24/03/2026
In September 2025, we attended a counter protest to Tommy Robinson’s Unite The Kingdom march. It had been a while since I’d been at a demonstration - I felt hot tears of hope well up in my eyes as we joined on The Strand. We expected to be demonstrating for a couple of hours and then to visit cafes and charity shops. Instead, our gathering of 5000 was surrounded by the far right for 5 hours. We were protected by riot police, barricades and horses. An estimated 150,000 people showed up to support Tommy Robinson’s vision of the UK as a Christian ethnostate where people would be persecuted for their race, gender, nationality and class. I saw some of them carried wooden crosses, mimicking the K*K. These ‘patriots’ threw cans, bottles and flares at our counter protest, the police and horses protecting us. It took the police many hours to secure a safe route out; tensions were high and people were very scared as we were surrounded by an inconceivable amount of aggression. Our protest was diverse - young and old, mixed genders, abilities, cultures and class. I hate to think what might have happened if the far right broke through. We were escorted out of Whitehall, flanked by officers either side as the facists hung their flags on Nelson’s column and jeered at us. It is so hard to be hopeful right now when hatred is spreading all over our country. But it’s important we show these people that love is strong too, and there’s another way to make the UK a better place.
This Saturday, if you can, show up to the Together Alliance protest (in London or regionally). If there is one thing that can inspire hope, it’s being with people who share the same care, empathy and sense of justice as you. At the very least, it’s satisfying to chant at the top of your lungs about how much you hate fascism.
Message me if you are going or want more info!! Xx
