Wednesday’s counter-demonstration showed hope will always win against hate in Brighton and Hove
9 August 2024 – Brighton and Hove Green Party were proud to join the thousands of counter-protesters who flooded Queen’s Road in Brighton to protest peacefully against the threat of organised racist and Islamophobia violence on the streets of our city on Wednesday.
The anti-racist crowd vastly outnumbered a tiny group of anti-immigration protesters.
The racist protesters in the city on Wednesday were few and believed to have come from outside Brighton and Hove, as part of a targeted online campaign.
Greens are clear that these people are not welcome in our city and we are proud to have stood with the people of Brighton and Hove in opposition to these attacks on our communities.
Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, Sian Berry, was among the counter-protesters along with city Green councillors Steve Davis, Kerry Pickett, Sue Shanks, Pete West and Ollie Sykes.
Brighton and Hove is a proud ‘City of Sanctuary’, which celebrates diversity and is a safe, welcoming place for refugees. These values are embedded in our communities and across the city and will remain so.
Pic: Green city councillors Kerry Pickett and Steve Davis at the anti-fascist counter-rally.
Greens are clear that what is happening on streets across the country is not ‘thuggery’ but organised political violence perpetrated by fascist, domestic terrorists. This cannot stand and it is imperative that the Labour government starts to call out this violence for what it is and take action accordingly.
Steve Davis, leader of the opposition on Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe living in our city. We want to support our residents in countering the wider impacts of this hatred that has made some people feel they cannot belong here if they do not fit within a fascist’s view of society.”
Greens stand in solidarity with every community that has been attacked or threatened by organised political violence on our streets in recent weeks.
Greens also support the police and emergency workers who are protecting the people in these communities as well as the community leaders and individuals working to bring communities together in the face of a political campaign that aims to divide us.
Please reach out personally where you can to show solidarity with Muslim people and members of other ethnic minorities in your community. Together we can show that solidarity and love are stronger than hatred and fear.