What made UKIP leader Nick Tenconi think that somehow the Metropolitan Police would change their mind about UKIP being allowed to march provocatively through Whitechapel last weekend?
After UKIP was banned and forced to move to a central London location in October everyone (including Tenconi, surely) assumed the march called for 31st January would face a similar ban.
Not even the pretence of holding a religious procession rather than a political demonstration was going to cut it. If he thought it would, Tenconi needs help.
In the event, it was duly banned and relocated to Marble Arch, where it would march to Trafalgar Square.
Monthly marches
The choice of a date when the Palestine Solidarity Campaign had a national demonstration scheduled gave the police an added dilemma in agreeing a re-location.
Tenconi had taken to the camera to announce the ‘Walk with Jesus’ would be the start of a series of monthly marches, fitting with the liturgical calendar, January being the month dedicated to the ‘Holy name of Jesus’.
Tenconi was both solemn and strident, bowing his head each time he said, ‘Jesus’ and claiming that ‘we’ are fighting a ‘holy war’.
Pitiful numbers
But the turnout for the march was once again pitiful. Having ‘mustered’ at the allotted time at Marble Arch, they ‘marched’ rather than walked to Trafalgar Square where their gathering was so sparse and dispersed that tourists nonchalantly mingled with and passed through their motley crew, who were only identifiable by flags they were carrying or wearing as batman-style cloaks.
Estimates of their support varied but there was unanimously agreement that there were certainly fewer than 100. We thought around 60.
The only nod to the fact that they were ‘walking with Jesus’ was the handful of crucifixes and makeshift wooden crosses on display.
Inevitably, some felt the need to wander provocatively down to Whitehall where the Palestine marchers were heading. They were, of course, accompanied by a troupe of ‘auditors’ filming and recording everything hoping things might kick off and raise a few quid on YouTube.
They were disappointed as the provocateurs were politely told that they looked a bit lost and pointed back to Tenconi’s micro-gathering in Trafalgar square.
Sad-looking men
Tenconi can bow his head and invoke Jesus as often as he likes, but the reality on Saturday was a handful of sad-looking men draped in flags, shuffling between tourist attractions under police supervision.
The attempt to sanctify provocation only underlined UKIP’s terminal irrelevance – a party reduced to borrowing religious language, chasing confrontation and still failing to turn out any numbers who might be noticed.
Even the Messiah, it seems, can’t perform miracles for a political project this threadbare.
