Hours before Donald Trump’s plane dropped down in Stansted, he claimed British people liked him because of his views on immigration. A day later, a quarter of a million people took to the streets of London to tell him what we really thought.
This was an absolutely massive show of unity in defiance of the bigotry of Trump and in celebration of the diversity he stands against. And thanks to your support, as one of the organisers Stand Up To Racism was able to put the anti-racist message at the centre of the event.
Friday’s event was an inspiration to those in the US and around the world who want to build a movement to defeat Trump’s hateful agenda, and a major opportunity to build an even more powerful movement in Britain against the hostile environment created both by Trump and those closer to home.
A day later saw very different scenes in Trafalgar Square. After the far-right “Free Tommy Robinson” demonstration heard a range of Islamophobic speakers spread anti-Muslim bile in Whitehall, Trump and Robinson supporters went on the rampage, harrassing a Muslim woman bus driver and attacking a senior trade unionist, Steve Hedley, who had spoken on our anti-racist counter-demonstration.
Our demonstration showed the incredible unity assembled in the last month against the rise of the far-right. Thousands turned out to hear from leading Muslim, Jewish and Christian speakers, Politicians, trade union leaders and campaigners. A statement backing the protests was signed by an incredibly broad list of representatives and over 60,000 more.
Now we have to take this unity forward and turn it into real change. The shocking violence showed by Trump and Robinson supporters shows the threat the far-right poses, and recent polls show UKIP, now reformed on a clear far-right basis, is growing. The hostile environment remains in place, but the massive outpouring of indignation to the Windrush scandal means there is a real possibility to force change.
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