Kmflett's Blog

The Together Alliance protest in central London on 28th March brought an estimated 500,000 on the streets against racism and the far right.

The number of trade union banners was significant but so also were the home made placards a sign of a movement that reached well beyond the ‘usual’ protest crowd.

The Metropolitan Police not usually regarded as a body that has a strong relationship with reality claimed 50,000 had marched although they weren’t really sure. Indeed for a long period the Met gave up counting numbers on protests since they were simply inflicting further reputational damage on themselves.

The Met not known for competence seems unaware that it has a Twitter account that posts time stamped details of central London demonstrations and pictures of them. Count as you will if the back of the march is still in Park Lane and the front is in Trafalgar Square that is a very large protest.

It is indeed difficult to be precise on numbers as on many very large demonstrations which invariably move slowly, people come and go. On 28th March there was not only the main Together Alliance march but a feeder Palestine Solidary march too.

The downplaying of protest numbers has a very long history stretching back to the first mass demonstration captured by photograph, the Chartists call for the vote on Kennington Common on 10th April 1848. Official estimates claimed 20,000 while Chartist leader Feargus O’Connor suggested a much larger number. Probably around 100,000 were actually there, almost all from London.

The Together Alliance was a national protest and the numbers suggest a heightened intensity of protest.

On 30th April 1978 100,000 were in Victoria Park in East London for a Carnival Against the Nazis. The National Front were at best fourth in the polls and had no MPs. Reform marks a step change as does the 28th March protest.

The Birth of our Power to focus the work of rooting out the far right in workplaces and communities took place on 28th March.