Off Topic The threat from the Far-Right

How did Tommy Robinson manage to rally 150,000 in central London?

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson is among those tapping into a "sense of disquiet" in the country, a Cabinet minister has told the BBC, after thousands joined a march and counter-protest in London on Saturday.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said marchers were demonstrating freedom of association and freedom of speech, after up to 150,000 joined a "Unite the Kingdom" rally, organised by Robinson and about 5,000 took part in a counter-protest, co-ordinated by Stand Up To Racism.

But he told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg the "small minority" who had committed violence would be held accountable.

Twenty-six police officers were injured, the police said, and 24 people arrested for a range of offences.

Kyle criticised Elon Musk's comments after he appeared at Saturday's rally via video link telling protesters to "fight back" or "die"

"I thought that they were slightly incomprehensible comments that were totally inappropriate", the minister said.

The tech billionaire also referred to massive uncontrolled migration and called for a change of government in the UK.

Speaking about Saturday's protests, Kyle said moments like these were "klaxon calls" for those in power to redouble their efforts to address the big concerns people have, including on immigration.

"What worries me most is the divisions in our society and other societies and other democratic societies ... it's not even the left and the right at the moment, " he told the programme.

Figures like Robinson were able to "touch into a sense of disquiet and grievance in the community in our society", he said.

"A lot of it goes back to its roots in the financial crisis and the impact that had on communities around the country, and we haven't been able to bring our communities back together again since," Kyle continued.

BBC News - Robinson tapping into disquiet in the country, says minister
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnvr5782yp3o

Does anyone believe the Far-Right will be able to change Britain, and even western democracy, for the better?

 

There were a lot more than 150k there. There’s videos galore out there it’s was maybe 7-8 times that.

The country needs revolt just maybe not in that way.

 

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini did....

 

Irish Yaxley Lennon wants the patriots to donate to his sniff fund

 

We don’t need the far-left or far-right running the country. Both sides are overly aggressive and extreme in their views.

Thankfully the vast majority of people are either left of centre or right of centre.

Politicians and governments have let us down for a long time and it’s now reaching breaking point and the result is what we are seeing now.

 

Aye that was my thinking. Anyone who’s watched that drone footage and told themselves there’s only 150k there is either a few shillings short or lying to themselves. Haven’t really seen much of it but what I have seen looked it looked peaceful for the most part - other than where counter protesters decided to set up.

 

Round like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that is turning, running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind

 

Both sides should unite and turn on Disco for that awful poem.

 

Seen a YouTube clip of him this morning thanking everyone for turning up and promising another rally in London, he'll be looking for a lot more people to attend than yesterday as well

 

How ****ing dare you slander Dusty Springfield, you cad!

 

Successive governments have let the people down for too long. And kier starmer and his shambles of a government have tipped people over the edge.

The government have continuously taken the people for granted and now we have a situation where there is no trust and rightly so.

As a tax payer, what’s the benefits now?

A police force so badly underfunded, that reporting a robbery almost feels pointless.

Under funded and overpopulated jails meaning low sentences and putting extremely dangerous people on our streets.

Schools with nearly 40 children in a class.

Roads extremely poor.

NHS has gone from saving people to killing them. Long waiting lists meaning people are dying waiting for diagnosis and treatment.

An open border for unchecked and potentially dangerous individuals to freely rock up on boats in their 1000s.

Housing crisis, cost of living crisis. High taxes. A government that labels anyone with concerns as far right.

A looming budget with yet more taxes expected. And a current leader that is so far out of his depth, it’s actually embarrassing.

The UK is the worst I’ve known it, and I only keep living in the UK because my son is here. And that’s not down to the people, it’s down to the robbing, terrible governments that have took the piss out of us for far too long.

 

Agree with all of that.

This bit is the main problem, for me.

‘A government that labels anyone with concerns as far right.’

Both sides do it. If you are right of centre then the far-left label you as a far-right racist fascist. If you are left of centre then then the far-right label you as a Corbyn loving Communist who hates their own country.

The extremists are the biggest problem in how polarised politics has now become. You can’t support a side without a backlash from one side of the other. You don’t have to look any further than this board to see that.

 

Old Benito though was a socialist at heart and by deed. He was expelled a couple of times from Switzerland for engaging in activity in the name of communism and revolutionary socialism, and was a firm adherent to the cause. So much so that Lenin lauded him in Pravda before he died, seeing Mussolini as the "Future of Socialism ".

Vlad was to be disappointed however. Communism is an internationalist creed and Mussolini had seen in the trenches of WWI that men would not sacrifice themselves for such a cause, but that they would for country.

It was this distinction, nationalist rather than internationalist which saw him split from communism and the Socialist party in Italy.

But he was revered widely, especially by the progressive left in the US and the left in Europe, including here, as the "man who made socialism work" .

He never recanted from his socialist views, and it was only his invasion of Ethiopia which caused the left elsewhere to set against him , some rather slower than others.

He might be seen as "Right" now, but he was very much "Left" back then!

 

Yes illegal immigration needs to be stopped. It seems that its several laws preventing their immediate deportation. These laws came about decades ago in a different era. Stepforward a highly qualified lawyer at the top of government?

Just as Moseley in the 1930s, blamed Jews for all the ills of the UK, Farage and his lieutenant Tommy Robinson are blaming immigrants for all the countries current ills so they can gain political power.

Police being thumped by left or right extremists is not on.

 

It’s all a massive distraction
https://ibb.co/qLhMv5Wz

 

Not an excuse for choosing tax dodging racists who’ll make billionaires richer at a cost us and remove services they need, but definitely a reason to choose a different option.

 

There's people I know, worked with closely at times and classed as friends now showing their support of the likes of Yaxley and Katie Hopkins.

It's absolutely frightening.

 

The turnout in London yesterday was massive. You don’t get crowds like that unless something is badly wrong, and politicians who try to brush it off are kidding themselves. People are angry, people want change, and ignoring that is dangerous.

But let’s be clear – Farage is not the answer. He thrives on division and easy soundbites, but when it comes to fixing anything that actually matters, he’s a ****ing void.

And even if he (or anyone else) scraped their way into government, what would it change? We’ve seen it over and over – red rosette, blue rosette, doesn’t matter. Different slogans, same results. Because the truth is the system itself is broken. Power is hoarded at the top, parties chase headlines instead of solutions, and the rest of us are left watching the same tired circus.

If yesterday proved anything, it’s that people want real change – and that only comes from breaking this cycle. Communities need more control over their own futures. Power needs to be pushed down, not hoarded in Westminster. And we need proportional representation, so every vote actually counts.

Farage offers none of that. He’ll happily hijack the anger, but he won’t hand power back to the people. He's as establishment as they come.

False prophets ain't gonna help.

 

'People with genuine concerns' throwing their lot in with Robinson and his ilk will not have it go where they want it to go.

It's grim to me.

 

Far right my ****ing arse