PROTESTORS took to the streets of London on Saturday to show their opposition to the far right. The march came just weeks before most of the UK will be voting in elections in local government and the devolved nations.
The march was in fact two marches: one organised by the Together Alliance and a second march organised by the Palestine Coalition. The two marches came together in Whitehall, where they listened to speeches. National mainstream parties stayed away, but Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Green Party Leader Zack Polanski were among the speakers and some left wing MPs, such as Jeremy Corbyn MP and Diane Abbott, were present too.
The Together Alliance groups grassroots activists who are against the far right with mainstream groups such as trade unions and faith groups and celebrities. Organisers claimed that half a million people were out on the protest.
The demonstration did show that there is solid opposition to the far right, but after it ended, everyone went home. The real test of support for the extreme right will come at the polls in May. It is easier to organise coaches to take protestors to London than it is to organise the fractured left into an electoral fighting force. Voters are unlikely to be influenced a great deal by a national demonstration: they need good left candidates across the UK, backed by solid, campaigning parties that can turn the vote out. With the left lacking a unified electoral strategy, the spirit shown by the demonstration may soon be quashed by electoral outcomes.
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