Despite their online promises of bringing more EDL dregs and other failed fascists to Brighton than ever before, this year’s ‘March for England’ (MFE) was the smallest yet. Only around 100 knuckle dragging racists made the journey to the south coast for their annual humiliation at the hands of local anti fascists.
The low turnout by the master race can possibly be explained by the disastrous outings they have previously had, both last year and in 2012. With the possible exceptions of Whitechapel and Walthamstow it is hard to think of anywhere they could be less welcome? Even the road seemed to be conspiring against them with an underground collapse on the route of their march.
Local anti fascist groups mobilised hundreds of activists who toured the side streets to ensure that MFE supporters were attacked and harassed despite the enormous police operation. The police who were drawn from six different forces made their intentions clear from the beginning by stopping and nicking anti fascists wherever possible while taking little action against the drunk and violent thugs of the far right. One incident that was caught on video clearly showed the police chasing anti fascists away from the Dorset pub while the MFE morons outside were allowed to chuck bottles and furniture down the road until they had run out of missiles to throw.
When it eventually started the racist parade was an utterly miserable affair. Less than 100 MFE marched up and down the sea front in a roving kettle while being shouted down by up to 1,000 UAF, Greens and locals whom had assembled along the route. The MFE replied with some (not particularly brave) obscene gestures from behind the safety of police lines. Also with several half-hearted renditions of ‘No surrender to the Taliban’. A chant that is looking increasingly ridiculous, given the nature of NATO’s humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan.
As the parade came to a close police held back anti fascists along the seafront and attempted to let the racists disperse back towards the station unsupervised. This proved to be yet another mistake as they were quickly attacked by anti fascists and then held by the police for their own safety. Having put the racists back into another slow moving kettle the cops then started trying to move them back towards the station.
Anti fascists responded by blocking the road in several places and were attacked for doing so by police horses. Legal monitors are taking particular interest in the actions of one officer who seemed intent on injuring as many people with his nag as he could possibly manage. Expect a witness appeal in due course.
Meanwhile the mentality of the average MFE supporter was clearly demonstrated by 3 individuals who staggered into the midst of the anti fascists. They were so drunk that they clearly considered themselves to be indestructible as they tried to engage the increasingly hostile crowd with their incoherent racist arguments. They only narrowly avoided a severe beating by the actions of a squad of police who charged in the rescue them (see the slideshow above).
It took the MFE well over an hour to reach the station under enormous police protection as the anti fascists made a last stand by erecting a barricade of considerable proportions in an impressively short space of time.
It is understandable why the people of Brighton are furious about the police insisting that this unwelcome display of bigotry goes ahead. Local businesses, which rely heavily of Sunday trade, resent having the seafront turned into a containment facility for a bunch of outsiders with no local support. Exactly how long the police can continue to justify spending £500,000 on allowing a bunch of racist bell-ends to have a provocative day out by the seaside is unclear? With their ever-diminishing numbers local people are reluctantly seeing over £5,000 of their money spent on protecting each and every one of them…
