Resist Britain First Demo
By Ian Spark
Introduction
On Saturday 21st February 2026, the fascist group Britain First (BF) marched through the city of Manchester explicitly calling for the mass forced deportation of all people who live in Britain but were not born here.
There were two counter-demos, one led by the national group Stand Up To Racism (SUTR), the other led by a coalition of grassroot anti-fascist groups using the name Resist Britain First (RBF).
As BF announced their demo months ago, RBF began work in preparation to oppose BF’s presence and racist messages in Manchester city centre. This coalition came out of the efforts of grassroot groups to resist fascism and the far right in general, opposition or apathy to the tactics of SUTR and a desire not to see a repeat what happened the last time BF came to Manchester, when a small group of anti-fascists were kettled by the police and unable to able effectively oppose the fascists marching.
BF gathered near Piccadilly station and intended to march directly to Castlefield Bowl and hold a rally.
SUTR held a rally that began at Piccadilly Gardens then they marched to the Manchester Central Library where they danced around for a bit.
RBF gathered at Sackville Gardens, then made their way through the city to try to physically block BF from marching and ended up at Castlefield Bowl. The main aim of RBF was to disrupt and delay the fascists’ march and force its dispersal to such an extent that the BF rally would be called off.
The numbers reported attending these events are often contested, nevertheless it is generally agreed that at the start of the BF demo there were 500 to 700, and as few as 200 to 300 by the time they reached their destination; with 500 to 800 gathering for RBF and the same with SUTR.
What happened?
SUTR held their rally and march entirely without incident. There was a small police presence which tried to keep the far right streamers under control. SUTR did not appear to come close to BF, with speeches from notable politicians such as Jeremy Corbyn and Green Party deputy co-leader Mothin Ali.
RBF included activists from Greater Manchester (GM), Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool. Comrades went from Sackville Gardens to a 4-way junction to block BF from marching. At this junction the police surrounded the bloc on all 4 sides, but it was not a full kettle.
The police tried to push us closer together to kettle us and get us out of the way of BF. These efforts were resisted with RBF protestors holding the line and pushing back against the police, when at least one comrade was arrested and held for a few hours. RBF was prepared with lawyers. The police positioned a dog out to bark at protesters in a failed attempt to intimidate them.
An hour on, BF were a couple of dozen metres away from the RBF protestors, so as the police were unable to move us, BF were rerouted. This followed a significant delay where BF were held in a tunnel near Piccadilly Station, while the police tried to find a safe route.
RBF quickly resumed the counter march and travelled to a nearby T-junction, when a cloud of green smoke appeared. Some counter-protesters believe this may have been tear-gas deployed by the police or the fascists to disperse us. BF were re-routed again as they were unable to pass through the T-junction.
This combined with the attempted kettle, caused the RBF bloc to split, with half kettled near the T-junction while the police escorted BF to their destination. I and the others went to Castlefield Bowl.
In a further attempt at intimidation, the police approached the first group with a line of horses.
We arrived at Castlefield Bowl just before BF did, as the police blocked us from the bowl they then initiated another kettle, as some were able to slip by the police.
The BF rally was a flop, delayed by well over an hour, and as the rain started most had already departed. Their leader Paul Golding had to cut his speech short with as few as 50 remaining.
RBF worked hard to foster a sense of community and comradeship, so this was a victory for us and despite not totally stopping the march and rally there was preparation and a strong desire to defend our communities.
Unsurprisingly BF claimed the day as a victory but blame police sabotage for the less than favourable outcome, which is ironical since it was the police who allowed their march a ‘safe passage’. In a video circulated by far-right streamer a person says, “we’ve had to reroute so many times, antifa are everywhere blocking us.”
SUTR, again unsurprisingly claim the victory for themselves, some do not even mention RBF and others falsely say RBF were kettled and achieved nothing. SUTR’s effect was marginal in opposing BF, and in preventing the BF to march and rally in the way they wanted to.kk
A question of tactics: RBF vs SUTR
Let us focus on the different tactics of the counter-protest groups SUTR and RBF.
SUTR, in GM at least, have a long history of refusing to work with grassroots groups. At times they say they agree but then ignore agreements, as witnessed in Stockport last year outside one of the hotels housing asylum seekers. The same story is repeated in other areas.
SUTRs tactics, have not varied over the last 10+ years. Attendees at SUTR events do not hide their identities, leaving them open to being doxed by far-right streamers. SUTR also consistently flood social media with photos and videos of attendees showing their faces. I know of at least one community leader and the group they belong to being subject to harassment following being doxed by the far right after attending a protest without a mask.
RBF on the other hand is entirely formed of grassroot groups. Their aim was to disrupt BF and prevent their marching and rally by physically blocking them. By its very nature this requires staying mobile. It requires having good knowledge of the terrain and careful preparation to ensure awareness of their positions at any one time. It also requires some people being able and willing to physically resist the fascists as well as police intimidation and to physically resist any fascist or police violence, as not all people are willing or able to do this.
RBF and similar groups measure success by the level of disruption of far right and fascists actions. RBF also encouraged comrades to cover their faces and wear non-descript clothing to cover any identifiable features. This was to protect comrades from being identified by police and possibly doxxed by the far-right streamers, also for safety purposes before and after the action.
Without the RBF counter-protest, BF could have marched unopposed, held their rally an hour earlier, for longer and with more people and subsequently unleashed a jubilant crowd of far-right protesters and fascists into the city.
SUTR did prevent BF from rerouting through Piccadilly, but RBF’s tactics were more effective at disrupting BFs actions. There could be an agreed strategy in which a static protest is combined with a more active attempt to block the fascists from marching, as this has been done at least once before with SUTR when cooperation was agreed with grassroots groups on that occasion.
The major roadblock to cooperation and a combination of tactics is GM SUTR’s obsessive sectarian need for control. A major reason of their need for control is fear that competing grassroot efforts might divert the flow of donations and activist support from trade unions and individuals, which SUTR survives upon. It is no surprise that a group founded and controlled by the SWP and trade union bureaucrats, has such a need for control.
Summary
An important lesson from the day for RBF is the need to refine tactics and improve communications on the day, as at times comrades felt lost and unsure of what to do next, and what course of action to take. As well as consideration and preparation for the future, organising more sessions covering potential scenarios, tactics and communications are important. RBF made gargantuan efforts that went into action.
My constructive criticism to members and supporters of SUTR who want to see a combination of tactics to achieve a better outcome is to demand of your leaders to change their ways, cooperate and abandon their obsessive need for control. If they do not listen, oust them and replace them with those who will, or next time join a group like RBF instead.
To our working class communities, let the actions of groups like RBF be a clarion call ringing out across the country and the world – the far right and fascists can be opposed, disrupted and defeated; the power of state repression can be pushed back and ultimately defeated; but only when we stand together; only when we keep each other safe and do not rely on the state forces of repression; only when we work as one.
This is the lesson that working class struggle has taught us time and time again. Let us ensure we never forget! The working class is the force that can stop Britain First in alliance with the youth and all activists.
WARNING Britain First state they plan to return to Manchester on St George’s day – ¡No pasarán!