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Thousands of people have heeded the call to “Stop the Far Right” and taken part in anti-racist counter-protests across the UK on a national day of protest.
The anti-fascist group Stand Up to Racism called for demonstrations across the country on Saturday. Huge crowds gathered in cities including London, Edinburgh and Cardiff after more than a week of far-right unrest across the country.
The police had prepared for further violence in the run-up to the weekend. But where anti-racists did show up, the right-wing extremists were outnumbered, according to Stand Up to Racism. More than 50 rallies took place across the country.
Up to 15,000 people also gathered at an anti-racism rally organised by the group United Against Racism in Belfast. Protesters carried placards with anti-racist and pro-migrant messages and chanted: “What do we do when migrants’ rights are attacked? We stand up and fight back.”
Meanwhile, thousands marched to Whitehall in support of refugees, chanting “refugees are welcome here”. Stand Up to Racism estimated that 5,000 people gathered outside Reform UK’s headquarters in Victoria, where spokespeople accused Nigel Farage of “spreading racism”.
Those who later spoke at Trafalgar Square then condemned X boss Elon Musk after the social media company recently came under criticism for spreading misinformation on its platform.
A Stand Up to Racism spokesman told the crowd: “After being outnumbered, we turned things around this week.”
Samira Ali, who delivered the closing speech, later said: “We feel that we have turned the tide. The fact that they did not take to the streets is a testament to our mobilization. Without our mobilization, they could not have been stopped.”
The group reported that hundreds, if not thousands, also gathered in many other cities across the UK, including Edinburgh, Cambridge, Glasgow, Exeter, Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hastings, Oxford, Manchester and other parts of London – potentially bringing the total number of anti-racism protesters into the tens of thousands.
At counter-demonstrations in front of Holyrood in Edinburgh and in George Square in Glasgow, protesters carried placards and banners with slogans such as “No to racism” and “Refugees welcome: stop the far right”.
According to Stand Up to Racism, up to 3,000 people gathered in Glasgow and in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester. In Edinburgh, the organisation said, 2,000 people gathered, while 1,000 people each took to the streets in Liverpool and Newcastle, where a small number of far-right protesters also turned up.
There were violent riots in Liverpool last week, as well as in Hull, where 400 anti-racists gathered on Saturday instead, according to the organisation Stand Up to Racism.
Weyman Bennett, co-organiser of Stand Up to Racism, said: “Today shows that we can turn the tide against the far right and racists. Across the country, people have come together, organised and marched to send a clear message: the far right is not welcome. We will not allow them to attack Muslims, migrants and refugees. Our message is one of hope, solidarity and unity.”
The incident follows more than a week of far-right riots, which broke out in many of the same places where counter-protests took place on Saturday following the fatal knife attack in Southport. There were also attacks on hotels in Rotherham and Tamworth that housed migrants.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed in a stabbing during a Taylor Swift dance class at Hart Space on July 29.
Bebe’s heartbroken parents, Lauren and Ben King, paid tribute to their “precious” daughter who was “full of joy, light and love” as they told how their older daughter, nine-year-old Genie, saw the stabbing and escaped, praising her “incredible strength and courage”.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, has been charged with the murder of the three girls. He is also accused of the attempted murder of yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade.
The incident sparked far-right riots in the Merseyside town the following evening – and then nationwide violence. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said on Saturday that 779 people had been arrested so far over the unrest, of whom 349 have already been charged.
Meanwhile, more suspected rioters appeared in court on Saturday. Scaffolder Lee James (42) admitted to possessing brass knuckles at a demonstration in Southampton.
Lucy Connolly, 41, the partner of Conservative West Northamptonshire councillor Raymond Connolly, was remanded in custody after being accused of publishing written material intended to incite racial hatred in connection with a social media message calling for attacks on asylum seekers.
Following Saturday’s anti-racist demonstrations, Sabby Dhalu, co-organizer of Stand up to Racism, said: “We have defeated fascist and racist movements before. We will defeat them again. But we cannot rest on our laurels. We have been experiencing fascist riots for over a week. We will continue to mobilize until we push back these racist and fascist street thugs.”
