The people of Walthamstow take to streets to defy the EDL in SeptemberThe police restriction preventing the EDL from entering Walthamstow is a major victory for our movement. The massive demonstrations planned by UAF, We Are Waltham Forest and Muslim communities, and pressure of our grass roots campaigning, helped to achieve this victory.

This has been acknowledged by many including London Assembly Member Jennette Arnold. The EDL is weak and isolated, while our movement grows stronger. This victory must be celebrated!

Jennette Arnold, London Assembly Member: "This follows a long campaign by community groups and activists including We Are Waltham Forest and Unite Against Fascism who have made it quite clear that the English Defence League is not welcome in our community. As well as spreading their racist ideas they also seek to cause division and unrest in our communities."

Some people argue that we should cancel the event in Walthamstow. We disagree with this. Firstly because it is important to celebrate victories not just react to the EDL. Secondly there is a danger that the EDL could be encouraged to turn up in Walthamstow if they think people won't be mobilised on the streets. Continuing with our event in Walthamstow acts as a deterrent.

Assemble 11am, Hoe Street
Nearest tube: Walthamstow Central (stewards will be directing people to Hoe Street)

UAF news report, 26 October 2012

See also "EDL threaten to ambush police", Hope Not Hate, 26 October 2012

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Campaigners have sworn to flood the streets of Walthamstow with demonstrators if an English Defence League (EDL) march planned for October goes ahead.

We Are Waltham Forest (WAWF) clashed with the EDL when it thwarted the group's attempt to march through Forest Road on September 1, blocking off part of the route with 3,000 protesters, and vowed to come again in larger numbers if the extremists return.

The EDL, which describes itself as a movement against Islamic extremism and denies claims it is racist, has announced a planned return to Walthamstow on October 27, postponing a demonstration in Norwich to come.

Leader Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said in a statement: "We're going back to Walthamstow and when we say we have to let bygones be bygones with many people across the EDL, everyone's welcome back. We need every man that's game going into east London on October 27. Roll on Walthamstow."

WAWF spokeswoman Sophie Bolt condemned the move. "It's utterly contemptible that the EDL have plans to march again," she said. "We will not be intimidated by these racist thugs. It's an abuse of our community to try and use Walthamstow to make some point.

"We will be coming out again and we will be calling on all those around the area who oppose fascism and the politics of the EDL to come and join us in a peaceful protest. There will be more than 3,000 of us."

A police spokeswoman said: "If this march, and any counter protest, goes ahead the Met will put in place an operation that allows both groups to hold a peaceful protest as is their legal right.

"We also have a duty to prevent crime or disorder, and minimise the impact that the protests may have on the local community."

Waltham Forest Guardian, 12 September 2012

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The English Defence League was planning to hold a demonstration in Norwich on 27 October, the primary purpose of which was to express solidarity with a notorious right-wing Christian Islamophobe, the Rev Alan Clifford, whose church has been refused permission to hold a stall on local authority premises after a well-founded complaint that it was distributing anti-Muslim hate literature.

However, having held a meeting with regional organisers to discuss the way forward following their organisation's recent humiliation in East London, the EDL leadership has announced that the Norwich protest has been postponed and they intend to return to Walthamstow and hold a further demonstration there on that date.

In a video address aimed at rallying his now severely depleted troops, EDL leader Stephen Lennon has called for far-right unity in the face of the mass opposition that the EDL faced in Walthamstow earlier this month. Appealing to his critics to "let bygones be bygones" he states: "Everyone's welcome back. We need every man that's game going into East London on the 27th of October." As a number of commentators have noted, Lennon's new conciliatory approach to his opponents within the movement presumably includes split-offs from the EDL such as the Infidels.

The EDL have been whipping their members up into a state of fury over the supposed failure of the police to defend their right to "free speech" in Walthamstow. However, while some EDL supporters who didn't make it to the last protest may be fired up by indignation at the treatment of those who did, this is unlikely to outweigh the demoralisation resulting from last weekend's experience of a couple of hundred EDL hiding behind police lines, overwhelmingly outnumbered by the opposition. And even if the various neo-Nazi fragments like the Infidels are prepared to mend fences with the EDL leadership, as Lennon proposes, this will hardly bring in significant additional forces.

None of this should lead to complacency among anti-fascists, of course. We Are Waltham Forest, who organised the last hugely successful counter-demonstration, will also face a challenge in mobilising opposition to the EDL so soon afterwards. However, when EDL News describes the EDL's intended return to East London as a "last throw of the dice" by a leadership that is now entering its death throes, it is difficult to fault that analysis.

Postscript:  Meanwhile, Lennon has been treating his Twitter followers to his latest thoughts on Muslims and Islam:

And over at the EDL's Facebook page, the announcement of a return to Walthamstow has prompted comments such as this, from the EDL's South West Durham organiser:

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The racists and fascists of the English Defence League (EDL) were comprehensively routed on Saturday. Thousands of anti-fascists blocked their march route and stopped their rally in Walthamstow, east London.

The EDL only managed to mobilise 200, mostly hardcore Nazis. The anti-fascist demonstration, in contrast, brought some 4,000 people together representing all the diversity of one of London's most proudly multiracial areas.

"It's been a brilliant day – we completely trashed them," said Siobhan, a Waltham Forest resident. "We had a really united campaign that reached out to the whole community. We wanted to stop the EDL and that's what we did."

Police had planned to march the EDL down Forest Road from Blackhorse Road tube station to the town hall for a rally. But this route was blocked by the anti-fascist march, which staged a sit-down protest at a key junction between Hoe Street and Forest Road.

This mass action sent the police plans into disarray. From that moment on it was downhill all the way for the Nazis.

Anti-fascists split into smaller groups at this point, some staying at Hoe Street with others breaking off to occupy other key points. The EDL march was rerouted through the back streets of Walthamstow, where they met abuse and hostility from local people.

One group of around 400 anti-fascists broke through to occupy the EDL's rally point outside the town hall. EDL leaders Tommy Robinson and Kev Carroll were there with a dozen or so supporters. They had to take down their sound system.

Robinson and Carroll were visibly shaken by the size and anger of the anti-fascist presence at the very place they had planned to hold their rally. The pair were later witnessed having a blazing row with each other.

Meanwhile local youths in small groups played cat-and-mouse with the police and harassed the EDL. The police announced that the EDL rally had been cancelled and ferried the despondent racists back home the way they came. There were no arrests on the anti-fascist side.

At points the uglier side of the EDL's racism came out. A Socialist Worker journalist witnessed the EDL yelling "jump" as they passed a black resident looking down on them from his balcony.

But as they slunk off they knew they had been beaten. They couldn't even manage their characterstic grunting chant of "E-E-EDL". Instead the air was thick with local youth jeering at them and chanting "Nazi scum, off our streets".

The day had started with an anti-EDL rally nearby Walthamstow Central station, hosted by Unite Against Fascism and We Are Waltham Forest.

"We live just round the corner and we feel strongly about this," local resident Aftab told Socialist Worker. "It's about for our rights in Walthamstow. I lived here in the 1980s and I'm not going back to that racism. So it's good to see so many people here."

Speakers included local MP Stella Creasy, alongside speakers from mosques, trade unions, faith groups and local activists.

Mark Campbell from the UCU union at London Metropolitan University spoke about the battle there to stop the threatened deportation of up to 3,000 international students who have had their visas revoked by the UK Border Authority.

"There's a connection here," he said. "Racist policies by the government give confidence to racist thugs on the streets. That's why trade unionists have to stand up against racism and fascism."

The mood was confident and upbeat, especially when protesters saw the size and diversity of those that had come out to try and stop the EDL. This mood grew as they day went on and the extent of the EDL's humiliation became clear.

Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism, told Socialist Worker, "We came, we saw, we defeated the EDL. This magnificent alliance that brought together anti-fascists, trade unionists, faith and community organisations is a model that can defeat the racists."

Socialist Worker, 1 September 2012

See also "They did not pass: Walthamstow residents send English Defence League packing", Morning Star, 1 September 2012

And "Very few EDL show-up in Walthamstow", Indymedia, 1 September 2012

Also Peter Marsall "We are Waltham Forest greatly outnumber EDL in Walthamstow", Demotix, 1 September 2012

Update:  Over at Atlas Shrugs mad Pamela Geller has posted a fantasy account of the events in Walthamstow, according to which "1000 freedom lovers" (i.e. the racists and fascists of the EDL) were confronted by "Muslims kicking off and rioting burning cars". The source for this claim is a leading EDL member named Mickey Bayliss. That would this Mickey Bayliss. Memo to Pamela: if you're going to stick with the ludicrous story that the EDL aren't racist, you'd be well advised to avoid drawing attention to people like Bayliss.

Update 2:  See "Magnificent show of unity in Wathamstow", UAF news report, 2 September 2012

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With just a day to go before the racist English Defence League (EDL) tries to march in Waltham Forest, east London, anti-fascist activists in the local community are having a final push to build opposition.

"I don't like it that a group of racists will be marching here tomorrow – no one needs or wants them," Osman, a local market trader, told Socialist Worker. "But it has been really good to see people coming together to oppose them. Hopefully the EDL will be stopped."

Mosques in Waltham Forest have been promoting the counter demonstration. The borough's council of mosques has released a statement encouraging people join the We Are Waltham Forest demonstration.

Mr Rashid is secretary of the Lea Bridge Road Masjid. He told Socialist Worker, "The only way to stop the police letting the EDL march is to make sure they are out on the streets against them. We've been publicising the anti-EDL demonstration at every prayer and event we've held – and we've received a positive response each time."

Anti-racists held a final leafleting session on Friday in Walthamstow's busy market.

"The fear people had of the EDL has gone – it's now turning into anger," said Roger from We Are Waltham Forest. "We've had a lot of young people saying they will be coming and that their friends will be there too."

The EDL march will take the racists past Forest Road fire station. Firefighters there are planning to line the road to jeer them as they pass.

"We totally condemn the EDL coming to Walthamstow in this provocative manner," said Tim Roedel, borough secretary of the firefighters' FBU union. "We will have members from London at the counter demonstration. And our members at Forest Road are planning to show their opposition to the EDL when they pass the fire station."

Ursla from We Are Waltham Forest told Socialist Worker, "A lot of people have been out today to have a final push to build the demo. When you walk around the area you can see a lot of posters, not just in shop windows but in people's home windows.

"We have even had young children saying they are making their own placards at home. Everyone opposed the racism should be at the demo tomorrow because we are going to stop the EDL."

Socialist Worker, 31 August 2012

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