Big Money, Dwindling Crowds: Tommy Robinson Demonstration Draws Smaller Crowds Than Expected 

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in central London today for the latest “Unite the Kingdom” rally organised by Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson). 

The event was funded in large part by substantial donations from American supporters, including $200,000 from Andy Miller and a further $100,000 from businessman Robert Shillman. During his speech, Stephen Lennon also publicly thanked Elon Musk for his continued support.

The official livestream displayed the logos of sponsors including Core Signals and Stop Secrecy, while the big screens also ran an advert for Iron Trinity, a clothing brand run by Lennon’s daughter and one of his old school friends.

Despite this financial backing, Lennon has spent much of the past month appealing directly to supporters for additional donations, repeatedly using social media to raise further funds. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in growing disquiet and accusations of ‘grifting’ amongst his supporters. 

Demonstrators began arriving in the capital from early morning, congregating around King’s Cross and Euston stations before setting off on a march through the centre of the city. The route took protesters down Kingsway, past Trafalgar Square and along Whitehall before culminating in Parliament Square, where the main rally was held throughout the afternoon and into the early evening.

Although organisers once again drew a sizeable turnout, the crowd was noticeably smaller and less densely packed than at last year’s demonstration. While Lennon once again claimed that “millions” were in attendance, independent estimates placed the number at just 60,000, significantly less than his last event. 

The atmosphere, too, felt more subdued than at previous demonstrations, lacking some of the intensity and momentum that had characterised earlier rallies organised by Lennon and his supporters.

Despite several speakers complaining that the march has been labelled “racist,” many of the speeches were steeped in familiar far-right talking points. The crowd also included individuals associated with a range of extremist groups, including Britain First, White Vanguard, Remigration Now, Homeland and even Mark Collett and Sam Melia from Patriotic Alternative.  

The day got off to a bad start when Ryan Bridge of Raise the Colours was arrested for his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run in Stirchley, where a man’s leg was broken. 

Despite the smaller turnout and more muted atmosphere, the event once again highlighted the continuing ability of Lennon and his supporters to mobilise large crowds around the issues of immigration, national identity and distrust of mainstream politics.

The Speakers 

As has become customary at these events, the rally stretched across much of the day, featuring a lengthy succession of speeches from far-right campaigners, commentators and activists. Across six rainy hours a staggering 33 speakers took to the stage. 

Most revisited familiar themes, with repeated warnings about immigration, criticism of multiculturalism and attacks on Islam dominating much of the rhetoric from the stage.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer was a frequent target of criticism throughout the event. The crowd regularly broke into loud and often crude chants directed at the Labour leader, reflecting the deep hostility many attendees expressed toward the current government and its immigration policies.

Confusingly, despite standing directly outside parliament with their voices being amplified through enormous speaker stacks that ran all the way up Whitehall, most speakers bemoaned the supposed lack of free speech in the UK. 

Kevin Carroll, a cousin of Lennon and a founding member of the English Defence League, opened by declaring that Christianity in Britain was “under attack”, while praising Donald Trump and leading the crowd in the Lord’s Prayer. Speakers including Liam Tuffs repeated claims that British people were being “replaced”, while chants of “Christ is King” and “Restore” echoed through the crowd during the afternoon.

Taking to the stage later in the day, Lennon urged supporters to become politically active ahead of the 2029 general election, warning that Britain risked “losing the country forever” if voters failed to mobilise. He stopped short of endorsing a specific party, instead encouraging attendees to join political movements and “wake up” non-voters.

Former MP Andrew Bridgen criticised net zero policies and promoted the Restore Britain movement, while Ben Habib attacked mainstream political parties for refusing to engage with Lennon’s supporters. Actor-turned-activist Laurence Fox delivered a rambling religiously themed speech, reading from the Bible and describing Britain as “God’s Kingdom”.

Elsewhere, campaigner Sammy Woodhouse gave an emotional address about child sexual abuse and failures by authorities to protect victims, drawing one of the strongest reactions of the day. Siobhan Whyte, whose daughter Rhiannon was killed in a violent stabbing attack in late 2024, also received sustained applause after speaking about her family’s experiences.

Businessman Gary Harvey gave a long and rambling speech that failed to land with the audience while Posie Parker screamed “No woman has a penisssss!” from the stage. Speakers from the French far-right identitarian organisation Collectif Némésis then arrived in burquas, only to strip them off dramatically before speaking. A range of British YouTubers also addressed the audience including Carl Benjamin and Mahyar Tousi.

There was also a series of video messages from those who couldn’t make it in person.

Introduced by Football Factory actor Tamer Hassan, Ant Middleton joined via video link from Everest Base Camp to tell the crowd that, despite living in Dubai, he is deeply committed to becoming London mayor. He even promises to “turn up to every fatal stabbing that happens in my city.”

Katies Hopkins sent a video from one of her tour events, with her predictable brand of performative outrage.

As has become customary at Lennon’s demonstrations, the event carried a strong Christian undertone throughout the day. Wooden crosses were distributed among the crowd, chants of “Christ is King” regularly broke out, and a familiar procession of religious figures, including Bishop Dewar, took to the stage to address supporters.

The rally was clearly affected by the absence of several international speakers who had originally been expected to appear. Their non-attendance followed the government’s decision to bar 11 foreign nationals from entering the country ahead of the demonstration, a move ministers defended on public interest and security grounds.

As has become customary the endless speeches were broken up by toe curling and occasionally in tune music from Rikki Doolan. Dressed in an ill-fitting Union Jack coat, his band subjected the crowd to a range of rocked-up hymns and unenthusiastic call-and-responses. One person who appeared to be enjoying the music was a visibly erratic Laurence Fox. The oddest moment of the day was when a man performed the cello while draped in bacon.  However, the musical low point was undoubtedly an AI video of a rapper dressed as a National Front skinhead. 

A Disappointing Day 

Despite the claims Lennon is likely to make about the day’s success, the event will probably be viewed as a disappointment by organisers. Turnout was noticeably lower than at the previous rally, there was a lack of high-profile speakers, and the crowd itself often seemed subdued, raising fresh questions about how long Lennon can continue staging near-identical demonstrations in central London without losing momentum.

In addition, Lennon’s revelation of a $200,000 donation from Andy Miller, on top of the $100,000 from Shillman, will only add to the growing disquiet amongst his supporters over Lennon’s constant grifting.

Despite all this, the scale of Lennon’s movement remains deeply worrying. Today’s numbers still dwarf anything ever managed by the English Defence League and hundreds of thousands more watched the livestream online. While it looks like the movement’s growth may have stalled, it still remains a significant threat. 

Notable Speakers: 

Tommy Robinson

Kevin Carol

Liam Tuffs

Andrew Bridgen

Ben Habib

Laurence Fox

Based and Boujee

Carl Benjamin

Katie Hopkins

Ant Middleton

Siobhan Whyte

Sammy Woodhouse

Glenn Beck

Gary Harvey

Posie Parker

Thomas McDonnell

Bishop Dewar

The Pink Ladies

Collectif Némésis