A far-right demo was far surpassed by the mobilisation of anti-racists and Palestine solidarity activists, but more can be done to capitalise on this, report James Black and Ross Maidment 

Following last month’s rioting, the far right belatedly mobilised in Scotland. At most, 500 fascists and racists turned out on Glasgow’s George Square on 7 September for a demonstration that was called six weeks ago, following Tommy Robinson’s large mobilisation in London and on the brink of the riots. Publicity was retweeted by Robinson himself, suggesting a level of organisation and coordination between far-right groups across the border. 

Their gathering was predominantly aged over forty (men and women) and appeared to have a lower-middle-class composition, with a conspicuous presence of ‘football thugs’. Scottish flags, as well as Union Jacks and St George’s were flying; there were English people in the crowd and among the speakers. 

By contrast, the counterdemonstration outnumbered them by up to 10-1. The main protest, called by Stand Up to Racism and backed by a variety of trade unions and campaigns, drew thousands from across Scotland and, combined with the pro-Palestine mobilisation, nearly filled George Square. There was a substantial trade-union presence: from Unison, EIS/EISFELA, PCS, UCU, Unite, FBI, RMT, CWU, GMB, NASUWT, SAU, trades councils and the STUC itself. The movement for Palestine was also out in force as the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee had called for a Palestine bloc. 

At one point, the fascists attempted to march as the police appeared to be opening up a route for them to do so. Activists from across the square rushed to stop them. At the same time, a Celtic supporters cohort was also being kettled by police which many present tried to prevent. 

A lively atmosphere developed among sections of the crowd as we quickly sensed we had the upper hand over the far right. People were able to mingle, discuss and connect dots across major political questions. From the podium, there was discussion of racism, and the connection between austerity and racism, but also a fair amount of discussion on Palestine, which hopefully signals the beginning of a welcome shift in the analysis of racism in Britain. 

A speaker on behalf of Stop the War Scotland, Jonathon Shafi, said: ‘We cannot talk about standing up to racism, unless we talk about the foreign policy of the British state. Because Islamophobia is the gateway for the far right to build their support; and Islamophobia doesn’t just come from the far right, it comes from the British state itself.’ 

Meanwhile, speaking to people on the fringes of the fascist crowd (‘pro-UK protest’), some were clearly demoralised at being outnumbered by the counter-demo presence. One man, in his thirties, also said he had hesitated about coming along because of the arrests associated with the recent riots, in case he happened to get involved in the fighting. 

Significantly, anti-Palestine sentiment is now unified with Islamophobic and anti-migrant discourse in the politics of the fascist ringleaders heard speaking on their platform, and this is being echoed by supporters. There was, of course, also an Israeli flag well displayed in the crowd. 

In the end, the fascists dispersed well before the more direct counterdemonstration. However, several dozen of the younger fascists who had left their main protest attempted to attack McChuills bar violently (a ten-minute walk away) but were apparently prevented by an opposing group. 

To conclude, the recent wave of mobilisations against the far right showed that anti-racists are a majority and able to organise. Nevertheless, we cannot be complacent. We have to do more to take the arguments into our trade unions, communities and the labour movement as a whole. An important element going forward is to centre Islamophobia and show how central it is to the British state, the British establishment and the far right. 

This last year, the Palestine movement has continually been confronted by Islamophobic rhetoric. The strong presence of Palestine solidarity groups on Saturday was a show of confidence in the face of the far right and a boost to the movement. We must all do what we can to ensure the radical energies flowing through the Palestine movement continue to be part of future anti-racist mobilisations.