.
SUTR had agreed in advance to stay in the statue and hold the space. We gathered up to 200 supporters and increasingly this included local people out shopping who joined us as they heard our chants and realised what was happening.
The ‘strike’ supporters arrived slowly and eventually had around 100 supporters. They gradually dissipated after an hour or so and after a further period we pushed them back. We held the position in front of the statue and were able to draw in increasing numbers as the afternoon wore on. After this point their numbers started to dwindle and they eventually disappeared completely.
Some of the people on their side had attended because they thought the protest was anti Starmer. One was a woman angry about the WASPI pension issue.
As their side diminished the hard-core fascists let their mask slip by chanting in support of Tommy Robinson. Those present included known local Britain First and others.
Sheffield
Maxine reports – About 100 of them with a core of fascists. Too many, but we had more, and we had much more political confidence. They shouted some rubbish back, but looked a bit pathetic. It would have been a real problem though if we hadn’t been there to show Sheffield is a city of sanctuary and trade unionist unity.
They dwindled in numbers but we were replaced by new people so I think 300 over the 3-5 hours. They were singing support for Robinson Seig Heiling! We stayed till they dispersed.
A bride came and supported the protest she waved her bouquet and chanted. Amazing day.
Leeds
Becky reports – Probably similarly numbered in the end, about 100 each. Doesn’t look like the far right demo last summer – much older demographic and quite a few women. Our counter protest was joined by people from the Palestine demo – has swelled numbers and we’re comfortably outnumbering them.
Dundee
Fraser reports – Today was an indisputable victory for the proud anti-racists of Dundee!
Hats off to all those who made it down to the city square today. We gathered to show the far-right, that their racist views are not welcome, not here, not anywhere.
We had an incredible turn out, with 250 people standing loud and proud, drowning out the hate from the 50 racist the right managed to assemble. We firmly held the square outnumbering them five to one, forcing them to retreat across to outside the Overgate. As we continued to make our message heard.
We finished by creating space in the square to welcome in students from DJCAD for their “Meet the Gods” cultural event, with the festivities snuffing out all that remained from the right.
They will think twice before coming back to Dundee, we showed them that they do not represent the views of the people. Wherever they turn up to devide us, we will confront them united.
Nottingham
Richard reports – About 150 on both sides. By 2.15 the far right had dwindled more than ours (which had also been about 150) and our side agreed a 5 minutes quiet while a wedding came out (see below) of the Council House and then we had a brief rally before finishing.
Leicester
Jackie reports – 70 far right turned up at clocktower. 40 people from SUTR with other people gathering around. We chanted at them, gave out leaflets and they dispersed after about an hour and a half, we think to join a farmers protest elsewhere in the city.
North East
Rob reports – far right had around 200 in Newcastle City Centre and we had 150, we stayed there chanting at them until they dispersed. In Durham city I hear around 150 of them and the Durham group didn’t mobilise a counter protest as they were’nt convinced it was serious. Big discussion coming there!
Hull
Paul reports – 50-60 anti-racists faced 100-120 of them. But they were disorganised and we drowned them out with our chanting, speeches and music. They dispersed early and were definitely not very happy.
Southend
Tim reports – Ultimately up to 100 of them in Southend. Our noisy and consistent presence must have taken the wind out of their sails. Definitely worth opposing them. Obvious that without opposition they would have been much more confident.
Lancaster
Eugene reports – far right had 40 at their height. We had over 100. They were on the plinth but they left and we took it.
Only 40 far right turned out in Lancaster, but still 40 too many.
Swansea
Martin reports – Maybe slightly more of them in Swansea than us but not that many, in total they mustered a max 50 people.
A miserable turn out for them given the hype. They were nowhere near the city centre and came from all around the area. Importantly, they were opposed by around 40 of us.
The far right did have some new people with them, obviously duped into standing alongside the usual suspects thinking they were protesting against cuts etc.
A miserable turn out by the far right
Birmingham
Bob reports – About 80 far right in Birmingham. They outnumbered us significantly. It was Birmingham Pride today, at the same time and this had a big impact on our numbers.
The far right were a disorganised rabble – no sound system, no speakers, no placards, no slogans or leaflets. They just stood around talking.
Their main talking point was Starmer/Labour ruining the country. Small core of about 10 wearing the t-shirts.
Newport
Phil reports – In Newport the far rights only chant was “We Want Starmer Out”. Lots of Union Jacks and a few Welsh flags. They had around 35 and they went for a short walk around town before dispersing. Middle class and majority women. A few farmer types. Nothing, in fact, like you’d see in Newport on a Saturday lunchtime! Anti-racists only got organised for this on the day itself so smaller turn out on our side, but bolstered by local PSC activists.
Exeter
David reports – We stood firm and the far right trooped out eventually. We stayed on and had brief speeches. We are sure they’ll come again and we’ll need to be better prepared. We kept up the chant ‘Say it Loud Say it Clear, Refugees ARe Welcome Here.’
Afterwards, a core group of fascists marched down the street with anti-Starmer slogans.
Liverpool
Tristan reports – About 200 anti-racists faced down up to 400 fascists in Liverpool. We were loud and steadfast. Their numbers dwindled quickly, and we saw them off by 2:30pm.
We made some good contacts for the fights ahead.
Canterbury
Steve reports – We outnumbered the far right at the start but got bigger later on. The ‘GBS’Great British Strike’ lot did not have any megaphones or speeches until nearly the end and didn’t really know what to do for a while.
They had Union Jacks and England flags they waved, and shouted but we kept up a barrage of chanting. We didn’t see any known local fascists and most appeared to be ordinary people who hated the Labour Party and believed that ‘illegal immigrants’ were the main problem.
Towards the end there was some engagement with a few of them where views were challenged and argued.
Mansfield
Richard reports – Mansfield East Midlands: 35 of us stood up against 75 ‘national British strike.’ They were not tightly organised and within an hour 30+ of them went over to the pub near the Mansfield old town hall. The rest of them fizzled out about 2.20pm.
Lincoln
Gavyn reports – We were outnumbered about 2:1. 100 on their side and about 50 on ours. We stayed until 16:30 and kept on drowning them out.
We picked up a lot of passers-by and support from local shops like Lush who bought us doughnuts and put our posters in their shop windows for the fascists to see.
Cambridge
Anne reports – We organised a very effective and positive intervention with stalls from a coalition of organisations (SUTR, unions, PSC, refugee orgs and brought together by We Demand Change). This took and held the space in front of the Guildhall and thus when around 30 turned up for the “GB Strike” they were challenged and seem to have gone away pretty demoralised.
Manchester
Manchester SUTR brought together members from Salford City Unison, Trafford Unison and GMCMH Branch, Unite the Community, PA, STWC and the TLA, WDC, members representing the Climate and the Palestine movement, and Manchester anti fascist collective to say that Fascists are not welcome.
We held the ground for the whole day, about 4 hours in total. Numbers fluctuated throughout the day. At the peak we were about 200 and they slightly outnumbered us (there are a number of different estimates between 150 and over 300). What matters is that they couldn’t get to the cenotaph.
Our side was (predictably) a vibrant mix of workers from all walks of life. Theirs was a shambolic mix of known fascists, rank and file racists, and normal people who unfortunately buy into their lies. As always, we were the louder side – in large part due to awesome contributions from reps from SUTR, TLA, Salford City Unison, Unison GMCMH, Stop The War and many more.
We do have some learnings from today. We held the space, which was our goal, but we can do more. If we’d had more numbers we could have kicked them out of Manchester – but we didn’t.
Britain First are coming here on 02/08. There’s an action for everybody seeing this to mobilise as many people in our networks as possible. Every fascist mobilisation has to be taken seriously, and we have to outnumber them every single time.
Brighton
Christian reports – 20 GBNS supporters outnumbered by 100 anti fascists.