Billy Bragg says London march sends message to far right: “The people of Britain will not allow themselves to be fooled by such shysters”

Billy Bragg says London march sends message to far right: “The people of Britain will not allow themselves to be fooled by such shysters”

Billy Bragghas spoken about yesterday’s massive march in London, saying it will send a message to the“shysters” on thefar rightin the UK.

The proteston Saturday (March 28)was organised by the Together Alliance andthey claimed that half a million people took to the streets of central Londonto stand up for unity and to build public awareness about the growing threat of the far right in the UK and beyond.

Bragg was one of the performers to play on the ‘House Against Hate’ stage that was assembled in Trafalgar Square for the demonstration, alongside the likes ofSelf Esteem, Hot Chip,Jessie WareandKaty B, and he has nowshared a reflection on the experience.

Writing on Instagram, Braggsaid that he felt “greatly inspired” by the protest, adding: “The concerns that people have about rising cost of living, widening gaps between the rich and poor, an over-stretched NHS, the lack of affordable housing and the effects of the climate crisis cannot be solved by rounding up people ofcolourand forcing them to ‘remigrate’.”

Addressing the target of the demonstration, he continued: “Between now and the next election, there will be politicians of the Far-age right and the far right who will bang the drum for remigration in the hope that no one will ask them how they intend to address thoseaforementioned problems. Yesterday suggests that the people of Britain will not allow themselves to be fooled by such shysters.”

He likened the event to the Rock Against Racism and Anti-Nazi League campaigns of the late ‘70s, andnoted that he was joined on stage yesterdaybyThe Specials’ Jerry Dammers, another veteran of those earlier movements.

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“What I found most encouraging yesterday was the number of young people in attendance,” Bragg added. “I hope yesterday saw the introduction of a new generation of activists whose lives will be changed by what they saw and heard on the march. Because by being there, they have joined an anti-fascist tradition that stretches back not just to Rock Against Racism in the 1970s, but all the way back to the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.”

During his performance at the rally, Bragg addressed the crowd, saying: “Last year’s Unite the Kingdom march…organisedby Tommy Robinson was the most divisive event in the country over the last ten years. Commentators were saying these people have justified concerns – that may be the case, but their solutions are not justifiable in any way. Remigration, the forced deportation of our fellow citizens,we’veseen what that looks like in the USA. And if it does come to that in this country,then we will have to be as courageousas the people of Minneapolis.”

Others to take to the ‘House Against Hate’ stage included the Green Party leaderZack Polanskiand Hannah Spencer MP, who won thehotly-contestedGorton and Denton by-election for the Greens last month.

Polanski told the crowd: “Go back to your communities, to the communitycentres, to your trade unions, to your friends, to yourneighbours. We mustorganisein our communities. Local elections are coming in just a fewweeks’ time.”

“There have been dark times, I know people have been scared and we have been afraid, but days like this are here to send a message – a message to Tommy Robinson, to Nigel Farage, to those who appease them,” he continued. “We will defeat hate. It’s time to make hope normal again.”

Actress and presenter Jameela Jamil was also at the protest and shared her own reflections afterwards on Instagram. “I have been really struggling lately,” she wrote. “Drowning in hopelessness. Sometimes I think protests don’t make a difference because the people at the top don’t care about what we think or want, or how we feel. But today reminded me of why they’re important. Because of MORALE for US not the people at the top. It reminds you that good TRULY outweighs bad. That hate is loud but small. That everyone from every walk of life can come together for such a wholesome cause. I love this country. Today was FUN. It made hatred look so crusty, boring and stressful. Everyone today was hot and cool and the vibes were immaculate.”

The demonstration was in part a response to theemergence of far-right protests over the last two years. In September 2025, the Metropolitan police estimated that between 110,000 and 150,000 people attendedthe so-called “unite the kingdom” rally in central London, where Tommy Robinson andElon Muskwere among the speakers.An estimated 5000 anti-fascistcounter-protestersfaced the far-right activist-led rally that day.

In 2024,thousands of anti-racism protestors rallied together across the UKin response tothe anti-immigrant ralliesthat followedthe Southport killings.Bragg,Nadine Shah,Tim Burgess,andGarbagewere among those to be part of the anti-racism marches on that occasion.

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