It was a busy weekend for anti-fascists with people opposing the EDL in Leeds, Leeds AFN holding their own demo in Rotherham and anti-fascists joining a pro-Kobane demo in London opposing a Turkish business ball at the Savoy. However top news of the weekend was a victory in Cardiff over the ‘Welsh Alliance’.
The Welsh Alliance appear to be a new incarnation of or split from the Welsh Defence League. Their claims not to be racist are slightly undermined by the Welsh Defence League having been famously stuffed full of out-and-out fascists such as notorious Swansea Nazi Luke Pippin.
And on Saturday, lo and behold Luke Pippin surfaced as one of the leaders of the Welsh Alliance. Not for long though, as within minutes of leaving the pub he was arrested for shouting verbal abuse and using threatening behaviour.
Their barrel-scraping ’Alliance’ consisted of about 30 racists and that includes shipping in plentiful support from across the border. Funnily for a demo in Wales, their most prominent flag was a large St George’s cross saying ‘Battle for England’. Shurely shome mishtake?
Even though anti-fascists only mobilised at short notice a week in advance, they still outnumbered the fascists 2 to 1.
Due to the scale of opposition from anti-fascists, the fascist march was impeded all along its route, stopped in its tracks several times and was forced to be rerouted round the back streets. They had planned to march from the train station up the High Street for speeches at the City Hall. They were eventually forced to have their ‘rally’ in a back street by the police station, where they were drowned out by anti-fascists.
However unhappily at the end of the march, the counter-demonstration was kettled while the fascists were allowed to disperse to drink in city-centre pubs, including the Wetherspoons Prince of Wales which happily served them but ejected anti-fascists.
One anti-fascist was arrested and released without charge.
The fascists’ leader was arrested, they failed to spew their racial hatred at the people of Cardiff, they were invisible within a police kettle and were forced into the back streets by strong opposition. Result for anti-fascists in South Wales!
