The counterdemonstration against the racists’ protest in Falkirk was outnumbered today, but there are the beginnings of better local organisation, reports Lewis Akers

On Saturday, Falkirk saw anti-refugee protestors gather outside the office of the local Labour MP, Euan Stainbank, and then march onto the Cladhan Hotel. The size of the crowd gathered outside the hotel to oppose refugees was around 700/800 while the counter-demonstration organised by Stand Up To Racism and The Scottish Trade Union Congress had around 300 at its height. Anyone claiming this was a victory for anti-racists has deluded themselves. This may have been less of a disaster than the demo in Falkirk a few weeks ago, but it wasn’t a success by any means.

While the ‘Save Our Future and Save Our Kids Futures’ organised and built their side through leafleting and social media, the anti-racist counter demonstration was only called with 24-hours’ notice, which significantly hampered our ability to organise a bigger and more vibrant demonstration.

The organiser of ‘Save Our Future, Our Kids Futures’ (SOFOKF) didn’t attend the demonstration outside the hotel because of his desire to appear respectable, which shows there are clear divisions in approach which could exploited. Many of the same faces attended again as the protest two weeks ago, some doing Nazi salutes, using homophobic slurs, and targeting non-white counter-protestors with racist abuse. At one point, a group of protestors unfurled a banner by the Nazi organisation Patriotic Alternative which said ‘Deport All Illegal Immigrants’. It was quickly put away when photos started being taken of it. Other signs of Nazi involvement were reported, such as the attendance of Simon Crane the organiser for the fascist Homeland Party and members of Combat 18. However, it’s worth noting that attendees were still overwhelmingly  local residents who couldn’t be described as fascists or hard right, who could still be detached from the hard-core of racists.

There are some causes for hope from different avenues. The Scottish Trade Union Congress plans to spearhead work with the local trade-union branches, Trade Unions in Communities is seeking to build local grassroots community campaigns against cuts, and Falkirk Against Racism is looking to get more locals involved in organising future actions. A multi-pronged approach is the only one that will work: it must both address people’s material concerns and give them a way to fight back against politicians who champion cuts and war.

There’s a long way before we can claim a victory in Falkirk but we have the seeds of a campaign which can take on austerity and racism, and give working-class people in Falkirk a serious alternative to the politics of ‘Save Our Future and Save Our Kids Futures’.