TOMMY ROBINSON supporters will be marching in London this Saturday, under the slogans “Free Tommy” and “stop the isolation.” Robinson, aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is currently in prison and in solitary confinement after admitting contempt of court. 

While his supporters claim they simply want “justice,” a cursory glance at the virulent racism, Islamophobia and anti-migrant hatred on Tommy Robinson’s “X” profile reveals the real agenda. This demonstration is about stirring up racism and Islamophobia to build a fascist street movement and follows a series of Islamophobic attacks on mosques in London in the form of anti-Muslim graffiti.

There’s no doubt that recent events have emboldened this movement. Taking inspiration from the reactionary “Maga” movement in the US that has propelled Donald Trump into a second term as US president, “Mega” (Make England Great Again) red baseball caps will be available at this far-right demonstration. Every fascist and racist in Britain, and indeed across the globe, hailed Donald Trump’s presidency as a victory, especially after his immediate actions following his inauguration. 

These include the National Emergency Declaration regarding immigration which turns the white nationalist “Great Replacement Theory” into federal policy. 

Trump has militarised the US-Mexico border and has ended rights enshrined in the constitution like birthright citizenship, indefinitely paused the US refugee admissions programme which effectively banned the entry of all refugees and implemented targeted raids across the United States. 

Trump also released convicted fascists and white supremacists in the Capitol Hill riots, such as the Proud Boys and the Oathkeepers. 

Many Robinson supporters marching on Saturday will be beaming with glee after Elon Musk’s Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration. 

Musk also made a surprise appearance during Germany’s Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) election campaign event in Halle in eastern Germany last weekend, alongside the party’s co-leader Alice Weidel. Musk spoke about preserving German culture and protecting the German people and said: “Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents,” and “There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that.” These were clear references to Nazi rule in Germany. 

Earlier this week the world marked Holocaust Memorial Day, 80 years on from the liberation of Auschwitz by the Soviet Union’s Red Army. Since then the world said “never again.” Never again must mean learning the lessons of history and stopping the rise of the far right and fascism today. 

This must include calling out Musk, his close relationship with Trump and understanding the dangers this represents. 

Musk has openly defended and supported Robinson and pressured Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to call for Robinson to be released from solitary confinement. While Farage has continued to attempt to distance himself from the fascist Robinson, Musk has contributed to tensions escalating in Reform UK over alignment with Robinson. 

At previous Robinson demonstrations when asked who attendees voted for at the general election, their answer was overwhelmingly Reform UK. A recent poll by Opinium put Reform on 27 per cent, just 1 per cent behind Labour and 6 per cent above the Tories. 

There is a very real danger that Reform UK could follow the same trajectory as Germany’s AfD. In other words it could go from distancing itself from fascism and Nazism, to embracing it. Reform UK could also receive more support from Musk. 

Fascism breeds in a climate of racism and economic catastrophe. Never again must mean combatting racism, anti-semitism, Islamophobia and anti-migrant and refugee hatred.

We must remember and understand that the mass murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust was a deliberate attempt to eliminate Jewish people from Europe, that anti-semitism was at the foundation of the Holocaust and a basic tenet of Nazi ideology. It was also widespread throughout Europe, including in Britain.

In addition to six million Jews it is estimated that millions of others — approximately five million — were also mass murdered by the Nazis, including Soviet prisoners of war, ethnic Poles, Roma, Sinti, Serbs, Jehovah’s Witnesses, LGBT, black, disabled people, German political opponents and dissenters, including socialists, communists and trade unionists. This illustrates the unity needed to fight fascism and racism today. 

We must also mobilise and take to the streets against fascists. Jews, communists, socialists, trade unionists and others mobilised to stop Moseley’s fascists at Cable Street. 

The Anti Nazi League and black communities mobilised to defeat the National Front. In that same spirit many of us mobilised and stopped the racist riots last summer and displayed a massive show of strength against Robinson’s fascist thugs in October. We must be prepared to mobilise against the far right and fascists over and over again, including this Saturday against Tommy Robinson supporters. 

We cannot ignore the links between the far-right forces emboldened by Trump’s presidency, Musk’s dangerous rhetoric, and the rise of racism and hatred in Britain. The international far right is growing and we must act now to resist their repulsive politics of hate. 

On Saturday February 1, we must march united against these forces and demand a future free from racism, Islamophobia and anti-semitism. We must send a clear message that we will not allow the far right to flourish unchecked in our society. 

Please check www.standuptoracism.org.uk for further details of the demonstration.