Saturday saw fascist Tommy Robinson essentially flop in London.
His ‘Unite the Kingdoms – unite the West’ event drew less than half his previous outing.
Despite the hype about ‘millions’ attending the day shows how it’s possible to break the far rights momentum.
And all this despite the succes of Reform UK on 7 May and the open support for the march by the right – from Nigel Farage to Kemi Badenoch for the ‘patriotis’ event.
On our side a huge united antiracist & pro-Palestine mobilisation (for Nakba 78) clearly outnumbered the far right.
This despite threats by the police to ban the event outright and brand it as a ‘hate march’.
The antifascist and antiracist theme went throughout the march. Saturday was a real victory for our side.
But there is absolutely no room for complacency. Robinsons March still saw at least 35k marching behind a known fascist. And even if the mobilisation was down the far right have been given a real boost by Reform’s success.
The upcoming Makerfield by-election won’t just see Reform standing but also Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain – a group now showing in the polling who are receiving growing fascist support.
We need to redouble our efforts to build on the success of the half a million strong Together demo on 28 March and build unity demos and events in every town and city. We’ll only stop the far right if we out organise them!
Building for May 16
West Croydon
Another 300+ leaflets were given out at West Croydon tonight. 1 person joined our whatsapp group. 4 separate people came and asked for a bundle of leaflets to take away to distribute.
East Croydon
Approx 500 leaflets handed out at East Croydon tonight to build for Saturday. Lots of positive comments, thank yous and thumbs up. ✊️😁💥
Highbury & Islington
Great turn out yesterday from Islington for a leafletting session outside Highbury & Islington station after work for the demo this Saturday! 6 teachers from the NEU joined us too. Really great response from the community many people aware of both marches and eager to find out more. We handed out 1000 leaflets and the anti racist presence was felt by the community!
Tower Hamlets
Hi three of us leafletted at Queen Mary’s Uni in Tower Hamlets today and gave out almost 500 leaflets. Went well! 😊✊🏾✊🏿✊
May 16 Mobilisation
Just some of the many reports of coaches coming from all over the UK to London.
Swansea
On our way from Swansea! ✊
Leicester
3 FOA coaches from Leicester ✊
Derby
2 coaches from Derby, one PSC, one SUTR
Exeter
On our way from Exeter ✊
Coventry
3 coaches on the way from Coventry ✊
Wolves/Walsall
Full coach from Wolves/Walsall (+ 2nd coach from Walsall)
Bournemouth
2 coaches from Bournemouth, about 80 in total
Liverpool/Mersyside
Three coaches from Liverpool.
Dorset
Full coach from Dorset
Nottingham
2 coaches from Nottingham
Chesterfield
1 coach from Chesterfield
Hull
Hull on its way
Bristol
6 coaches in total coming from Bristol with SUTR STW and PSC
Lancaster and Morecambe
Lancaster and Morecambe Coach arriving.
Bath
Coach from Bath. Tremble Tommah! 😁
Newcastle
One Newcastle coach
Bradford and Huddersfield
Bradford and Huddersfield SUTR and Bradford Friends of Palestine
Portsmouth and Isle of Wight
This is the Portsmouth and Isle of Wight delegation just off the coaches on Saturday ✊️
COUNTER PROTESTS
Wigan Makerfield
Two of the placards on show at the Wigan Borough Stand Up to Racism counter protest of the Reform campaign launch in Makerfield on Saturday. The Reform double decker bus parked up across several parking bays in the Sainsbury’s car park at Marus Bridge to the supermarket’s dismay. The bus was chased off the car park by the police and then parked up in an adjacent road on double yellow lines. To the dismay of the police. Whilst we received the expected abuse from Reformers, we also received many hoots of support.
As we packed up to leave, a woman came over to us with two boxes of cakes to thank us for being there. It was a small protest but many were clearly pleased to see us and we gave people hope.
We’re now putting plans in place to leaflet door to door across as much of the constituency as possible.
We’ve called a core activists meeting for this week. We’re organising an open anti racist action meeting next week, inviting all our supporters, trade unions, church contacts, LGBTQ+ groups, disability groups etc.
We’ve already sent over 100 emails to local SUTR supporters asking for their help and letting them know how to get involved. It’s early days and lots to do but we’re determined to do all we can to stop Reform and Restore.
Bournemouth
25 anti-racist standing against a sad gathering of almost 15 far right.
Scottish Parliament
Good turnout at the Scottish Parliament, about 30 anti-racists swore their allegiance to oppose Reform’s racism and division. We covered two entrances.
UNITY MARCHES / RALLIES
London
Massive day for our side. Robinson only pulled 35k, our side massive. Really strong antifascist presence throughout the demo alongside huge solidarity with Palestine. Now we need to build antiracist & antifascist organisation, unity marches and events everywhere.
Crowborough
Another big Crowborough says Yes solidarity gathering today as every Sunday at moment.
Croydon
In Croydon today, we held a really successful Unity Rally on the High Street to build M16! It was brilliant! ✊️🇵🇸 Naomi Wimbourne Idrissi for JVL, reps from local mosques, Friends of Al Asqa, NEU, Paula Peters from DPAC and Micki Loebner from WAtFR spoke about the need for unity and solidarity, the fight against genocide and for liberation for Palestine, and the urgent need to oppose anti-semitism, Islamophobia, TR and the Far Right.
Monitoring Group Report
Tens of thousands filled the streets of central London on Nakba Day in a powerful show of solidarity with Palestine and opposition to Tommy Robinson and the far right. The joint mobilisation brought together Palestine solidarity activists, Stand Up To Racism supporters, trade unionists, Women Against the Far Right groups and anti-fascists from across Britain.
While Robinson and his “Unite the Kingdom” mobilisation had been hyped for weeks by the far right and sections of the media, the reality was a disappointment for his camp. SUTR monitoring teams, using observers, drone footage and static camera analysis, estimated the Robinson turnout at around 35,000—less than half the size of his previous major mobilisation.
By contrast, the anti-racist and Palestine movement demonstrated a breadth, confidence and unity that represented an important political setback for the street far right.
Coaches travelled from across Britain. Activists came from Swansea, Leicester, Derby, Coventry, Exeter, Liverpool, Bristol, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Newcastle, Hull and dozens more towns and cities. Six coaches travelled from Bristol alone, while Birmingham organised four coaches and Liverpool three. Anti-racist delegations arrived alongside Palestine Solidarity Campaign groups, Stop the War activists and trade union banners.
The atmosphere on the anti-fascist side was militant, internationalist and determined. Protesters repeatedly linked the fight against racism in Britain with solidarity for Palestine on Nakba Day.
Trade union contingents were highly visible throughout the day. NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede marched alongside education union banners, while activists stressed the growing cooperation between workplace struggles, anti-racism and Palestine solidarity.
Importantly, the mobilisation also reflected months of anti-racist organising at a local level. Across the country SUTR groups have leafleted, held unity rallies and organised counter-protests against Reform UK and fascist activity following Reform’s breakthrough in the local elections.
One activist from Croydon described a “really successful Unity Rally” bringing together local mosques, Jewish Voice for Labour supporters, NEU activists and disability campaigners around the slogans of liberation for Palestine and opposition to Islamophobia and the far right.
In places such as Crowborough, Bournemouth, Leicester and parts of Scotland, activists have begun rebuilding visible anti-fascist resistance after months of far-right agitation.
The smaller turnout for Robinson matters politically. Since the local elections, sections of the media and establishment politics have treated the rise of Reform UK and the street far right as unstoppable. But Saturday showed that organised resistance can cut across that momentum.
The battle is far from over. Reform UK’s electoral advance remains serious and the far right continues attempting to build on the streets. But the Nakba Day mobilisation demonstrated that there are many more people prepared to stand against racism, fascism and division than there are willing to march behind Tommy Robinson.