Something has changed in British politics. And on Saturday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London to prove it.
At least 150,000 people gathered in the British capital for the latest “Unite the Kingdom” march organized by Tommy Robinson, an agitator who spreads anti-Muslim bigotry and has several criminal convictions. It was the second major rally in eight months. And it felt less shocking than the first.
“When some 150,000 people descended on London in September for a rally organized by Tommy Robinson, it felt like a watershed moment,” Mayor Sadiq Khan said at the time. “This felt different.”
Now, views that would once not have been expressed in public are becoming commonplace. Robinson’s marches are becoming a regular outlet for them.
The Message
“Millions have got to go,” said Pete, 64, from Derbyshire, referring to unauthorized immigrants. “They shouldn’t be in this country. They’re claiming benefits. ‘Benefit Britain’ has got to end.”
Robinson’s message was similarly combative. “Are you ready for the Battle of Britain?” he asked his supporters, packed into Parliament Square. Ahead of the next general election, he said his supporters must “get involved” and “become activists,” or “we are going to lose our country forever.”
The next general election is not due until 2029. But a frenetic week in Westminster — in which Prime Minister Keir Starmer has struggled to see off a revolt among his Labour Party lawmakers — has led many to wonder whether Starmer’s government will last that long. Labour’s wobbles have injected Britain’s increasingly organized hard-right movements with fresh force.
The Political Earthquake
“Unite the Kingdom” does not affiliate with a political party, but draws in supporters of several. Many marchers wore turquoise — the color of the hard-right Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, a chief architect of Brexit and an ally of President Donald Trump. Reform surged in last week’s local elections, sending Starmer’s Labour Party — which had positioned itself as Britain’s best defense against populism — into a tailspin.
But for many marchers, Farage’s party does not go far enough. Analysts attribute Reform’s recent electoral successes to how Farage has tempered his party’s rhetoric and policies. Instead, many at the march waved “Restore Britain” flags, in support of the far-right party led by Rupert Lowe, who was expelled by Reform last year over allegations of workplace bullying. Lowe — who has been publicly backed by Elon Musk as the man who can “save Britain” — champions mass deportations and aims to create a “hostile environment” that encourages illegal immigrants to leave.
Starmer’s Response
Ahead of the march, Starmer said he supported peaceful protests but accused the organizers of peddling “hatred and division.” He said his government had blocked visas for far-right agitators who wanted to come to Britain to spread extremist views. “They don’t speak for the decent, fair, respectful Britain I know,” Starmer said.
That vision of Britain feels in retreat.
The Violence Under the Surface
London’s Metropolitan Police launched a “significant” policing operation on Saturday, amid fears that the march could clash with a pro-Palestinian demonstration elsewhere in the city. Police later said they had made 11 arrests for a variety of offenses.
CNN did not see any violent incidents. But the language remained charged with violence. One speaker praised the crowd for “defending our own faith in our own land,” praising previous generations who fought against the Nazis “in the fields of this nation.”
It was not wholly clear what the protesters wanted, other than to restore a “greatness” that Britain had somehow lost. Standing proud under his bowler hat and in his tailored three-piece suit, Tom, 19, could not say when Britain was last great, but said the 1930s were his “favorite era.”
The Common Refrain
A common refrain was the desire for stronger leadership. Many marchers said they had voted for Brexit in 2016, motivated by the campaign’s vague pledge to “take back control.” Saturday’s march felt like another cry to make good on that promise.
Asked which British politician last inspired him, Pete said he would have to choose Margaret Thatcher, even though her Conservative government had decades ago closed the mine in which he used to work. “I didn’t like her, but she had a backbone,” Pete said. “She did cost me my job. But she was strong. She wouldn’t be bullied by Europe. And she didn’t want open borders.”
The Bottom Line
Tens of thousands of people descended on London on Saturday for a hard-right march organized by Tommy Robinson. The message was combative: “Are you ready for the Battle of Britain?” The next general election is not until 2029, but Labour’s political wobbles have injected the hard-right movement with fresh force. Reform UK surged in local elections. A new far-right party, Restore Britain, is gaining ground. And the mayor of London says something in the country has changed.
The vision of a “decent, fair, respectful Britain” that Starmer invoked feels increasingly in retreat. The question now is not whether the hard right will continue to march. It is how mainstream politics will respond.
