Organisers of Saturday's Together Alliance march in central London claim half a million people took part in a demonstration against the rise of the far right. The event featured a march from Park Lane to Whitehall, speeches and a music event in Trafalgar Square, with police expecting all rallies to conclude by 5pm.
Protesters cited opposition to Reform UK, support for Palestine, and anti-racism as reasons for attending. Paige Horsford, a teacher from Kent, said racist incidents in her school have worsened following the Unite the Kingdom rally in September, with pupils imitating accents and blaming migrants for the country's ills.
Co-organiser Sabby Dhalu said the UK is seeing an 'unprecedented growth' in support for far-right organisations, but expressed confidence that the size of Saturday's mobilisation had intimidated the far right. She added there was no intelligence of counter-protests and that the demonstration would be peaceful.
Crawford Logan, a 76-year-old from Stirling, said he was 'absolutely' worried about Reform UK, calling it 'old Tories in disguise'. Daniel Kebede of the National Education Union criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer's past comments about immigration, saying those in power have used racism to 'feather their own nests'.
The march comes seven months after the Unite the Kingdom rally led by Tommy Robinson, which attracted over 100,000 people and saw violent disorder. Organisers said the Together Alliance event aimed to show that most British people stand against hatred and division.
