Oppose the EDL in Worcester!

On Saturday 22nd March the far-right protest group, English Defence League, are planning to hold a ‘national demonstration’ in Worcester.

They have randomly chosen the city to be the next host of their vile politics of racism and bigotry, only seeking to further divide communities in a time of brutal austerity measures by the Tories and their economic class.

We are calling for as many people as possible to come out and let them know that their politics of hatred and division are not welcome!

Keep the date in your diary, check back on this site for details and updates.

Worcestershire EDL division’s coach to Slough

“The EDL kicked off their year with a poorly attended short walk from Slough train station to the High Street and back again, on Saturday. They had very visible and vocal opposition all the way as locals and antifascists let them know that they were not welcome and attempted to block their march route.

The Worcester & Bromsgrove EDL divisions were spotted arriving in Slough in a coach hired from the Bromsgrove Bus & Coach Co. These divisions are to host the next EDL ‘national demo’ which is due to be held in Worcester on 22nd March 2014. Antifascists are organising to oppose them.

For anybody wanting to ask this company why they are happy to take a bunch of far-right racists to another town to attempt to stir up division and racial tension, you can contact them in the following ways:-

Bromsgrove Bus & Coach Co.

7 Sherwood Rd

Bromsgrove

Worcestershire

B603DR

01527 877754

bb.coaches@yahoo.co.uk

Pics to follow…

@ntifa ”

Taken from Indymedia UK

Game, set and match? The EDL, Walthamstow and Westminster

It’s been a terrible few weeks for the English Defence League and this weekend appeared to be the icing on their shitecake. After the successful blockade and buggering of the racist rag-tag bunch when they attempted to march through Walthamstow in September, the discredited leadership decided upon a ‘rematch’ to settle the score. From the very beginning this was doomed to failure, with Tommy Robinson getting nicked along with 52 others on Saturday 20th, whilst allegedly on route to an east London mosque in the back of a removals van.

A few days before the ‘rematch’, a ban was put in place prohibiting all marches in four London boroughs for 30 days – in anticipation of ‘serious public disorder’ if the EDL march went ahead.*

Despite the promises to EDL supporters that they would no longer liaise with the police, the remaining ‘leaders’ agreed to a static demonstration outside Parliament instead.

EDL threatening to turn up in numbers in Walthamstow. On the ground they were a no show.

Here’s a report from a local anti-fascist on events in London on Saturday 27th October:

“We joined up with others from a near-by group early in the morning and set about a spotting mission to see what we could see.

“After making the journey up to Walthamstow and having a mooch about it was obvious that the EDL weren’t calling anybodies bluff and definitely hadn’t made an appearance (despite what they were saying in the run up). The Unite Against Fascism/We Are Waltham Forest demonstration was just starting to gather. It attracted over 200 people and defied the march ban put in place days before.

‘We Are Waltham Forest’ protest in Walthamstow

“Heading back down to central London and checking in at a few of their favourite drinking holes, there wasn’t even a whisper. A small group was seen entering the tube tailed by a group of police twice their number. At the same time reports were filtering through that only 50 EDL supporters had gathered in a pen at Westminster, heavily outnumbered by journalists and police. Around 25 anti-fascists made an attempt to get to them, but their advance was stopped by the large numbers of police present. One EDLer was nicked during the scuffle.

EDL’s ‘national’ demonstration at Westminster

“Half expecting some of the rowdier (and more stupid) elements to head east to either have a pop at the East London Mosque or the London Anarchist Bookfair being held in Mile End, we headed that way. Nothing to report, apart from thousands of people having a jolly time at another very successful bookfair.”

The picture is plain for everybody to see; the EDL only managed to muster between 50-80 people (total) to a ‘national’ demonstration, one that had been billed as ‘the come back’ at that. This is in comparison to the estimated 100,000 who marched against cuts in London the weekend previously, and the thousands who attended the London Anarchist Bookfair on the same day.

The EDL are nosediving into insignificance, something that even the remaining die-hards are fast realising. It’s at times like these when anti-fascists need to make a concerted effort to drive them into the ground- for good! Previously far-right groups have faced dwindling opposition as they’ve gotten smaller and smaller, allowing them to re-organise and re-emerge later on.

Whilst Saturday proved to be another major set back for the EDL and their divisive and reactionary ’cause’, anti-fascists could have had a much bigger impact. If 1/10 of the people attending the Anarchist Bookfair had chosen to get out on the streets, the day would have ended very differently for the EDL. Lets not give them room to breath. See you on the streets!

Westminster – another far-right flop

Here are a few other reports from the day: 1, 2, 3

*For the record – we do not believe in banning marches nor do we believe that the state can be used to oppose fascism. The ban equally covers possible marches by anti-fascists, trade unionists or any others wishing to protest or get a message across. Opposition to racist or far-right groups can only come about through a truly democratic and grassroots position. To rely on state repression is to undermine the principles of self-organisation and direct democracy that we believe in, and to put our  faith in an institution far more destructive and divisive to the working-class than the fascists currently are.