Far-right actors continue to capitalise on the horrific killing of three children in Southport, Merseyside this Monday by organising a flurry of actions across the country.
The horrendous attack, in which a teenage knifeman targeted primary school-aged children in a dance class, prompted a riot in the town that saw a mosque besieged, 50 police officers injured and vehicles torched. Similarly chaotic scenes unfolded Wednesday evening in Hartlepool, with protests also taking place in Aldershot, Manchester and London, the latter of which saw over 100 arrests.
HOPE not hate has logged at least 35 demonstrations due to take place between Friday and Sunday this week across Britain and Northern Ireland. A full list can be found at the bottom of this article.
This looks to be a resurgence of street activism of a kind not seen for years, set to outstrip the flurry of events organised in the immediate aftermath of the anti-migrant riot in Kirkby, Merseyside in February last year.
While many demonstrations this weekend are being supported by the organised far right, there is no central organiser. The majority appear locally-led and have been announced on an ad hoc basis. However, the events are drawing from a common wellspring of anger and often recycle the same slogans – in particular “Enough is Enough”, “Stop the Boats” and “Save Our Children”.
Whilst Southport was the trigger, most of the planned events are more broadly focused, expressive of a wider hostility to multiculturalism, anti-Muslim and anti-migrant prejudice, as well as a visceral streak of populist anti-Government sentiment.
This in part reflects the blizzard of false information that swirled around the attack, with far-right and conspiracy theory-oriented accounts circulating unevidenced claims that the attacker is a recent arrival from cross-Channel migration and/or a Muslim, and that the state and media is protecting his identity for sinister purposes.
While radical right figures such as Nigel Farage and Matthew Goodwin have sought to frame these disturbances as outpourings of legitimate anger, the targeting of mosques and anti-Muslim chanting at the events that have already taken place is evidence of the racism motivating much of the activity.
The actions this weekend will vary hugely both in size and nature (indeed, some may not materialise at all), and the manner in which the information is being released makes estimating numbers at each event challenging.
Moreover, while planned actions are advertised as “peaceful vigils” and may attract individuals wishing to express grief and solidarity with Southport, a small number of others show clear violent intent.
This is particularly the case in Liverpool, where a handful of extreme right channels and chat groups on the messaging app Telegram have named two mosques for attack.
Likewise, what appears to be three separate events in Manchester have the potential to cause serious disruption, with encouragement to target two temporary asylum accommodation sites in the city being circulated on TikTok. This would mirror ugly scenes outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road earlier in the week, where opportunistic activists turned up to protest.
Similarly in Belfast, seven publicised assembly points for a rally, coupled with a plan to march on the Belfast Islamic Centre, suggests a coordinated effort to confound the police response (something clearly being replicated in Yorkshire and the Humber), as well as showing how quickly anger has been steered towards Islam and Muslim communities.
While some have misattributed the disturbances to the English Defence League – an outfit that ceased operating years ago – this wave of demonstrations reflects the post-organisational nature of the modern far right.
Modern technology enables individuals to collaborate towards common political goals independent of traditional organisational structures. These movements lack formal leaders but rather have figureheads, often drawn from a selection of far-right social media “influencers”, in particular Tommy Robinson.
The forthcoming wave of protests reflects the nature of the current far right. While some traditional far-right organisations will hold events and their activists will attend others, most of these protests are being planned organically, often by local people, who are plugged into decentralised far-right networks online. The shared slogans, language and iconography owes to the fact that their organisers are often active in overlapping online spaces.
Nevertheless, there are a range of figures from the traditional organised far right that have been central in spreading anger and misinformation as well as promoting and attending actions.
Daniel Thomas (AKA Danny Tommo), a close associate of the anti-Muslim extremist and former EDL leader Steven Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson), was quick to encourage protests across the country. Thomas – who has served time for kidnapping – was the central organiser in the disorderly demonstration outside Downing Street on Wednesday.
Thomas’ event was also attended by well-known so-called “migrant hunters”, who seek to inflame anti-migrant tensions across the UK. Amanda Smith (AKA Yorkshire Rose), among the most prolific migrant hunters in the country, has thrown her support behind a number of the forthcoming demonstrations, whilst Alan Leggett (AKA “Active Patriot”) is also helping to publicise events.
Unsurprisingly, Tommy Robinson has also taken to social media to promote a number of planned events, including Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Morecambe and Lancaster, Sunderland, Liverpool, Bristol, Portsmouth and Newcastle. While Lennon is currently abroad, he is directing his supporters to attend those organised by others. Post-Southport, Lennon has been a key figure in weaponising anger and at the Southport riot, the London demonstration and the racist disturbances in Hartlepool, people chanted his name.
Meanwhile, figures within the neo-Nazi Patriotic Alternative (PA) – the UK’s most active fascist group – have also promoted protests and at least one activist attended the riot in Southport on Tuesday. Having done his level best to get boots on the ground in the town, Jeff Marsh – PA’s Welsh organiser, who has several convictions for violence – is now encouraging his followers to flock to Cardiff and Leeds on Saturday. Since the Southport riot, Marsh has called for the removal of “millions of people from the country”, on the basis that the attacker’s parents are originally from Rwanda.
The following events will vary in size and nature. As is often the case at these moments, some will attract significant numbers while others may not materialise at all.
Friday 2 August:
Saturday 3 August:
Sunday 4 August:
And in following weeks in:
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