Dousing the dying embers of the EDL
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March for England - EDL chased out of Brighton
Brighton braced itself for the annual influx of far-right extremists on Sunday as 140 'patriots' turned up to March for England.
March for England is both an event and political group who attend many of the far right English Defence League's demonstrations.
The last time EDL News wrote about the group was when they tried to protest against the Argentine Embassy and got the wrong building and the wrong street.
The group go to great pains to explain that the event is a family day out but that is far from the truth with the English Defence League invited last year and very few children present.
Portsmouth based March for England organiser, Dave Smeeton, said members of the group were not racists and had no links to EDL, but added that he had previously taken part in EDL protests. In fact Smeeton aka Pompey Dave is the English Defence League's regional organiser for the Portsmouth area.
According to reports from Brighton, about 140 far-right activists have turned up and were heavily out 
numbered by local people protesting. One protester said "Brighton has a long and proud history of opposing fascism in the City. They claim they are marching for England but they are not marching in my name or many others in Brighton".
The Brighton Division of the English Defence League recently held a demonstration in the town centre where they were booed by shoppers. Seven members turned up, half of them fled the scene, two were arrested and the remaining stood their ground with police protection. They went on to con £50 from an Israeli student who thought he was donating to the EDL cause and spent the money on alcohol.
Despite Smeeton claiming that the march is not an English Defence League march, one of the founding members of the British Freedom Party - The EDL's political wing - Michael Wood, confirmed on Twitter that it was. Wood was last week caught tweeting his admiration for the actions of Anders Behring Breivik.
One MfE marcher and EDL member, Ben Weald was not so impressed with the lack of welcome they got in the city when he posted his sarcastic Facebook status:
The 'patriots' we outnumbered by about 4-1 by people who did not want them in their city. Four people were arrested for public order offences including the EDL's Brighton Division member, Prest Harris.
Many claims were made that bottles were being thrown at the EDL and a nine year old girl got injured. EDL News wonders what sort of responsible parent would subject their nine year old girl to a far-right demo when they are guaranteed to end in violence.
Looking into the claims, EDL News has been passed a video that suggests that the EDL were throwing bottles.
At 2:03 you see silver, possibly cans being launched from EDL side.
This was shot before they clashed with anti-fascists. They threw first missiles. They provoked the situation.
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Also, MfE thoughtfully posted us a link from the police report and there was no mention of a nine year old girl being assaulted which suggests that once again the EDL are using young children for political gain.
When Sussex Police were asked directly, they stated that there were no children reported injured which suggests the EDL made it up.
Many complaints are being made about the way the marchers got treated by the locals and the EDL have threatened to hold a demo in Brighton which, if it goes ahead, will ensure there is even fiercer opposition.
If the 'March for England' was not an EDL demo we are unsure why the EDL are getting upset about it as it was
not a secret that the people of Brighton were going to oppose their fascist ideologies ferociously.
Any doubts that this was not an EDL demo were dispelled by the endless EDL chants coming from the crowd.
Several of the participants we observed to be sieg heiling and many of the city's pubs refused to serve the 'patriots'. They ended the day kettled by police and none of them stayed in the city after the demonstration had ended.
Angry posts have been made by the EDL's Ossett Division member, Simon Scott who has threatened to return to gun down the residents of the city for opposing their fascist ideology.
We have met Simon Scott before on these pages when he threatened to pour petol over and burn any Muslim who tried to sit next to him on the bus to Plymouth where he was meeting up with girlfriend and Ebay fraudster, Hayley Wells.
Mike Domican, a member of the EDL's Football hooligan wing, the Casuals also chimed in with threats:
It was not surprising that the EDL and MfE resorted to making threats after being humiliated, it is another example of towns and cities across the UK joining up to oppose fascists and violent thugs. As we have seen many many times, they arrive uninvited and when they are chased out, they have to resort to making violent threats.
All pretence that this was a family day out was dropped when Prest Harris, a member of the EDL's tiny Brighton Division posted this on Facebook after being arrested.
Lets hope lessons have been learned and the EDL/MfE have finally realised they are not welcome in Brighton or anywhere else.
The English Defence League's football hooligan division, The Casuals, have obviously not got the message and have announced they will be returning to Brighton on the 2nd June. That should end well.
Convicted football hooligan, Jeff Marsh announces that they will be going back to Brighton. Marsh was jailed for two years for stabbing two Manchester United fans.
We will leave you with a screenshot of arrested EDL member Prest Harris
'Rosa' Told Malatesta her thoughts of the day:
For a national demo the March for England attempt today in Brighton was rubbish. I have only 1 word to say: utter humiliation. There were about 70 odd 'patriots' there who were outnumbered at least 10 to 1 if not more by antifascist protestors and completely surrounded by plod. If the police had not been there then the MfE would have been very worried indeed. Plod from Sussex needed help from Hampshire, Thames Valley and Surrey as they obviously cannot handle the workload and so a load of money was spent on outside forces' overtime for which I am sure the locals will thank the local chief constable.
The march was to set off at 12 but they didn't get going for ages and after antifascists blocked the road, the march was rerouted and stopped at least twice through militant action. Local anti-fascists outran plod who, being bussed in from elsewhere like the MfE, didn't know about all the alleyways that criss-cross the town (and thanks to the mob flying the AFA flag for looking after me). After the march was redirected the MfE were halted (I don't know what the street was) and then came under fire from bottles, crates, cans and anything else that came to hand. Sadly, plod took the brunt of if it and I wish to apologise on everyone else's behalf for that. The MfE finally got to their site at 1.40 by which time they looked hopelessly lost, massively outnumbered and bereft of all their bravado – which basically consisted of shouting 'who are you?' and 'fuck off' for a couple of hours. They were then penned in totally surrounded for a couple of hours. We nicked off to the pub for a beer and then headed up to the station by which time plod shepherded the MfE onto the station concourse and everyone waved goodbye.
So, massively outnumbered, march delayed for at least 40 minutes, then stopped, then redirected, then stopped again, then bombarded, then humiliatingly protected by plod as they did their stupid speeches and then chaperoned rapidly back to whence they came. Result? I doubt it!
To read about the EDL's last disastrous stand in Brighton click here.
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Comments
They were returning from a 'picket' of my book launch on the Fight against Fascism in Brighton and the South Coast when they decided to go to the main shopping centre and harass the Palestine Solidarity Stall. They were somewhat taken aback by the reaction of ordinary shoppers.
But Warren Morgan, there was a time when Labour councillors didn't just bleat about fascists not being welcome in Brighton, they actively participated in ensuring they would be sent packing. The only councillors I saw yesterday were Green Party ones and Caroline Lucas. The Labour Party, apart from a few socialists still left in the organisation, was conspicuous by its absence.
And it was New Labour that demonised Muslims, that used the 7/7 bombing as an excuse to magnify the threat of a handful of fundamentalists with its attack on basis liberties. At the same time New Labour sat on a Corporate Manslaughter Bill, rendering it eventually useless, as Directors escaped direct personal responsibility for those killed and injured. Given that some 200 workers die a year you would have thought that New Labour could wage a war against such accidents with directions and managing directors beign held without trial for such offences. They kill far more people than any Islamic fundamentalist has done but they were let off scot free.
Or of course Gordon Brown's British Jobs 4 British Workers, the old National Front slogan. New Labour created the conditions for the EDL to flourish and now says they are not welcome. As good an example as any of their hypocrisy. Wage a war against poverty and the rich, not those with a different religion or colour.
Nationalist UK has got it wrong. The EDL won't march where they can because their purpose is to instill fear and hatred. Yesterday was an example of this. They said they wanted to march along the seafront and past the Clocktower. The people of Brighton said 'no' and the EDL were confined to the backstreets as a result.
Of course the EDL have the right to swim in any sewer they find. We won't interfere with that!
From the Brighton Evening Argus
'According to police figures, at least 400 anti-fascist counter-demonst rators prevented up to 140 March for England supporters from following their planned route yesterday'
Before they start flapping their gums about their 'success'.... They can threaten all they want about coming back to Brighton in 'strength'... there will be the same result.
Feel kind of sorry for him really.
The only way fascism will ever be defeated is by determined mass physical opposition on the streets.
Second, this was a very poor show for the far right precisely because it wasn't billed as an EDL or infidel thing.
I have frequently remarked of late that denying anything to with the EDL is pretty standard fayre these days from the bigots and racists - such is the obvious lack of credibility of that group.
So as a broader display of "united nationalism" (with longer pedigree than the EDL) this should give us cause for hope (though never complacency of course)
Secondly, in order to explain a poor turnout from nationwide as opposed to a healthy turnout of locals the supporters of this demo would have to slur the people of Brighton, something even many of them would not be stupid enough to do.
One admin on the MfE page remarked to me that it was a matter of "quality not quantity". Readers will need no analysis regarding quality of attendees, such a remark may be taken as basic surrender.
Thanks again, including for the write up.
For those that aint read it, the write up at schnews.org is very good too.
http://www.schnews.org.uk/stories/FASH,-BANG,-WALLOP/
It's depressing when you realise the poor fucker never stood a chance.
In a way lost cases like him are as much victims of Lennon's rhetoric as the brown people he gets beaten up.
1) Whilst there might had been UAF there, most were residents of Brighton who did not want you peddling your racist filth there.
2) We have spoken with Sussex police and no incidents of a child being assaulted were either seen by anyone credible or reported. It appears to be a lie made up by the EDL to cover their humiliating day out.
3) It ceased being a family day out and converted into and EDL political event when the EDL and other far right extremists were invited last year which is about the time the people of Brighton started opposing you.
4) What sort of family event attracts sieg heilers and Hitler lickers?
5) Why would you take children to a far right demonstration when they inevitably end up in violence one was or another
6) If the EDL were to return they would get pretty much the same bad reception and it would end in tears again. They are Brighton's streets and not yours.
Here is a suggestion Mike, how about you keep your racist filth in your own towns and cities and leave Brighton alone as the residents have made it perfectly clear they do not want the likes of you there.
Obviously too stupid to learn anything except grunting, parroting and walking on their knuckles - apologies to the Great Apes, no insult intended.
Well done for living up to the stereotype Mike.
No surrender eh?
You can indeed go where you want but as you found out to your cost, you will not be made even slightly welcome. Brighton does not like racists halfwits.
Now I know it was a humiliating experience for you but have some respect for yourself and please do not tantrum here.
Wow! You took your time responding didn't you? If you were there and are involved with the EDL, then why weren't you amongst all those claiming the same thing, who suddenly went quiet when their claims (and the 'proof' provided by Casuals) were proven to be BS?
Given who you presumably hang around with, I can only assume you've been inside since then.
SEE YOU ALL IN BRIGHTON
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
HOPE YOU GET WELL SOON
god save the queen
Couple of things Clive, we are not UAF and you will do what the locals and the police tell you to you.
Oh, and the queen most likely thinks you area bunch of dicks.
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