Lindsey German addresses a clear and present danger

Saturday was a bad day for the left in British politics. The ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march led by Tommy Robinson was very large – I would say approaching 200,000, judging by aerial footage and by the sheer number of marchers that I and everyone I spoke to encountered going to and from the demo. This is the biggest far right demo in British history. It was led by fascists and the far right but that number obviously included many others who accepted their false arguments about migrants being to blame for everything that is wrong with Britain. One of the main slogans was ‘Keir Starmer is a wanker’.

I was on the counter-protest and was kettled in Whitehall for over three hours as fascists surrounded our demo, with a large crowd in Trafalgar Square who attacked the back of the march. We always knew we would be outnumbered, but we were dramatically so, with our side having around 15,000 people. The police claimed they were overwhelmed and only very late on did they attempt to clear the square and open up a route out for us. They also allowed far-right demonstrators through to our stage to abuse those waiting for the rally to start. There were remarkably few arrests given the scale of their violence and attacks. The day was a defeat for the anti-fascists and has sent shock waves through the left.

The big question is what do we do to counter the far right? We now have a very frightening situation – both an electoral right-wing party in the shape of Reform which is ahead of all other parties in the polls, and a mass fascist and far-right street movement, which will do everything it can to intimidate Muslims, ethnic minorities, trade unionists, women and LGBT people. There are millions of people who will rightly be alarmed by this development and want to know how we fight back.

We need to understand where it has come from. There have now been close to two decades where working-class wages have fallen in real terms. Living standards are under constant attack from inflation and wage restraint, where monopolies keep jacking up prices. The housing crisis is the worst ever, with people paying up to half their wages on rent, buying a house totally out of reach for nearly all working-class people, and landlords subject to little control. The NHS is in permanent crisis through underfunding. Jobs are lousy with bad conditions and low pay.

The right has succeeded in channelling the blame for all this and much more on scapegoating migrants and Muslims. The summer of demos outside hotels housing asylum seekers has helped build this movement, as has the ‘raise the flag’ campaign, which has been used to intimidate ethnic minorities and anyone else who objects to enforced flag worship. One friend on the demo told me that in her area of southeast London red swastikas on a white background were appearing. These movements have been much amplified on social media, which plays a big part is spreading all sorts of disinformation about asylum seekers and Muslims.

But we also have politicians and mainstream media to thank for this boost to the far right. Keir Starmer might have apologised for his ‘island of strangers’ remark, but the damage has been done. Yvette Cooper and he have repeatedly expressed their joy at flying flags, have promised to be harder on immigration, and have invited Donald Trump on an unprecedented state visit. The media constantly highlights the ‘problem’ of immigration, and television ‘personalities’ criticise migrants with barely a whisper against them – in strong contrast to those who champion Palestine, like Gary Lineker. 

Whatever expectations workers had from a Starmer government have been dashed as he pursues Tory policies which are deeply unpopular over cutting benefits and the winter fuel allowance. Starmer is now so failing that even his own once loyal MPs are turning against him. Many once Labour voters are looking to Reform. At present the right is undoubtedly the beneficiary of Labour’s failure. 

The movement against the far right needs to understand these questions. It’s not enough to repeat slogans like ‘Refugees welcome here’ or ‘Whose streets, our streets’ (particularly inappropriate on Saturday). We have to argue both that refugees and migrants are not to blame for our conditions, but also to target who the enemy really is and to criticise employers and landlords. We also need to build struggles which can help turn working-class people away from the fascists and towards a different alternative. The unions have a major role to play here, not just sending speakers and the odd banner to demos but actually fighting to mobilise their members.

The protest on Saturday was nowhere near big enough. We must change the way we are working to ensure that we grow and mobilise those who agree with us but aren’t yet coming out on the streets. This means bringing in much wider forces who are appalled at what has happened. It also means involving the huge numbers on the Palestine demos, arguing that these are connected struggles, as I did in my speech on Saturday. We have to dig down into communities, into workplaces, colleges, tenants’ associations and much more. There will be a lot of fear after this, particularly from some people in ethnic minorities, and we must organise to support each other and to build opposition to the vile racism which is growing in strength.

I remember the 1970s well when the fascists grew. I moved in 1977 from Dalston, which had a large Afro Caribbean population, to a tower block in south Hackney where the population was much whiter and there was a legacy of fascist organising in Hoxton that went back to the 1930s. We organised locally, painting out fascist slogans on my block and building a local Anti-Nazi League group which met in my living room. The ANL/Rock against Racism carnival in 1978 which took place nearby was a turning point when we realised that many local people did not support the fascists. We must do this sort of local organising again. We also need local workplace organising, with badges, leaflets and other material. And public rallies in every town and city about who is to blame for the crisis and why the fascists must be fought, not pandered to.

This will require a change in the left and which means preparing for debate and argument on a wide scale. The right-wing march claimed it was about free speech. Of course it was not – they want to silence the voices of all who disagree with them, through violent means if necessary. The left should be the champions of free speech for all but outright fascists. The answers to the right need careful and sustained argument, not just sloganising or dismissing everyone in their orbit as unwinnable racists. There are a range of issues where we are now in quite a minority. Our arguments are factual and principled. We must not be afraid of arguing because that is the way to win over the middle ground. The key issue is isolating the fascists from the soft support around them. And it has never been more urgent.

Trump is arriving here on Tuesday where he will no doubt be heartened by this march. He is launching a war on the left in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Robinson and co will be boosted by last weekend’s success. Time for us to move forward on a much bigger scale to take them on.

This week: I think everyone will be taking stock about how to fight back this week. Best place to start is the Stop Trump demo on Wednesday. It’s a weekday so not possible for everyone but if you possibly can, join me there. I will also be planning the next big Gaza march, two years on into the genocide. For light relief, some Greek tragedy: The Bacchae at the National Theatre.