Peter Lazenby
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A FASCIST rally at a Leeds war memorial was dwarfed by a counter-protest on Saturday when 300 anti-fascists turned up to oppose the event.
Around 60 fascists were heavily protected by police at the war memorial in The Headrow in Leeds city centre where the rally had been organised by the far-right Yorkshire Patriots group.
A loudspeaker farcically blared out Vera Lynn singing the second world war song “there’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover” and a wartime speech by Winston Churchill including the words “We will fight them on the beaches….”
The fascists raised a banner quoting a slogan used by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: “Stop the boats!”
A heavy phalanx of police protected the far-right demonstrators as they were allowed to march through Leeds city centre. A far larger march by counter-protesters won applause and cheers from some city centre shoppers.
The counter-protest, which was organised by Leeds Stand Up To Racism, was addressed by political and trade union speakers including Leeds East Labour MP Richard Burgon.
“We have got a message of unity in response to their message of division,” he said.
“We need to think about what kind of society we want to be. Do we want to put people fleeing war, famine and oppression into prison ships and disused army barracks?”
He called for safe passage to the UK for asylum seekers and said they should have the right to work.
Mr Burgon accused the government of scapegoating refugees “after presiding over the biggest attack on working people in living memory.”
