Today was a very bad day for Britain First in Manchester – and an expensive blow to Paul Golding’s personal and political retirement fund.
Anti-fascists began gathering beneath the Duke of Wellington statue near Piccadilly Gardens from 11am.
Police had expected up to 1,000 fascists and deployed in massive numbers from 9am, possibly up to 500 of them, including mounted officers, drawn from other police forces such as West Midlands and Durham.
The anti-fascists were joined by the usual group of far-right so-called “auditors” – including Billy Moore and Lee Scheres – who tried their best to provoke a reaction, likely at Führer Golding’s request. They failed miserably.
Those who didn’t drift off to Store Street, where the Britain First group was assembling, were quickly moved on by police.
Deranged fascist
One deranged, long-haired fascist tried to attack a well-known anti-fascist leader and was dragged away by police – for his own protection.
Our new tactic is to monitor the auditors but otherwise ignore them. Without a response, their provocations are worthless.
Despite official claims that the Britain First rally would be held in St Peter’s Square, our team checked other local squares and gathering points to be sure because the square did not seem to have been prepared for a rally – no stage, no speakers etc.
But it was where Britain First eventually ended up.
Maximum pressure
Then, around 1pm, a large crowd of around 500 anti-fascists pushed through a heavy police kettle and made their way to St Peter’s Square, after some very bored officers on Charlotte Street kindly confirmed the exact route of the fascist march.
The fascists seemed to lack energy today. Anti-fascists, by contrast, kept in close communication and were able to apply maximum pressure on the fascists’ weakest point: their gathering place.
By the time Britain First arrived, 1,000 of us were waiting.
A dozen fascists, including ‘Vile’ Lee Scheres, the alleged domestic abuser, tried to walk through a large group of anti-fascists at St Peter’s Square metrolink stop.
Lucky for them, a large number of police saved them from a dire fate.
We had learned that Golding’s PA system and other vital equipment had been seized by police.
So there he was, with a much smaller group of supporters, quite unable to make himself heard.
Flag-waving clowns
All his St George’s flag‑waving clowns could do was listen to Bella Ciao blasting from the local antifa sound system – ably supported by the Manchester Palestine drum corps, activists with megaphones, and a deafening wall of noise that reduced anything Golding said to a whisper.
There are words to describe this. Disaster. Humiliation. Failure. Flop. Let’s stick with those.
Most of the Britain First contingent just stood there, staring in awe at the “bloody lefties” who had outnumbered, out‑thought, out‑manoeuvred and out‑volumed them again. You see, Golding is a one‑trick pony: jackboot, march and repeat.
But our side? Fluid. Mobile. Determined. Brave. Effective. Noisy.
Spirit of resistance
At least half of those on the anti‑fascist side were young people – not just students, but kids from Manchester who don’t want a fascist future. Many commented on today’s spirit of resistance. It was beautiful to hear and see.
None of this comes at zero cost. Several anti‑fascists were batoned by police, and at least one was pepper‑sprayed.
The police were undoubtedly heavy‑handed. Official statements made clear that officer numbers would match those deployed for a Manchester United vs Manchester City derby – but that’s for 60,000 people. Today, there were perhaps 350 fascists.
Penned in
It’s hard to gauge exact numbers, but Golding had considerably fewer supporters than expected. No doubt.
We held two‑thirds of St Peter’s Square. They held a third – if that. They were penned in behind trams, police vans, and a fully-equipped riot squad.
Today, trams were cancelled. Buses delayed. Shoppers unable to move freely through the city centre. Vast cost to the taxpayer. Mayor Andy Burnham released a video message making it quite clear that our city rejects Britain First. Well said.
But the cost, the upset, and the fear generated by a few hundred of “Britain’s Worst” must surely be stopped in future.
Fascists not welcome
Fascists are not welcome. From Oswald Mosley at Belle Vue in 1934 to his disastrous defeat in 1962 – when 40 of his thugs were chased off the streets by 5,000 workers – Manchester has always been, and will remain, multiracial, diverse, the proud Northern city with a thriving Gay Village, a Chinese quarter, flourishing Muslim businesses, an ancient and long‑established Jewish community – a vibrant place to live and work.
So, today, in true footballing fashion, we read out the final scoreline:
City of Manchester 2 – Fascist Thugs 0
We are hugely grateful to the team of Searchlight supporters who have contributed to this report.
