Black clad figures tried to blockade Dover port on Saturday
Less than 24 hours after Nigel Farage stood on the stage at far right Reform UK’s conference and pledged to “stop the boats forever”, hundreds of fascist thugs ran riot in Dover.
On Saturday, figures dressed in black descended on the port town as part of a protest called by the Patriots Platform.
As they marched through Dover, they shouted “Stop the boats!,” intimidating and terrorising people in the town. For a time, they succeeded in blockading the port.
The attempted pogrom was promoted by the fascists Danny Tommo—who’s widely believed to be behind the Patriots Platform—and Tommy Robinson.
Sabby Dhalu, co-convenor of Stand Up To Racism (SUTR), said, “These scenes show that sections of the far right are prepared to turn words into action—these violent far right forces are a real and growing threat.”
Danny Tommo, whose real name is Daniel Thomas, has been involved in several attempts to stir up far right violence. He was involved in harassing asylum seekers at a hotel in Dumfries in Scotland. And he was one of the ringleaders of a violent and racist protest in Epsom in April after thugs seized on reports of a sexual assault, that turned out not to have happened.
And in June, thousands of thugs descended on Southampton after Farage called for “pure, cold outrage” in response to the killing of Henry Nowak.
Kent Police described the protest at Dover as “spontaneous”—but it was clearly called in time to coincide with Reform UK’s conference.
Racism was front and centre at the conference.
Farage stood on stage alongside Jordan Bardella of France’s far right National Rally. The pair promised to put an end to boats coming across the Channel. And that’s what the far right thugs felt emboldened to try in Dover.
But Saturday’s events in Dover also take place in a context of increasing anti-migrant and racist rhetoric. It points to the danger of allowing the far right to gain ground in elections. It can feed into a radicalising street movement that is growing in confidence.
SUTR co-convenor Weyman Bennett said, “Mainstream politicians and the media have used the ‘Stop the boats’ rhetoric for so long it has given confidence and legitimacy to far right thugs to act.”
Weyman called on anti-racists everywhere to build the fightback. “We have to mobilise in every area this autumn to build unity and oppose the poisonous racist division the far right seeks to spread,” he added.
Building SUTR unity demos across Britain and Workers Against The Far Right networks in unions and workplaces will be crucial.
As Farage spoke from the stage on Friday, he didn’t do so without opposition.
Inside the conference centre, he was heckled—and protesters were dragged out by private security.
Outside, activists and trade unionists came together for a protest called by Birmingham SUTR.
Violet, an SUTR activist in Birmingham told Socialist Worker, “We had a broad range of people there to make it clear that Reform UK wasn’t welcome in our city.”
As Reform UK members filed in to the conference centre, they were met with chants of “Racist scum, out of Brum!”
Reform UK members, clothed in Union Jack coats, responded with two-finger salutes.
“We had activists from the Palestine movement, SUTR and Women Against the Far Right,” Violet said. “And there were trade unionists from the NEU and PCS unions.”
And on Saturday, around 70 anti-racists came together for a protest called by Leeds SUTR.
It was called to counter a demo by the far right Stand Up Leeds—No to Illegal Migrants.
While the SUTR counter-protest brought together local anti-racists with members of the Green Party and Palestine activists, the far right had to rely on supporters coming in from outside the city—and their small number was swelled by several auditors.
Fanning the flames of Islamophobia and racism is hardly restricted to the far right
An interview with Minnesota-based trade union organiser Todd Dahlstrom
Reports from anti-racists in Bradford, Croydon and Southampton
Interview with key organiser
