What a brilliant day! The Together demonstration on Saturday 28 March saw a huge show of strength against racism and the far right. Around 500,000 people took to the streets. From early morning, coaches rolled in from towns and cities across the country.
Trade union delegations, local anti-racist & faith groups, students and families made the journey. Banners carried the names of places from across Britain. People who had been organising in their own areas arrived together, ready to stand alongside thousands of others.
The feeling on the day was clear, people were lifted by it. There was a sense of hope and relief at seeing the numbers, and a strong sense of unity.
The demo will give people the confidence they need to organise in their communities & workplaces. That’s essential after months of growing support for Reform UK and fascist “Tommy Robinson” mobilised over a 100,000 people in September last year.
Many had faced the far right in smaller protests in their own towns. On 28 March, they saw the scale of the movement they are part of.
The turnout was built over time. Stand Up To Racism and other groups organised more than 450 counter-protests over the past year, often in response to far-right activity targeting asylum seekers. Those local efforts fed into a national mobilisation on a much bigger scale.
Hundreds of organisations came together
The protest was organised through the Together Alliance, bringing together hundreds of organisations including trade unions, campaign groups and community organisations and faith organisations with a clear aim: to get as many people out on the streets as possible and to change the atmosphere in British society.
Trade unions played a key role. Tens of thousands of workers followed the calls from their unions to attend.
NGO’s like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, faith organisations, LGBT+, peace groups like PSC, CND and Stop the War and political parties also played a massive part. A crucial role was played by Women Against The Far Right while the House Against Hate event packed out Trafalgar Square for hours.
We believe Stand Up To Racism played a vital role in helping to coordinate nationally and helping turn months of local organising into a demonstration on this scale.
We believe the stronger Stand Up To Racism is on the ground the more the movement can respond to and undermine the far right.
We are asking people to join Stand Up To Racism and to donate to help us grow.
The 28 March is a major step forward. It showed clearly that large numbers are prepared to stand against racism. It brought people together and strengthened links across the country.
Just as importantly, it changed how people feel. Many left the demonstration more confident, more connected and more determined to keep going.
In the UK we have beaten the far right before, the National Front, the British National Party and the English Defence League. The message from 28 March is the same. When people come together in these numbers, they can push back.
The task now is to build on it. Keep organising locally and nationally, to turn that confidence into the next round of action. Together is planning further activity to build on Saturdays success. Watch out for announcements in coming days.
Stand Up To Racism is launching a national campaign to Stop Reform UK next Tuesday 7 April at 7pm (details – register here). We want to help bring together all those who want to mobilise opposition to Reform in the May elections both nationally and in towns and cities across Britain.
And we will be mobilising alongside the Palestine movement on Saturday 16 May to oppose fascist Tommy Robinson’s next Unite the Kingdoms event.
Build the campaign to Stop Reform UK. Book your transport for London on 16 May.
We can stop the far right!
🔥Join the campaign launch – Stop Reform UK!
Tuesday 7 April 7pm
Online
🚨Sign up now bit.ly/stopreform26
Reform UK is on the rise: pushing racism, division, and attacks on workers. But we’re not standing by. We’re organising to stop them.
Hear from: Mothin Ali / Andrea Egan / Wajid Akhter / Fran Heathcote / Daniel Kebede / Samira Ali