Far right on the march in Portsmouth (Picture: Guy Smallman)
Around 350 anti-racists faced off around 500 fascist and far right thugs in Portsmouth on Saturday.
The Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) counter-demonstration comes after fascists—masked up, wearing black—descended on Portsmouth and Dover last weekend.
Daniel “Tommo” Thomas, who leads new group Patriot Platform and is an associate of Nazi Tommy Robinson, mobilised them last weekend.
He said that “Patriot Platform will not be present” this Saturday. But he did “encourage as many people as possible to attend” the far right march, which had been called by South Coast Patriots before last weekend’s mobilisations.
Fascists chanted, “Stop the boats,” and “auditors” attempted to break through police lines to intimidate and film anti-racists.
Lara and Issy from Women Against The Far Right (WAFR) in Portsmouth told Socialist Worker that the far right have “shown themselves for what they are”. “We set up this group several months ago because we didn’t want these men using us to push their racist agenda,” said Lara.
Issy added, “Since last Sunday, our WAFR social media has had six threats of sexual violence. They’ve been saying things like, ‘You’re advocating for yourself to get raped because you’re inviting immigrants into the country’.
“These messages come from people standing over there who are claiming to protect women and children.
One counter-protester told Socialist Worker she was “terrified” by what had taken place in Portsmouth last Sunday. She said, “What scares me is how openly racist and fascist they are—that’s not a world I want my children to grow up in.
“Working class people are really struggling. I’m on benefits myself so I get it. But we cannot accept that as an excuse for racism or let them blame refugees.”
Carlos, who was on the SUTR counter-protest, came to Britain as a refugee himself after his father was made a political exile. He told Socialist Worker, “I was dismayed and angry by what happened earlier this week.
“I think it’s important that people who live here come out and show the true values of the city and stand up against these black shirt thugs.”
The new Patriot Platform network is attempting to build a harder, more disciplined fascist force. If our side doesn’t break their momentum on the streets now, we’ll be faced with a full-fledged fascist organisation in Britain.
Carols said he felt that the far right in Britain were becoming “much more visible” and were organising in different ways. “Either people ignore it and hope this goes away or they can do something about it,” he said.
“It’s really only people taking a stand against it that will stop them. We cannot leave the streets to them.”
Another local activist was holding a sign that read, “Stop the fascists.” They told Socialist Worker that more had to be done to fight the climate of hostility to refugees. “This is a global problem,” they said.
“The far right everywhere are emboldened to speak their racism and scapegoat refugees.
“Stopping the fascists is going to take organising, it’ll take building up our numbers so people feel safe to show up and confront them on the streets.”
SUTR anti-fascist Lewis Nielsen told the crowd, “Let’s be clear about what we saw last weekend— they’re trying to launch a new fascist street movement in this country.
“We’re here today to say we are not gonna let them do it.”
Patriot Platform could be coming to your town. If balaclava-wearing thugs showed up, could you get several hundred onto the streets at short notice? Building up the SUTR groups that can is the most pressing challenge.
Anti-racists on the march (Picture: Guy Smallman)
Women Against the Far Right and Stand Up To Racism had another success against the far right in Glasgow on Saturday. Counter-protesters outnumbered the Pink Ladies’ anti-immigration rally 500 to 150.
Police Scotland contained the two groups separately on the eastern side of the park, separated by the People’s Palace.
Prominent figures on the far right, including Reform UK councillor Audrey Dempsey and deputy leader Thomas Kerr, joined the Pink Ladies’ protest.
Green Party MSP Iris Duane joined STUC trade union federation general secretary Roz Foyer at the counter-demonstration for speeches, music and dancing.
Foyer’s speech recognised the growing problem of misogyny in our society. She said, “What we certainly do not need is the far right playing as the saviours of women and girls.
“It is a joke to try and give us this line that they are there to protect us. How can masked men dressed in black stomping through our streets, throwing Nazi salutes, claim to protect women and girls?”
The turnout was a clear rejection of the far right’s attempts to present itself as a movement speaking for working class women.
The fact that the Pink Ladies’ demonstration was overwhelmingly male made the claim that it represented women even harder to sustain.
The message from Glasgow is clear—women’s safety cannot be separated from the fight against racism and the far right.
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
