London, United Kingdom – Hundreds of thousands of people marched in central London in what organizers are calling the largest demonstration against the far right in British history.
The Together Alliance march, supported by almost 500 groups including trade unions, anti-racism campaigners and Muslim representative bodies, brought together a diverse crowd of people of all ages from across the country on Saturday, who gathered in Whitehall near the Houses of Parliament.
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Organizers said that five lakh people took part.
Together Alliance president Kevin Courtney told the crowd that the march “gives us all the confidence to move forward.”
London’s Metropolitan Police put the figure at much lower, around 50,000, although officials acknowledged it was difficult to reach an accurate figure given how spread out the crowd was.
The protest was met by a small group of counter-protesters waving Israeli flags and Iran’s pre-1979 monarchy flag.
Trade union activist Adam Muse told Al Jazeera that racism and Islamophobia have moved from the margins to mainstream politics, and “are being pushed forward by MPs”.
He said the march was “deeply needed to push back against (Reform leader Nigel) Farage and people like him,” adding that the party “must be defeated at the ballot box”.
Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic, reporting from the march, said protesters were pushing back against “the politics of hate and division” in the United Kingdom.
Hamza Ahsan, a protester, activist and writer, told Al Jazeera that he was inspired to take part after a rally organized by far-right agitator-activist Tommy Robinson was attended by 150,000 people and resulted in violence that left several police officers injured. Robinson is reportedly planning another rally in May.
“We have to show them that we are the majority,” Ahsan said. “At street level, the far right will not take over our streets.”
He said the atmosphere on Saturday resembled a Notting Hill carnival, as the march united people of all backgrounds “from pensioners to children”.
Museum worker Charlotte Elliston told Al Jazeera that she too feels troubled by the rise of the far right.
“You think it will never happen here, and then suddenly it can,” she said. “You see it’s getting scary.”
Many leftist politicians participated in the demonstration.
Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn posted on Twitter that “the problems we face are not caused by migrants or refugees”, arguing that they are rooted in “an economic system rigged to favor corporations and billionaires”.
MP Zarah Sultana said on X, “There is a minority we should be angry at: billionaires funding departments while working-class people can’t make ends meet.”
Green Party leader Zac Polanski, Diane Abbott and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham were also in the crowd.
‘Historical performance’
Rights group Amnesty UK praised the “historic demonstration”, saying that the marchers were “calling for a different vision of society – one that puts respect, compassion and human rights at its heart”.
A separate march organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which gathered on Exhibition Road near Hyde Park, converged with the main demonstration during the afternoon.
Eighteen people were arrested outside New Scotland Yard on Saturday after protesting in support of Palestine Action, a protest group that is banned under the Terrorism Act despite a High Court ruling in February that the government’s decision to ban it was unlawful.
The march comes amid rising racism as Farage’s Reform Party leads in the elections.
Hope Not Hate, an anti-racism campaign group, warned in early March that the British far right is now “bigger, bolder and more radical than ever”.
