The Great British National Strike (GBNS) is a street activist group launched by Richard Donaldson, an ex-soldier from Chester in May 2025. GBNS organised events around a grab-bag of right-wing talking points: immigration, net zero and the Starmer government.

The group initially struggled to gain momentum, facing criticism over its striking approach and suspicion over its finances. Its continuous flip-flop rebranding has not helped the cause, nor has its tendency to promise events and content which failed to materialise. Despite this, it managed to host a relatively successful protest, and played a large role in the logistics of country-wide protests over the summer. 

On 24 May, GBNS attempted a nation-wide strike, promising 77 events in towns and cities across the UK. Despite the strike being advertised as street-party style gatherings, numbers remained underwhelming. While London saw the largest numbers, attracting several hundred, most only attracted between 50 and 100, with many others seeing just a handful of people or failing to materialise at all. Donaldson received criticism both before and after the event for styling it as a “strike” – partly because he chose to hold it on a Saturday. 

Those who did attend were a mixture of locals with unsavoury far-right characters. The London event was attended by UKIP leader Nick Tenconi and members of the neo-Nazi White Vanguard. Members of the National Rebirth Party were spotted in Coventry and Hull, and Mike Lynton, South West regional organiser for the Homeland Party was present in Exeter. In Truro, a parish councillor for the British Democrats went on an antisemitic rant, arguing that Hitler’s violence was due to “world Jewry declaring war on Germany”. He also stated that “Hitler didn’t have beef with the Jews and that the Holocaust was “massively overstated”. 

The group rebranded to the Great British National Protest, focussing on a single event in Dover on 19 July. The event attracted around 250 people, and saw the debut of Thomas Moffit (AKA Young Bob) and featured the first performance from Jodie Scott (AKA Missus Kent). Scott went on to sing at anti-migrant protests across the country, until she was exposed for running a WhatsApp chat where a user advocated for Islamic genocide, and others discussed buying guns. While many attendees were locals, it also attracted seasoned activists from groups including the British Democrats, the British Movement and Patriotic Alternative, alongside new-comers who developed their activism over the summer’s anti-migrant protests. 

Donaldson subsequently began to organise for ‘Phase 3’ of his movement: coordinated protests in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Belfast, Norwich, Cardiff and Edinburgh. While the event itself was eventually cancelled, it allowed Donaldson to formally expand his team with representatives in each region. Some of these, like Newcastle’s Mason Laidler and Belfast’s Steven Baker, went on to organise and lead anti-migrant protests in their areas over the summer. 

Subsequently, GBNS became an organisational hub during the summer’s anti-migrant protests; its social media account posted weekly lists of event locations and provided supplies for local protesters. The group also became heavily involved in localised Raise the Colours movements, encouraging donations for flags. Donaldson is currently planning another strike week in February, despite criticism from many of his own followers. Considering the underwhelming nature of the group’s first strike event, it is unlikely it will amount to much.