Reform UK in bind over Dover and Portsmouth riots as far right radicalises

Danny Tommo, an associate of Nazi Tommy Robinson, confronted Zia Yusuf on Monday (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The far right saw further fractures after the riot in Portsmouth—but it radicalising and remains a threat to us all.

Danny “Tommo” Thomas—an associate of Nazi Tommy Robinson and founder of Patriot Platform—confronted Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf on Monday. It came the after mobilised far right thugs against refugees in Portsmouth on Sunday and Dover on Saturday.   

Thomas criticised Nigel Farage for calling black-clad protesters in Dover “disgusting”.

On Monday, Farage tried to claim that there was a “marked difference between what happened in Dover and what happened last night in Portsmouth”.  

He suggested that Sunday’s mobilisation was made up largely of “little old ladies in Portsmouth who came out of their houses” to say they were against refugees.

Farage wants to distance himself from the violence—while still appealing to those who want to “stop the boats”.

He wants to direct the far right into boosting Reform UK in elections, not street mobilisations.  “The only way we’re going to solve this is at the ballot box,” he argued. “And the only political party that’s offering a solution is Reform UK.”

But Farage feels under pressure from Rupert Lowe’s breakaway party, Restore Britain, which praised the mobilisations in Dover and Portsmouth. “All credit to the patriots who turned out in Portsmouth last night in numbers,” he said.

Lowe called for refugees to be locked up in a camp on a prison island. “Before they’re sent back, these people should be put on a secure island, in a tented camp, with bowls of porridge for food—and absolutely no benefits whatsoever,” he said.

Restore Britain is keen to win over the far right thugs who’ve built up networks in mobilisations, for example, against refugee hotels.

Thomas said Patriot Platform was “building a voting bloc—and that bloc will go to the candidate who can bring this country to order”.

This underlines the need to build as big as possible an anti-racist side as possible.

The unity marches called by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) in the autumn will be crucial—at least 25 have been called from Hastings to Newcastle.

Anti-racists in Portsmouth will be on the streets against the far right this Saturday. The counter-protest was announced before last weekend against a planned mobilisation by the South Coast Patriots.

Jon, an SUTR supporter and Unison union member, told Socialist Worker, “The events of the last two nights have to serve as a warning—a wake-up call.

“It’s disgusting for the like of Farage and Lowe to attempt to dismiss what happened in this city on Sunday as peaceful. It was a riot, plain and simple.

“We can’t allow fascists to take to the streets of our cities and towns.