Joint protests in London catered to tens of thousands of people who marched through central London on Saturday in two separate protests mainly against high levels of immigration and a perceived threat to British identity.
UK metropolitan police deployed 4,000 officers, including reinforcements from outside the capital, and pledged the most assertive possible use of their powers in their biggest public order operation in years.
Police said they had made 43 arrests for a range of offenses and described both protests as largely without important incident, as they had earlier forecast a turnout of at least 80,000.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday accused organizers of the Unite the Kingdom march of peddling hate and division, plain and simple.
The march was organized by activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson.
The government barred 11 people it described as “foreign far-right agitators” from entering Britain to address the protest.
A previous protest led by Robinson in September drew around 150,000 people, police said, and featured a video address by U.S. tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Scuffles left 26 officers injured, including four seriously. On Saturday, four officers were injured, none seriously.
Marchers wave British and English flags:
On Saturday, Robinson supporters gathered in central London, waving mainly British and English flags.
Many could also be seen waving Union flags, with some wearing “Make England Great Again” red hats.
Concerns over immigration:
Annual net migration approached 900,000 in 2022 and 2023 but fell to around 200,000 last year after tighter work visa rules.
Those gathered told they had a wide range of views—including some who wanted to see the end of the current government and others who felt white people, in particular white working-class people, were being discriminated against in the UK.
“I think that too much migration – not migration, but too much migration – is causing a lot of problems, upsetting a delicate balance here,” said Allison Parr, who also criticized net-zero environmental policies.
Concern over immigration, including the arrival of asylum seekers on small boats, has weighed on Starmer’s popularity and boosted the right-wing Reform UK party, whose leader, Nigel Farage, has distanced himself from Robinson.
“We want Starmer out”
Robinson said during the march that “we are awakening Great Britain; the cultural awakening, the cultural revolution and the spiritual awakening are all underway.”
With others chanting for Starmer to step down.
Notably, former UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting also said that he will stand in any contest to replace the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
