"White Lives Matter" Racist Trash not welcome in Portsmouth.Anti Racist Rally Portsmouth Guildhall square. 8th October.

Simon Magorian.
Stand Up to Racism.
The racists from South Coast Resistance, who are basically Pie and Mash Squad, or considering their debacle in May in Portsmouth, would be better called "Pie and Mash, Halloween masks and a crate of discount beer Squad"are blessing us with another event.
The title for their event.White Lives Matter really says it all.The White Lives Matter Movement in the U.S.A. is obviously a response to the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the large number of African American deaths at the hands of the police.WLM in the States is basically Ku Klux Klan and what's left of The Angry White Man Movement. As such SCR is not just attempting to appeal to Racists but also to Nazis.Concepts like White Pride are the currency not of the far right but Fascists.

There has been a spike in Racism nationally since the Brexit vote and this has even included the murder of a Polish man.The way the media have conducted themselves both before and after the referendum  has given the impression that it is now acceptable to be openly racist and clearly some far right groups thinks this is an opportunity to spread their message of hate.

There have been some examples of this hitting Portsmouth like this graffiti reported in Portsmouth News shortly after the referendum.

Portsmouth is an Antiracist city with a good multicultural vibe. This was clearly demonstrated at the large turnout for Hope Not Hate's  More in Common event in honour of the murdered MP Jo Cox recently.
In fact there has not been a significant upturn in racist incidents in Portsmouth.

These guys want to change that.

Our protest is not about them it's about us.


Link to page with demo details here. 

This is about us making an important statement about the majority of citizens who want a non racist inclusive city that doesn't demonise immigrants and welcomes refugees.
We want people to bring banners and placards to celebrate our diversity. Bring musical instruments and poems if you like.We will also be doing a collection for the forthcoming Stand Up to Racism trip to Calais in December.
We are coming together to celebrate multicultural Portsmouth.
We send out an invitation to everyone who regards diversity as a sign of strength to join us in a positive demonstration , where we can unite and celebrate multicultural Portsmouth.
Yes to diversity.
No to Racism.
Called by Stand Up to Racism/Unite against Fascism./Love Music Hate Racism.

 

Pie and Mash Fascists in Portsmouth washout. The Reich that lasted not for a thousand years but a mere 12 minutes.

By Simon Magorian.
Unite Against Fascism.

 
 Photo: Les Crompton.

For weeks the Pie and mash squad have been screaming about their local anti-Immigrant ,anti-Refugee demo and declaring in stentorian tones that they speak for Portsmouth.It was called in the name of South Coast Resistance,the group who did not exist until two weeks before the demo were called, and are P&M in all but name and were the flag of convenience for this particular debacle.
 Their protest was due to start at midday, however, they got down there early, taking a position on the Guildhall steps from about 1030 onwards. At this point they numbered about 20, the Unite against Fascism/Stand up to Racism protest started to assemble opposite them on the main concourse in Guildhall Square. From the outset we clearly outnumbered them substantially.
Their claim of course is that they represent the people of Portsmouth. This would be true if the people of Portsmouth went around in skull masks necking vast quantities of lager at 10 o'clock in the morning, but thankfully they don't. As soon as we got there we got the chanting going. A lot of work had been done by all the groups organising for this.Not Just from Unite Against Fascism and Stand Up to Racism who had called the demo.There were of course Portsmouth Trades Council banner who supported our protest along with banners and flags from Portsmouth AntiFascists , Unite,Unison,PCS,NUT,RMT, NASUWT and others.It was broad ranged, lots of students, people from town,the Pompey Pensioners. Dozens of people had turned up from the Anti Fascist Network from Portsmouth Southampton and Brighton. We quite clearly represented a very broad range of groups from across the south.

From the outset we decided that our protest was not merely going to be an antifascist protest but we were going to define the meaning of the day. This was not merely to be a protest against them but a protest in solidarity with refugees.
We had a   Stand up to Racism  stall set up in the square where people could sign a statement in solidarity with refugees. Throughout the course of proceedings many people came up to sign this and sign up to our convoy going to Calais with stand up to racism on 18 June. One of the reasons why racists in Portsmouth have been feeling more confident is due to the disgraceful behaviour of Donna Jones Tory leader of Portsmouth City Council, who led a campaign attempting to have Portsmouth removed from the government asylum hub. She also pushed through the scrapping of the councils Hate Crimes Unit, which was shortly followed by the dumping of a pig's head carved with a swastika on it outside a local Muslim school. Many of the people speaking at the rally felt that the antics of Donna Jones and her Conservative colleagues have created a space where racists feel more confident in Portsmouth.
Needless to say Donna Jones was nowhere to be seen during our protest.
However amongst many people who came up to sign a statement in solidarity with refugees was the only newly elected Labour councillor Stephen Morgan.

The Nazis in comparison seemed very quiet and totally unfocused politically. They seem to spend most of their time just swaying or gesticulating in our general direction.


Perhaps they're not feeling too chipper. We recently had an enormously successful packed launch rally for Stand Up to Racism in Guildhall Library.
David Cameron has just had to backtrack on allowing child refugees into Britain amidst accusations that this was akin to refusing the Kindertransport who brought jewish children to Britain fleeing Hitler.
The election victory of Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, as London Mayor,  after one of the most disgracefully racist campaigns in recent history,whose family came over from Pakistan in '47 and whose father was a bus driver and his mother a seamstress is a victory for anti racists the importance of which is difficult to overestimate.

These things make them very,very angry .

It also makes them very,very demoralised.


Good.

We had   predicted they would  get about 40 people for their protest, and the presumption was that there might be other people coming, that was certainly the impression they had been giving for the few weeks.In reality we had flattered them ,they had a couple of dozen,we had 150 and including people who came over to give support and moved on around 200.
When the Guildhall clock let out the peals for midday we assumed that their protest might actually be starting even though they had no more people, however they just continued in a desultory way, swaying and gesticulating. At this point I think the penny dropped that was all the numbers they were going to get for their protest and decided the best option would be to walk off the steps and head to the nearest pub.So hot and dehydrated they stumbled off to get more alcohol.
So that was it. Their protest was supposed to start at 12 o'clock and finished at 12 minutes past.

12 minutes.

Truly fainthearted fascists.

We promptly took all our banners and placards marched onto the steps the Guildhall's square to declare it antifascist space.
A big cheer went up when the  delegation from Dover arrived from the Kent Antiracist Network, in solidarity with the magnificent opposition they have been giving the fascists down there.

We then proceeded to have a pro-refugee rally. There followed  speeches from Unite Against Fascism,Stand Up to Racism, the leader of Portsmouth Trades Council John Woods, Mick Tosh of the RMT, Pompey pensioners, AFN, and poems were read out.



Close to a hundred pounds was collected for our convoy on June 18, this is alongside £100 from Portsmouth Trades Council and £150 by Unison City Branch pledged earlier in the week . Another important statement was made in terms of Portsmouth standing up for refugees and against racism.We turned a day that could have been negative into a positive day of humanitarian solidarity.

Another miserable day for the fascists.

Pie and Mash/ South Coast Resistance Fascist Hatemob Not Welcome in Portsmouth.Join the UAF counterprotest.

There will be  Hatefest called by Pie and Mash and the local Fascists called under their latest Flag of Convenience , South Coast Resistance, on May 7th in Guildhall Square. .
It is based on a lie.

It is claiming Portsmouth Council is planning to give preferential housing to Refugees ahead of locals.Donna Jones policies regarding Refugees could be described as EDL friendly. Also it's worth pointing out for the umpteenth time. Asylum seekers get no Council housing at all!
This belongs to the school of thought that Refugees get put up in 5 star Hotels and are given shedloads of money. They normally get housed in the shittiest places and are expected to survive on £36.95 a week.

They are hoping to stir up some trouble on the basis of Anti-Refugee sentiment.They hold to the point of view , that if someone is down, rather than help them up you should give them a good kicking.

After many setbacks ,they are hoping to rebuild on the basis of hatred for Refugees which sadly is a current within British society.
What broke there  backs in Portsmouth was broad based opposition to them.Specifically the protest outside the Muslim Madami Academy about 3 years ago.Not only did we outnumber them but we could clearly say we represented Portsmouth.
We had Pensioners and schoolkids, banners from Nas/Uwt, NUT, Unison , Pcs and of course Portsmouth Trades Council.We represented all the Faiths, Students,LGBT and were totally multicultural.

They had a bunch of drunken boneheads shipped in from outside.

We intend to do the same this time round.Our opposition will be broadbased, multifaith and diverse.We want to have a colourful vibrant celebration of multiculturalism in Portsmouth.We are asking for as many Trade Union and community banners as possible.
There has been a lot of solidarity shown towards Refugees in Portsmouth. Stand Up to Racism amongst many others has organised events and solidarity protests.

Stand Up to Racism is backing this counterprotest.

It is also being backed by Portsmouth Trades Council.

It is important that his is not merely an Anti Fascist event but we also push a positive message in Solidarity with Refugees.
By affirming the rights of Refugees we also affirm our own humanity.



Please support our Facebook Page so we can start building opposition to them.

To get to the facebook page press here.


Pie and Mash for people who don't know are the mouldering remains of the EDL.Some people think it's slightly comical for a group to have a name like that.It is however rhyming slang.
Pie and Mash-Fash.
Geddit?

The local Nazis have had a bit of a hard time of it,of late. Every attempt they have made to resurrect there fortunes has been a dismal flop.Their latest attempt has been to try and set up a Portsmouth section of Soldiers of Odin. I saw a rather inebriated group of them sashaying around Portsmouth and Southsea station last week.
At the beginning of March there was a meeting held down here by Western Spring.
As it says on their Website :

"Recently, five Nationalists from three groups met in Portsmouth with a view to co-operating in the advancement of the Nationalist Cause. The three groups were Western Spring, Pie and Mash Squad, and the New British Union (NBU)."

Although I can't see NBU and P&M getting on particularly well ,the NBU see themselves as Mosleyite officer class type material and probably see the mashers as the kind of salt of the earth types who smashed up Communist Party meetings circa 1933.From what i can gather this consisted of half a dozen members of The Master Race in somebody's living room in Portsmouth.
It's tempting to sit back and laugh at the Fascists.However, whilst they may  be very small at the moment across the channel they are growing alarmingly.In Poland and other countries they have been getting demonstrations of  many 10s of thousands.
People are talking of Marine Le Pen , the French leader of the Fascist Front National of being a serious contender for the Presidency.
It is important we do what we can to marginalise them now.

There have been a number of these small Nazi demos up and down the country.Now, unfortunately it's our turn to oppose them.
They have issued a call out for others to support them.
It will be very small and very nasty.

However,if possible, we need to nip it in the bud now.

Please help to build for the counter protest.
Portsmouth has a brilliant tradition of opposing the Fascists.
Let's show this shower what Anti-Fascist Solidarity looks like.
Please help to build the opposition by using the Facebook page and/or contact me at the email/tel no below.

Simon Magorian
Convener
Portsmouth Unite Against Fascism
07758112931
portsmouthuaf@gmail.com

Fascists have another poor day in Dover.

By Simon Magorian.

The Nazis had another bad day in Dover.The South East Alliance only managed a paltry 80 people for their Anti-Refugee hatefest.The Kent Anti Racist Network managed to mobilise  around 350 people for their event.KARN led a convoy of aid vehicles that went down to the port to be  cheered and  sent off to Calais. There were a large number of locals on the march , and the figures were bouyed up by contingents from Unite Against Fascism , Anti Fascist Network and London 2 Calais.
The AntiFascists managed to block the road where the Nazis were due to march for over an hour.It was pretty clear after the last demo in January where the Police didn't know what they were doing, that nothing was going to occur which might be an impediment to the career prospects of the Chief Constable. Not just Dover Police were in attendance but Police from Sussex, Essex and a contingent from the Met on standby.

There were very clear messages being relayed on the day. It was not just that they wanted to make a point to the Anti-Fascists (they were clearly targetting Black bloc protesters) and wanted to push the Nazis through. They also wanted to make a point to the Nazis, that they were beholden to the Police for their safety. It was as if they were saying ,the Anti Fascists protesters chant of "If it wasn't for the coppers you'd be dead." was absolutely true. I imagine the policing for the day was decided at the very highest level.
However, as far as I am aware over a dozen people were arrested all of them AntiFascists.Solidarity must be offered to all of them.
We ended up in a pub in  Folkestone ,and were discussing the people arrested.Whilst there I saw on my phone that the local Tory MP,Charlie Elphicke  had tweeted:
"Militant hard left occupying port road at Dover. Unwelcome, damaging to our nation's economy and the town. Go away."
If there is any justice there will be a major shitstorm heading his way,if he sees the Nazis as not being a problem and the people who condemn them are.
 Utterly disgraceful.
I have never been in Folkestone before ,but my mother has.She was a nursing sister here who was 48 hours on her feet when they were bringing the exhausted soldiers in from Dunkirk.
I don't imagine Mr Elphicke objected to an AntiFascist outsider like my mother being down there in 1940.Sometimes we need our AntiFascist outsiders to show support.

What has been happening in Dover has been the locals have been leading the way in showing principled oppostion to the Fascists and compassion towards the wretched suffering of refugees.
I would like to pay homage to KARN and to Bunny La Roche in particular to the sterling work they have been doing in Dover.
AntiFascists from outside will continue to come and give support .
We do not need a permission slip from the local Tory MP Mr Elphicke thank you very much.
Oh, and yes we will like my dear old mum was many years ago , be outside agitating AntiFascists on the 23rd of April when the Fascist rabble threaten to come again.
Solidarity to all.