Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Report of anti-BNP march in Leeds

Sunburnt | 13.06.2009 22:42 | Anti-racism | Migration

Somewhere between 300 and 500 gathered by Leeds Art Gallery today (Saturday) to oppose the BNP after their electoral success in Yorkshire and the Humber. Despite the police refusing permission, a march took place in which Anti-Fascists briefly reclaimed the streets of Leeds.

As Unite Against Fascism events go, this wasn't the usual round of dire self-congratulatory speeches that come from trying to build an alliance with the Tories. Disability and LGBT rights activists joined the UAF 'organisers' and Trades Council reps, and a message was read from a local children's author. One speaker began "standing here is like looking at Redwatch", another ran a line of jokes about Monday's "eggsellent" intervention, to which another responded with an out-and-out renunciation of violence. More than one person used the phrase "No Passaran" without explaining the context, alienating fresh enthusiastic campaigners.

The final speaker was the indomitable Weyman Bennet, self-proclaimed hero of UK anti-fascism. His was the first speech to even vaguely mention a march, as he announced that the rally was over and it was time to leave, but best to do it in unity, leaving as a group along the Headrow. With certain people clearly not paying attention, unsuspecting protesters were swept along with those who clearly had been annoyed at previous references to the event as a rally.

Out of the square everyone poured, with the police apparently determined to keep people on the pavement. A few meters along, and the march swarmed into the junction and onwards along the road towards the shopping streets and the bus station. Chants were many and various, with the Revo kids apparently carrying sheets with the words on. Might have been nice to see one, as a few of the chants were so long most people couldn't keep up. And so the march moved forwards at some pace, with the police running to keep up.

At the junction with Briggate, the front of the march took a distinct swing towards the shopping street. A confrontation ensued in which one anarchist-flag waving protester was dragged off to one side and shouted at by an officer holding his hoody by the throat. At least one shopper shouted that the march was a disgrace, but it appears little notice was taken by the marchers, perhaps a good thing for said individual who seemed to think her taxes were being unnecessarily drained by the events (in which case she should have seen the number of vans accompanying the Orange freaks later).

Some less-than-empowering stewarding from UAF ensured the march kept moving on towards the roundabout that marks the end of Headrow, whereupon the police suddenly blocked the march from proceeding. In the confusion which followed, the march headed back the way it had come, then a stand off, and then another reverse, with a police van appearing just in time to stop the traffic on the roundabout.

The protest took the third exit and moved towards the BBC, in full view of the passengers of every bus around the bus station. Chants directed at the BBC's apparent free airtime for the BNP, specifically on the Today program. A few quick megaphone speeches, some total failure to realise the back entrance was open by most of the marchers, and everyone was heading for pubs. Police appeared to follow in the first instance, but clearly got rather bored. For an event which might as easily have been entirely preaching to the choir, the determination to march was admirable, setting a clear trend for future activity.

Sunburnt

Comments

Display the following 37 comments

  1. 2 women arrested — no body innit
  2. Move on you lot! — Edelweiss Pirate
  3. Cowardice — concerned of gipton
  4. If we are going to beat the BNP we are going to have to do a lot better than thi — Leeds Antifascist
  5. arrestees — heard through the grapevine
  6. its time — ballz
  7. Agree Ballz — Anti
  8. Leeds demo — leeds mick
  9. UAF — Stalker
  10. UAF Wankers — Antifascist
  11. Leeds Mick — Leeds John
  12. a little advice — Russell's mother
  13. Your mum... — Russell's Mother's Mum
  14. divide and rule — just another humanbeing
  15. so what are we going to actually do then? — Bridget Riley
  16. Swallowing more than pride — Antifascist
  17. strategy to beat BNP — Leeds Mick
  18. The SWP/UAF have no strategy to beat the BNP — No Pasaran!
  19. Clueless UAF — @
  20. LMBFHAO — Mika Salo
  21. ANTIFASCIST — UAF champion
  22. More Lies From the UAF — Antifascist
  23. no pasaran — leeds Mick
  24. "No Pasaran"? - The UAF are disgrace to antifascism — Antifascist
  25. Unity? — moon23
  26. anitfascist — UAF Champion
  27. Saturday and beyond — Against the BNP
  28. Now the UAF are street-fighters! — Antifascist
  29. ANTIFA — UAF Champion
  30. UNITY — UAF Champion
  31. Get on — UAF Champion
  32. UAF Champion — Antifascist
  33. seconded — ananrchist
  34. Ant fascist — Leeds Mick
  35. Ant fascist — Leeds Mick
  36. Leeds Mick — Antifascist
  37. my experience — steve scum
Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech