By Gerald Elliott.
One thing I’m always proud of about our city is that whenever the far-right tries to hold a “protest,” they have to leave early to catch their trains home, because they’re never actually from this area. There just aren’t enough fascists in Southampton to hold a demo!
Sunday’s (2 February 2025) counter-demo, organised in response to a right-wing demonstration planned for the city, was lively and well-attended. A strong black bloc held the line, backed by members of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and Stand Up to Racism, along with around 100 plus other counter-protesters facing off against a pitiful turnout of about 20 from Britain First and other far-right agitators. We gathered around the Bargate, with police lining the main road on either side and the far-right demo on the West Quay side, peppered with Jesus-branded Union Jack flags – you know, the Middle-Eastern guy who preached love, compassion and caring for the oppressed. Weird, perhaps they were referencing a different Jesus.
I brought my protest drums along, adding some rhythmic oomph to our chants of “Racists go home!” and “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here!” The protest kicked off at 10am, and as the hours passed, the opposition numbers steadily dwindled. By 1:30 PM, only two of them remained—apparently, the rest had more pressing priorities, like catching the football. Meanwhile, we held firm, our voices drowning out their hateful nonsense.
As expected, their placards leaned heavily on the tired “protect the children” narrative—a transparent and insidious tactic designed to make them look benevolent while painting counter-protesters as uncaring. The reality, of course, is that their messaging relies on propaganda and misinformation, deliberately stoking fears that immigrants and refugees pose a huge threat to British children. However, statistics released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, as well as a government meta-analysis of existing data, shows that perpetrators of crimes against children are majority white – in fact, the statistics are generally in line with the population.
Far-right groups often present themselves as defenders of “traditional values”, using slogans about “protecting women and children” as a recruitment tool. However, when we examine prominent men within these movements, we often find a strong pattern of predatory behaviour, misogyny, and exploitation.
Fascism is built on strict power dynamics – where certain groups (men over women, native citizens over immigrants, etc.) are deemed inherently superior. Far-right leadership figures often embody this ideology by promoting male dominance, dismissing women’s autonomy, and treating exploitation as a sign of power. Their worldview aligns with fascist ideals of control, where strength is idolized and those deemed “weak” are meant to be dominated.
At the same time, far-right groups use “moral panic” tactics – spreading misinformation to paint immigrants, transgender people and other marginalized groups as threats. This serves two purposes:
- Scapegoating: By blaming societal issues (like crime or economic hardship) on an “outsider” group, they avoid addressing the actual systemic causes.
- Deflection: By accusing others of being a danger to children, they distract from the abuses within their own ranks.
The hypocrisy is unbelievable – while many within these groups claim to be protecting children, they frequently defend figures like Andrew Tate, who currently faces charges of human trafficking. They attack LGBTQ+ communities under the guise of “family values”, while sheltering men in power who have been exposed for abuse. Is their goal really protection? I would argue it’s maintaining a rigid social order where they stay on top, and they essentially use children as moralistic human shields to get away with it. It’s utterly vile, especially when children really are suffering right now – not just from abuse, but from wide-spread poverty caused by brutally individualistic policies that the far-right prop up.
It begs the question – do they even care for children at all?
Despite the serious nature of the protest, the day remained relatively calm. Their attempts at shouting us down were feeble at best – our sheer numbers made them impossible to hear. One particularly frenetic heckler from their side called us “Communists”. A truly devastating burn, considering there were, in fact, some Communists in the crowd. Another perplexing choice on their part – blasting Queen’s “We are the Champions”. Wild cognitive dissonance there, since Freddie Mercury was a bisexual asylum seeker from Zanzibar, he was 18 when he arrived to the UK – he represents pretty much everything they were standing there to hate. I’ll leave that with the reader to digest.
Highlight of the day? When their numbers dropped to just two, and we switched to chanting:
“There are many, many more, many, many more, many, many more of us than two!”
Once again, Southampton has shown that bigotry and fascism will find no foothold here. And what better way to spend a sunny afternoon than strengthening community and solidarity in the city?
For more information on statistics, visit: gov.uk/government/publications/group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-characteristics-of-offending/group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-characteristics-of-offending-accessible-version
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