Nuneaton witnessed a significant far-right protest on Saturday, where approximately 400 individuals rallied outside the town hall to express their outrage over an alleged crime. The demonstration, called “Nuneaton says No!”, was called originally in the wake of the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl. Two men, thought to be Afghan asylum seekers, have been charged over the incident.
The mood at the protest was intense, martial music including “Rule, Britannia!” blaring from speakers. Most participants in the rally wore union T-shirts showing Nazi propaganda and waved the flags at the assemblage as they sang their cause to log. They called on prominent far-right figure, Tommy Robinson — a.k.a. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — to attend the protest. He has been on bail since an alleged assault at St Pancras station.
One speaker at the event declared, “England is doomed. You cannot stop it by protesting, the far right must unite.” At the same time, a large placard that said This Is England and another that said UK first were hard to miss in the crowd.
Nuneaton and Bedworth police were able to make an arrest during the operation. They arrested a 17-year-old male on suspicion of making threats to commit criminal damage. As the protest took to the street, police were everywhere, outnumbering the activists, and even patrolling from above.
While counter-protesters were largely there as well, they were heavily outnumbered—with far-right supporters more than four times as many. After nearly two hours of growing tension, they were only removed by police after taking their last stand. One counter-protester voiced their concerns, stating, “Why do fascists only care about women when they can use our stories and pain to oppress others?”
As the afternoon wore on, though, the mood started to change. The protest began to come to an end by mid-afternoon as music stopped and many protesters started to go home. By the end of the day, the crowd had completely fizzled out, leaving in its wake an overwhelming history of increased tensions and hateful rhetoric.