“Whites only, no blacks”: Ferguson and friends march in Blackpool

On 24 January, Ben Sykes (AKA No Filter Britain) hosted a march through the streets of Blackpool. Striding at the front, and seizing the limelight at any opportunity, was Ryan Ferguson. 

Ferguson, although not the organiser of the event, had advertised it as a “whites only” protest, an attempt to shift the national wave of anti-migrant protests into an overtly racist direction. 

However, Ferguson’s reputation as an aggressive football hooligan turned neo-Nazi has caught up with him, even amongst his far-right friends, who are beginning to push him away from the movement. 

This may in part owe to the fact that he maintains a relationship with National Action’s Jack Renshaw – a convicted neo-Nazi terrorist and child sex offender. 

Who is Ryan Ferguson? 

25-year-old Ferguson is a former football hooligan from Liverpool. In 2024, he was jailed for racially abusing a black football player during a Forest Green Rovers match. After his release in 2025, he became a frequent face at local anti-migrant demos in Manchester and surrounding areas. We first revealed his identity after a Britain First protest in Nuneaton in March.

On 27 July, he attended an anti-migrant protest outside the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, where he unwisely chanted “National Action and proud!”, a reference to the banned neo-Nazi terror group, going on to warn that “on the 15th of August, National Action is coming back”. Luckily, the date came and went without event, but Ferguson was later arrested under the Terrorism Act for promoting a proscribed organisation. 

In the weeks leading up to the No Filter Britain protest, Ferguson appeared in content alongside its host, Ben Sykes, and the pair hung flags around Blackpool as part of a “Raise the Colours” campaign. At one of these meet ups, Ferguson was videoed reminding viewers that the march would be “whites only, no blacks”. 

During this period, Ferguson released a since-deleted video announcing that he would be visiting Jack Renshaw in prison. He was also overheard speaking to Renshaw on the phone in a clip posted online. Renshaw is a former member of National Action, who was imprisoned in 2019 for plotting to kill an MP, which was only averted due to information received by HOPE not hate. He is also a convicted child sex offender, having groomed two boys aged between 13 and 15. 

Ferguson claimed that the visit was “to get off [his] chest things that [he] wanted to say to [Renshaw]”, but remains vague about what exactly motivates him to maintain a relationship with the paedophile terrorist. Some within the far right have understandably distanced themselves from Ferguson, Sykes included, but typically cite his thuggish behaviour and National Action support. The broader far-right have remained distinctly silent on the issue of Ferguson’s relationship with Renshaw. 

No Filter Britain Protest

The No Filter Britain Protest took place in central Blackpool on 24 January. Around 100 people attended, with representatives from the anti-Muslim group Britain First (including its co-leader Ashlea Simon), the neo-Nazi British Movement and the oddball fascist National Rebirth Party.

Following Ferguson’s openly racist declarations in the run up, he predictably ran into trouble during the protest. One man attempted to challenge Ferguson on account of banning people of colour from the march. The man was surrounded by “auditors”, many of whom denied the allegation that Ferguson was racist and claimed to have no knowledge of the video. When the man played the clip where Ferguson – undeniably – demands that the march be ‘whites only’, there was silence from the group, who sheepishly exchanged glances and mumbled awkwardly. One breaks the silence: “does anybody want to respond or..?” They half-heartedly discussed if it’s AI generated, but with  a look of quiet knowing on their faces. 

The man had repeatedly threatened Ferguson (“I would punch his head in if I had the chance”) and attempted to attack an auditor before being moved on by police. Later on at the demonstration, Ferguson was filmed performing a closed-fisted salute, and can be heard shouting “Seig Heil”. He also ended up in at least two separate altercations, with other protesters having to either physically pull him away or force him to calm down on both occasions. 

A rift has since opened between Ferguson and Sykes, who has announced another independently run protest on 21 March. The adverts for the event emphasise that everyone is welcome, and Sykes has made a series of social media posts that reject Ferguson’s racist behaviour. While Sykes is right to call Ferguson out, it begs the question of why it was not done earlier? Sykes was happy to collaborate with Ferguson in flagging operations after he had promoted a proscribed terrorist organisation and racially abused a football player. Were these not enough to warn Sykes away from him? 

The Company You Keep

Ferguson had effectively taken ownership of the event in the preceding weeks. So who was willing to go to a “whites only” protest, and rub shoulders with a National Action supporter? 

A year ago, it would have been a shock to see Britain First’s Ashlea Simon work alongside ethnonationalists so openly. It had been an embarrassment when in May 2025, HOPE not hate exposed her marching alongside Ferguson at a Britain First march, while he was dressed in an SS t-shirt. However, in the last six months, she has openly endorsed  ethnonationalist , recently posting on X: “We all know a country is better when it’s white.” 

Her presence at the march is further evidence of this trend, as is her growing friendship with fellow ethnonationalist streamer Hugh Anthony, who was also present in Blackpool. Harry Jackson, a young antisemite from Hull, was also in attendance; Jackson is a member of the fascist National Rebirth Party, and has previously partnered with Ferguson to break into hotels housing asylum seekers, harassing staff and residents. David Smaller, the Leeds branch organiser of the NRP, was also present, alongside his fellow ex-English Defence League activist Cat Churchill. 

There were also several members of the neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative, including David Miles and Mandy Preece, in attendance. Members of the British Movement, including David Adams and Melanie Powell, were also spotted, the latter clad in a hoodie emblazoned with the Skrewdriver logo – Britain’s most infamous neo-nazi band. 

The Normalisation of Ethnonationalism

Ryan Ferguson’s growing profile, despite his overt racism, is indicative of a trend within the far right. As anti-migrant rhetoric becomes more mainstream, ethnonationalists like Ferguson are brought closer to the Overton window; where civic nationalism becomes a norm, those looking for radicalism find fascists like Ferguson more attractive. 

The protest in Blackpool itself further spotlights a growing underbelly of ethnonationalists. While several activists have turned their backs on Ferguson publicly, it is telling that so many people were happy to attend an event alongside a National Action supporter. 

Individuals like Ashlea Simon, who have previously prided themselves on being concerned with culture, not colour, are embracing ever more extreme ideologies. The fact that Britain First, a registered political party, is now openly engaging in white supremacist rhetoric and ethnonationalism, should be a cause for concern.