February 21, 2011

Barnsley: antifascists march as EDL’s links to BNP exposed

Around 100 people turned up to support the joint Barnsley Trades Council and UAF demonstration in Barnsley on Saturday 19 February against the fascist British National Party, despite snow and harsh conditions. But on the day, antifascists found themselves opposing both the BNP and the English Defence League.

Both the BNP – which tries to hide its long history of fascism – and the racist street thugs of the EDL have sought to deny connections between the two organisations, although the EDL’s leader “Tommy Robinson” is a former BNP member and other fascists are central to its organisation. But the links between the two groups were exposed when members of the EDL’s Yorkshire division turned out to defend the BNP’s stall in Barnsley as local trade unionists and antifascists marched against them.

The BNP is standing in the Barnsley Central byelection on 3 March. Local trade unionists and antifascists organised the march to oppose the BNP after the fascist party’s leader Nick Griffin’s recent visits to the town and the BNP’s attempts to maintain a stall in the town centre. The BNP wants to whip up support for its poinsonous racist and fascist ideas – local people are determined to oppose them.

The trade union and antifascist demo marched through the centre of Barnsley to show their opposition at the site where the BNP hold a stall.

Demonstrators were shocked when 50 EDL members marched up from a pub shouting abusive slogans. For an hour, police kept both groups penned in and refused to allow the trades council march to proceed. But the antifascist demonstrators inisted they would march and the police eventually led the EDL back to the pub where they had been drinking earlier.

The trade union demonstration then proceeded through the town centre, chanting and outnumbering the fascists on the BNP stall and the EDL bully boys who had come to defend the BNP.

A rally in the centre of town was addressed by a number of speakers including the national president of the UCU and regional speakers from the GMB and FBU unions. The rally finished with a call to leaflet and campaign against the BNP in the byelection.

UAF

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

16 comments:

bren said...

No fuckin' surprise there! The EDL and the BNP are batting for the same neo-Nazi team!

Anonymous said...

They've openly come out at last as being the bootboys of the BNP.

Anonymous said...

EDLers are going out in groups delivering leaflets for the BNP in Barnsley. They were spotted last Friday at 6pm.

ANTIFA YORKSHIRE said...

DESTROY THE EDL AND BNP

barriebrum1 said...

When you have EDL funder Alan Lake fantasising about a mass genocide for British muslims which includes murdering David Cameron and the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, dubbed the EDL's Final Solution, overlap between the EDL and the BNP is inevitable.

Anonymous said...

Alan Lake's EDL Final Solution: -

http://1millionunited.org/blogs/blog/2010/06/03/alan-lakes-edl-final-solution/

Pure hardcore neo-Nazi genocidal fantasies from EDL's supreme funder London millionaire Alan Lake.

NewsHound said...

BARNSLEY POLICE ANNOUNCE THAT THE EDL WERE INTENT UPON CAUSING VIOLENT DISORDER IN BARNSLEY: -

http://www.barnsley-chronicle.co.uk/news/article/3675/edl-supporters-were-intent-on-disorder

(COMPLETE WITH VIDEO OF EDL THUGS - PLEASE REPOST, KETLAN!)

NewsHound said...

JUST TO ADD, SEVERAL EDL AFSCISTS IN THE BARNSLEY CHRONICLE VIDEO ARE SEEN MAKING HITLER SALUTES!

SEE FOR YOURSELF!

NewsHound said...

YOUTUBE VIDEO - EDL THUGS INVADE BARNSLEY: -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWhmTshXbp0

sue said...

EDL Barnsley facebook says there is South Yorkshire meeting in Doncaster this Saturday in a fascist-friendly pub.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yorkshire-EDL-Barnsley-Division/114356191969684

Does anybody know the whereabouts of the pub, so they can be politely phoned-up to stop them meeting?

Also, there is going to be ba fascist flash mob in Rochdale on saturday the 5th of march.

Hopefully North West UAF can dal with this one. (urgent!)

NewsHound said...

LATEST NEWS: CHRISTIAN VOICE EXPOSED OPENLY LENDING SUPPORT TO THE FASCIST EDL: -

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/02/474577.html

(VERY INTERESTING EXPOSE OF THE RELIGIOUS CHRISTIAN RIGHT ONCE AGAIN MUSCLING-IN ON THE BRITISH FAR RIGHT)

NewsHound said...

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/germany-opens-first-reform-synagogue-since-wwii-1.344811

GERMANY OPENS FIRST REFORM SYNOGOGUE SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

(WORTH PUTTING ON THE BLOG, KETLAN. A MOMENTOUS OCCASION SHOWING THAT NAZI HATE CAN NEVER WIN!!!!)

NewsHound said...

UNDESERVED HONOR FOR KLAN FOUNDER: -

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/19/2074334/undeserved-honor-for-klan-founder.html

(REALLY SHOCKING STORY ABOUT HOW THE FAR RIGHT IS TOLERATED UNDER FREE SPEECH LAWS IN AMERICA)

NewsHound said...

FRANCE'S EXTREME RIGHT MAKEOVER: -

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/02/20/france-s-extreme-right-makeover.html

(WHY MEDIA COVERAGE MUST NOT BE GIVEN TO THE FAR RIGHT)

NewsHound said...

20,000 ANTI-FASCISTS AGAINST GERMAN NAZIS: -

http://indymedia.org.au/2011/02/21/dresden-20000-anti-fascists-against-nazis

(A DEFINING MOMENT IN THE GRAND BATTLE AGAINST ORGANISED NAZISM, I'M SURE YOU'LL AGREE, KETLAN - PLEASE REPOST! )

Anonymous said...

(REALLY SHOCKING STORY ABOUT HOW THE FAR RIGHT IS TOLERATED UNDER FREE SPEECH LAWS IN AMERICA)

America's First Amendment allows openly racist speech; the sort of stuff that would get you a prison term in England.