One of the most alarming and worrying developments in British politics in recent years has been the normalisation and acceptance into the mainstream of far right Anglo-British nationalist politics. The BBC has played a major role in this process with its constant platforming of the odious Nigel Farage and his not so subtle racist dog whistles. Farage had limited electoral success for many years, but he was highly successful in transforming the Conservative party into a creature in his own image. This in turn contaminated the Labour party, and Starmer triangulated any vestige of democratic socialism in the Labour party out of existence and fully absorbed the right wing fetishes of a hard Brexit and a hard line anti immigration stance as he chased after Tory voters in the marginal constituencies of England.
However Farage now has his own bridgehead in the Commons where the wealthy privately educated former City trader and his millionaire privately educated fellow MPs pose as representatives of the ‘real England’ standing up against the ‘elites’. Property asset manager Richard Tice and former City commodities trader Nigel Farage are bigoted privately educated millionaires.
With the Tories in disarray following their recent election defeat, Farage is determined to execute a takeover of the Tories and turn them into a nakedly English nationalist authoritarian hard right party the mould of Trump’s MAGA Republicans, who make no secret of their contempt for democracy.
We have also seen an increased presence on the streets of gangs of far right hooligans marshalled by the English Defence League led by the convicted criminal and thuggish Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, “Tommy Robinson,” to his cult followers, who is such an English patriot that he lives in Spain on an Irish passport.
At least nineteen more far right rallies are planned for the coming weeks across England. The far right has been emboldened by the electoral success of Farage and the indulgence shown to him by the British media. They feel they have momentum with the descent of the Tory party into hard right authoritarianism and the media led normalisation of far right talking points. The apartheid nepo baby Elon Musk, The Daily Mail, the Express, the Telegraph, GB News, and the BBC, they have all led us to this point.
A Cardiff-born person of colour murders children and there is no known motivation or religious affiliation. The far right organises rallies outside mosques and violent protests acros the UK. Yet when a former British soldier and white male killed three women in their home with a crossbow, there was silence from the likes of Farage and “Tommy Robinson.”
It’s not about protecting women and girls at all, and never has been.
The EDL organised a demonstration in central London last weekend, which as usual for this organisation was accompanied by violence and public disorder. It was also the EDL which was responsible for the disgraceful scenes earlier this week in Southport where its thugs descended on the traumatised town, reeling from the horrific knife attack on a children’s dance class which resulted in the brutal murders of three innocent young girls and the hospitalisation of several more with serious injuries. Acting upon false information propagated on Elon Musk’s toxic cesspit of a social media platform, which blamed the attack on a perpetrator with a Muslim sounding name, the EDL goons gathered in front of the local mosque, chanting Islamophobic slogans, lighting fires and demolishing the garden walls of neighbouring properties to find bricks to use as missiles which they launched against the mosque and a local corner store owned by a Sinhalese family which they looted, clearing it of cigarettes and alcohol.
They then attacked the police and terrorised the local community. The EDL is determined to spread its message of hate and its racism as far as possible. The fascist thugs have organised a series of hate fests across the UK over the coming months. Billed as “Standing up for the UK” the events promise a disgusting and toxic blend of racism, hatred, violence and xenophobia from bigots chanting that they “want their country back,” the bit they don’t say out loud is that they want it back from anyone who isn’t a white UK born and British identifying heterosexual. The EDL is effectively the paramilitary wing of Reform UK.
You know, I want my country back too. I want it back from the far right, the racists, the politicians who prey on ignorance and xenophobia, back from the EDL, Farage, Reform The Daily Mail, The Sun, from sectarian bigots, and every god forsaken crappy organisation that spreads divisive hate. I want it back from hypocritical British nationalists who refuse to recognise their own nationalism.
Organised extreme right violence has been seen this week on the streets of London, Hartlepool, and Southport. In London far right rioters hurled missiles at statues including the statue of Tory hero and British imperialist Winston Churchill, you know, those statues they pledged to defend from the “woke” just a few months ago. There was more violence on Friday, this time in Sunderland.
Whenever far right violence breaks out in England, some anti-independence apologist for the British state always pops up to lecture Scots that Scotland has its own problems with racism and sectarianism and this would be true, but what they never add is that those responsible are overwhelmingly union flag waving über-Unionist British nationalists. You don’t see supporters of Scottish independence organising protests against immgration or refugees or rioting outside mosques. British nationalism has a racism problem.
The fascists are now planning to bring their carnival of hatred to Glasgow, announcing on social media their intention to hold a so called “Stand Up for the UK” rally in Glasgow’s George Square on the 7th of September where far right British nationalism’s usual diet of anti Muslim and anti-immigrant hatred with be combined with rabid opposition to Scottish independence and an unhealthy dose of Orange Order anti-Catholic sectarianism.
The fascists descending on Glasgow are due to be countered by an anti -fascist protest hurriedly organised by faith groups, pro-Palestinian campaigners, refugee organiations, trades unions and others. The date coincides with a pre-planned AOUB march and rally for independence due to be held in Edinburgh which has now been rebranded as a protest against the far-right.
No one with any sense wants a direct confrontation with a bunch of violent fascist thugs and I am absolutely not advocating that. However it seems to me that AOUB should cancel their Edinburgh march and rally and throw their weight behind the anti-fascist protest planned for Glasgow on the day of the EDL rally. That way a strong pro-independence representation is guaranteed to be visible in the anti-fascist counter protest. Glasgow can show, peacefully and lawfully, that the city is a welcoming and accepting place, no matter your religion, race, or nationality. We are better than the racists and sectarian bigots infesting our city.
There’s little sense in organising a protest against the far right in Edinburgh when the far right are attempting to take over the centre of Glasgow 40 miles away. It’s possible that the EDL rally in Glasgow could be the largest far right event in Scotland for decades. Fascist British nationalism needs to be countered with the biggest anti-fascist rally in Scotland. Anti fascists and supporters of Scottish independence need to oppose it in Glasgow, not to rally in another city far away. The march in Edinburgh is only going to weaken opposition and risks painting the independence movement as a self indulgent irrelevance, opposing fascism while the fascists are parading their hatred in a different Scottish city entirely.
The campaign for independence needs to demonstrate that it is willing to participate in a broad front of left wing and progressive groups and organisations and to centre the cause of independence in the campaigns against racism, poverty, and social exclusion. In so doing independence supporters demonstrate that independence is not a ‘distraction’ from other issues but is central to and key to achieving social justice and building a better and fairer Scotland. Independence must be seen to be part and parcel of the struggle against far right British nationalism.
There will be plenty of opportunities in future for stand alone independence marches and rallies, but by standing shoulder to shoulder with anti-fascists, irrespective of their views on Scottish independence, we not only position the cause of independence politically in an advantageous position, we also make friends and allies, and potentially covert them to the cause of independence too.
AUOB should rethink its position and get behind the anti-fascist counter protest in Glasgow.
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