Misogyny, Conspiracy and ‘Definitely not a Protest’: Who is Great British National Protest leader Richard Donaldson? 

The Great British National Protest has entered legal hot water while organising what is ‘definitely not a protest’ at Dover on Saturday 19th July. What began as a selection of disappointing local ‘strikes’ has established itself firmly within the far-right online ecosystem, and is hoping to up the numbers from their last event in May. 

Leader Richard Donaldson has also planned protests across Britain on August the 16th, with fresh faces across the country acting as GBNP representatives. However, after an erratic clip of him, in his own words, ranting about the recent Afghan data breach controversy, Donaldson has announced intentions to change things up.

He has called upon familiar far-right faces Tommy Robinson, Paul Golding and Nick Tenconi, to “unite” and “stand as one” to “lock this country down for weeks” (whatever that means). Other names on his list include The Great British PAC, Turning Point UK and Voice of Wales. 

The original protests planned were London, Manchester, Norwich, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Donaldson is yet to clarify if these original plans remain part of his knee-jerk change. Either way, it remains to be seen if a return to the multi-location approach will bring the same low numbers which were seen at the strike in May. 

Phase 2: Definitely not a Dover Protest

‘Phase two’ of the movement is to be held at Dover beach, despite Donaldson recognising the bans from Dover Harbour Board on protests due to environmental concerns. However, this does not seem to have shaken Donaldson, who insists on performing an uncomfortable wink in every video where he tells his followers to still come to Dover for what is ‘definitely not’ a protest. He and his followers intend to come to the beach regardless, but as the public, rather than as ‘protestors’. 

Having clearly not learned from Phase 1, Donaldson has posted that, according to his ‘analytical prediction team’, there could be up to 16 million people in attendance. Hours after this announcement, Donaldson revised the number to 10 million, and then 9 million. He has since posted that the numbers stated were just a social media trick to boost numbers, and that they were posted in jest. However, considering the disappointment after phase 1 numbers fell severely short of the predicted 500,000, it is telling that the majority of the comments section were willing to believe that Donaldson would be so delusional. 

That being said, the movement has certainly gained some traction since its initial phases. The GBNP has situated itself firmly within the far-right online ecosystem, but what do we know about the man at the heart of the movement, Richard Donaldson? 

Who is Donaldson? 

Richard Donaldson is the founder of The Great British National Strike, renamed the Great British National Protest. The ex-British Army soldier has two main aims for his movement: to stop the ‘invasion’, and to remove the Labour party from government. 

He has also recently announced a charitable wing of the movement known as the Everreach Project, run by himself and Vivienne Horseman. Curiously, the EverReach Project is currently not registered under the Charity Commission. 

Donaldson sees himself as an under-dog, fuelled by a genuine care for the country that he served. However, upon examination, he exposes himself as a hypocrite and a conspiracy theorist, who is considered a grifter even by some of those who support him. 

Misogyny

Donaldson, like many far-right activists, has positioned himself as a savior for women. He often reposts content focussing on sexual violence towards British women by migrant men, and advocating for stronger laws to protect victims of rape. His recent posts have focussed on British men rising against “foreign rape gangs”, fighting back against the injustice of sexual violence. 

Fighting against sexual violence would be an honourable pursuit, if it were not for the fact that Donaldson has repeatedly shown support for Russell Brand, who in April was charged with rape, indecent assault, oral rape and sexual assault. On the same day that he was charged, Donaldson said Brand was “a good man” who had “just pissed off the wrong people”. Of course, an individual is innocent until proven guilty, but Donaldson’s quick defence of a man charged with sexually abusing 4 different women seems hypocritical considering his apparent advocacy for the victims of sexual violence.   

However, Donaldson still manages to muster support for men who have been held entirely liable for sexual assault if they align with him politically, displaying an incredible level of hypocrisy. Donald Trump was found civilly liable for the sexual abuse of columnist E Jean Carrol in May 2023. Despite this, Donaldson has repeatedly expressed support for Trump. 

Donaldson has also made light of the recent allegations made against TV chef Greg Wallace. He minimised Wallace’s conduct (which at the time included over 13 separate accounts of inappropriate sexual behaviour, and has since expanded to over 45 substantiated claims) to “changing his tee shirt”. Like any good misogynist, he remembered to have a good dig at one alleged victim by questioning whether ‘you can even call her’ a woman. 

His support for men who have numerous allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour against them is flanked by general misogyny. For example, he referred to Kamala Harris as a ‘slut’, and accused her of alcohol abuse. It begs the question whether a man who envokes misogyny against women he disagrees with politically, and has expressed support for one man charged with multiple counts of rape and another found civilly liable for sexual abuse, can really be considered to be protecting women. 

Ultimately, it is one of Donaldson’s most recent posts which sums up his attitude towards women. In response to a young woman being sexually harassed, he suggests young men of the UK should ‘protect what is [theirs]’.  

Donaldson is not concerned about protecting women from abuse, shown by his support for violent men like Trump, but is concerned about British men protecting women he considers ‘theirs’. Referring to the young women facing assault in the video as ‘ours’ is indicative of the far-right attitude that rape is a violation of what belongs to British men, not a violation of the victim herself. 

Standing with the victims of grooming gangs would be an honourable and powerful action if it were not against a backdrop of support for other perpetrators of sexual violence. The hypocrisy exposes a hole in Donaldson’s movement which is consistent across the far right, whereby activists decry abuse from non-white men but turn a blind eye, or in some cases actively support, white powerful sexual abusers. This shows that it was never the abuse which motivated their activism, but the opportunity that abuse gave them to exploit a racist narrative.

Looking Forward: New Phases, New Faces. 

‘Phase 3’ of the GBNP is currently set to take place on the 16th of August, with protests to be expected in multiple cities. Each city has its own representatives, a new collection of individuals loyal to Donaldson’s cause, many of whom have a history within the far right movement. However, these plans are subject to change after Donaldson’s plea for unity amongst the far-right, and his decision for phase 3 to “look very different”. 

Clare Walsh, one of two new Manchester reps, is a former London organiser for the small far-right organisation Uniting Britain, having arranged a small demo in November 2024. However, the group has been largely online based since then, with Clare running the X account ‘Uniting Britain HQ’. She was also a member of the Greater Manchester division of The Shield, a movement that purports to ‘prevent harm’ against women, but she is believed to have deflected following controversy after a Muslim was made head of the Shield’s East Lancashire area. The leader of The Shield has also recently come under criticism after a video of him surfaced encouraging victims of abuse experiencing nightmares to “enjoy the feeling of being pinned down”. 

Donaldson has earned a reputation as a conspiracy theorist, reposting conspiracy theories about the death of JFK and content on TikTok which encouraged users to ‘refuse antidepressants and heal with fasting, prayer and a liver detox’. He has also publicly stated that he refused the Covid 19 vaccination. As a result, he would have found common ground with his new Belfast rep, Steve Baker, who has previously been arrested for breaching covid restrictions; the anti-lockdown protestor pled guilty to breaching covid regulations in 2021. He was charged with a number of breaches, but they were ultimately withdrawn. 

Donaldson’s penchant for anti-vaxxers is not limited to Baker, as his other Manchester rep Dawn, aka ‘Old Lady Brain’, is also a prominent vaccine sceptic and conspiracy theorist. She has reposted content suggesting that the moon landing is false, and spread misinformation suggesting a link between covid jabs and cancer. 

She has also reposted content claiming that vaccinated women had fewer successful conceptions than un-vaccinated women, and suggested that some vaccine related deaths were ‘all planned’ and ‘all intentional’. 

Donaldson shares a similarly conspiratorial outlook, going so far as to claim that team sports “were invented to occupy people’s minds”, which is novel for even hardened conspiracy theorists. 

What’s Next? 

In a recent post, Donaldson expressed his support for UKIP leader Nick Tenconi, who attended the London strike during Phase 1 of the movement. Donaldson pushed his followers to “actually look at their living manifesto”, where “they are setting out to do everything that most of the general public want”. This is the same manifesto which proposed vigilante-style monetary rewards for British citizens who identify illegal migrants, creating a society of informants. It also seeks to abolish the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is responsible for holding police accountable for misdemeanours. UKIP also aims to repeal the 2013 Marriage Act, which allows gay couples to marry, and ban gay couples from accessing IVF treatment or surrogacy. It also adopts a staunched Christian Nationalist approach. 

Clearly, Donaldson’s vision for Britain is built on backing extremists like Tenconi, spreading misinformation through harmful conspiracy theories, and being incredibly selective about who he holds accountable for sexual violence. Despite his best efforts to convince us otherwise, he is certainly no advocate for survivors of abuse, evidenced by his continuous support for Trump. 

Instead, he hosts a movement which faces criticism even from its own followers, and has had its wings clipped by legal smallprint in the early stages. Dover beach regulations could well impact Donaldson’s ability to push through Phase 3 – whatever it may look like. The coming weekend will be the true test of his followers’ commitment to putting boots on the ground.