Anti-racism organisations speak out against Tommy Robinson
News / Sat 31st Jan 2026 at 10:43am
ANTI-racists from across Essex are angered to learn that the racist and fascist Tommy Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) plans to come to Braintree on Saturday 31st January. He is coming for only one purpose, to whip up hatred and division in the local community.
A spokesperson said: “Robinson and his allies have been trying to exploit the issues of migrant hotels and camps to win people to their vile extremist ideas. Under the guise of concerns about safety for women and children, they peddle their agenda of scapegoating people from other countries and other cultures. Their activities have brought their brand of thuggery and fear onto the streets of Essex towns and villages over the last few months.
Robinson is a former member of the fascist British National Party and the founder of the violent organisation the English Defence League, which targeted trade union demonstrations, socialist and anti-cuts meetings as well as Muslims. He is also a convicted criminal who was convicted in April 2005 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He had assaulted an off-duty woman police officer who had intervened to stop a domestic confrontation between him and his partner.
“In November 2013 he was convicted of mortgage fraud and sentenced in 2014 to 18 months imprisonment”.
Countywide Response
Individuals and representatives from anti racist groups across Essex met to discuss how to respond. The meeting agreed to co-ordinate anti-racist activities across the county to help different areas challenge the far right when they raise their heads. There are plans for a countywide ‘Unity’ demonstration in the near future to make the voices of the anti- racist majority loud and clear.
Essex groups will also be supporting the national demonstration in London against the threat from far-right politics in London on Saturday 28th March, organised by the ‘Together Against the Far Right’ alliance. Coaches are already being laid on from across Essex.
‘Together Against the Far Right’ brings together a wide range of people and organisations, from celebrity endorsements to trade unions and campaigns including Stand Up to Racism and Amnesty International.
A spokesperson for the Essex anti-racist groups said: “We were horrified to learn that a character like Robinson wants to make trouble in Braintree this weekend. Local people need to be aware of what his agenda is and it has nothing to do with safety for anyone. We are all less safe if we don’t counter the lies and distortions of the far right.
“We can’t oppose every ‘pop up’ demo Robinson supports, but we can and will oppose the far right wherever possible. We intend to redouble our efforts to build unity and solidarity. We will counter the scapegoating and scaremongering propaganda that is being spread about migrants and asylum seekers, whether it is the outright racism of Robinson or the ‘dog whistle’ policies from Reform.
We will be working in our communities to get that message across and to mobilise anti-racists across Essex.”
Chelmsford anti racist group CHARAMH (Chelmsford Against Racism and Ant-Muslim Hatred) commented:
“Despite the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric put forward in the media the people of Chelmsford have continually voiced support for a diverse and inclusive city.
We believe the vocal minority do not represent who we are as a community and we reject Tommy Robinson and his attempts to further stoke division and hatred.”
A spokesperson for Stand Up To Racism said: “The media like to portray Essex as a racist place but we believe the majority of people don’t want the far right in their communities.
“We are committed to countering the likes of Robinson and to exposing his vicious politics as well as challenging the mainstream politicians who shamefully stoke the fires of racism and scapegoating of migrants.
“We’re organising to get people to the ‘Together against the far right’ demo in London on 28th March and we’ve been active in opposing the far right in Epping and many other towns. We’ve always said that we need unity and solidarity to solve the problems we all face, not division. Migrants should be welcomed, not scapegoated. ”
Braintree-based group ‘Mid Essex For Everyone’ stated: “The far right presents themselves as “fighting for their country,” but this is a deceptive facade that serves to justify Islamophobia and anti-immigration narratives, further marginalising individuals of different ethnic and religious backgrounds while also intimidating or isolating vulnerable groups seeking refuge.
Essex will not be divided, and we strongly oppose the far right and Tommy Robinson/Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon.
Essex is to be a place of tolerance, community cohesion and acceptance of everyone of all backgrounds.
The far right is another evil vessel to manipulate the people of Essex and cause division and animosity. ”
Colchester Unite Against Racism said: The people of Colchester have already shown we reject the hateful politics of Tommy Robinson and his various imitators twice in the past few months – first
massively outnumbering a tiny far right demo, and then turning out in huge numbers again for a refugees welcome march just a couple of weeks later.
“He has no answers for the problems facing people in our community beyond sowing hatred and division, and we don’t want him in our county.
David Forman
2026-01-31 10:57:36
So, having a pop-up demo in Braintree to oppose Tommy Robinson by chanting "Nazi scum off our streets" (yes I know all the chants) is going to reverse years of the "vanguard party of the working class" (Socialist Workers Party) using the same tired old tactics that have allowed the rise of the authoritarian right?
Seamus
2026-01-31 18:37:16
Who died and made stand up to racism the world police? Their own history is littered with paid agitators and links to a group who has carried out sexual assualts within their associate group. As to racism? what racism? Let's have some honesty here as David alludes too. Stand up to racism and socialist worker represent the lunatic fringe of the far left whilst preaching it's everyone else stirring up trouble and not them, honest guv. Their "protests" are nothing more than grandstanding and self promotion, again something they accuse others of doing but not themselves, honest guv. How about we try the old fashioned adult approach? If Robinson isn't your bag, don't go. If parading around London protesting about gaza is your cuppa tea, then go their instead. Lets also be honest about representation, you represent no one other than yourself, don't try and kid the everyday Essex people that you are the benchmark of civility and morality because your own standards are rather uninspiring.
Oi
2026-01-31 18:55:35
Tell me what t m has said that is racist
Trudi
2026-01-31 19:08:42
We have freedom of speech and that is sacrosanct. It is above everything as it is the essence of a free society. Just see how it is enshrined in the US Constitution based on the English Common Law. These left wing wokes are authoritarian and against all the foundations of British liberty. The quote the great Wordsworth: 'It is not to be thought that the flood of British freedom to the open seas of the World's praise..... should perish.... we must be free or die who speak the tongue that Shakespeare spake. Our forebears did not fight and die in two world wars for their descendants to be betrayed and our great culture destroyed by evil, manipulating Far Left traitors. They are traitors to our country.
Val
2026-01-31 19:48:53
Tommy Robinson may not be everyone's bag, but he defends our country and culture, which is more than can be said of his far left detractors who seem happy to see our culture subsumed by a Third World invasion. The times they are a changing.
Paul Murphy
2026-01-31 21:32:28
The three comments all follow the same pattern. They attack anti racist organisers while recycling talking points that have been used for decades to shield the far right from scrutiny. They pretend to be defending freedom, culture or common sense, but every line works to excuse racism, minimise the danger of organised bigotry and redirect anger away from the people who actually harm working class communities. From a revolutionary socialist point of view this is not an accident. It is the ideological work that keeps the far right alive. David tries to present anti racist mobilisation as the real problem. He suggests that confronting the far right in the streets is somehow responsible for their growth. This is a complete inversion of reality. The far right has grown because of austerity, collapsing public services, a political class that scapegoats migrants to hide its own failures and a media machine that pumps out division for profit. Community resistance did not create these conditions. It is one of the few things that has ever disrupted them. When people turn out in numbers the far right retreats. When people stay home the far right advances. David’s argument is not a strategy. It is a plea for passivity dressed up as wisdom. Seamus takes a different route but ends up in the same place. He tries to delegitimise anti racist groups by calling them extremists while insisting that racism is not really an issue. This is a classic move. If racism is denied then anyone who organises against it can be dismissed as troublemakers. If the far right is reframed as just another set of opinions then opposing them becomes an act of censorship. This is how reactionary politics launders itself. It pretends to be the voice of ordinary people while attacking anyone who challenges the narratives that keep working class communities divided. The swipe at Gaza protests is another attempt to pit struggles against each other and to imply that collective action itself is suspect. Revolutionary socialists reject that logic entirely. Movements against racism, against imperialism and against exploitation rise together because they confront the same system of power. Trudi’s comment is even more revealing. She wraps far right talking points in the language of liberty and poetry. She claims freedom of speech is sacred while ignoring the fact that the far right uses that freedom to target minorities, intimidate communities and spread hatred. She accuses anti racist organisers of being authoritarian while defending a political current that has repeatedly attacked civil liberties, workers rights and democratic protections. She invokes the world wars as if they were fought to protect the right of demagogues to whip up fear against migrants. She talks about traitors to the country while ignoring the real betrayal that comes from governments and elites who strip public services, crush unions and leave communities to rot. Her argument is not a defence of freedom. It is a defence of the right to punch down without being challenged. Val completes the picture by repeating the oldest far right myth of all. She claims that Tommy Robinson defends the country and culture while anti racists welcome an invasion. This is the language that has always been used to justify racism. It paints migrants as a threat, portrays diversity as decay and frames solidarity as treachery. It is a story designed to turn working class people against each other while the powerful continue to enrich themselves. Revolutionary socialists reject this story completely. The real threat to our communities is not people fleeing war or poverty. It is the system that creates those conditions and then tells us to blame the victims. Taken together the three comments form a single argument. They say the far right is not a problem. They say anti racists are the real danger. They say freedom means letting reactionaries spread hatred without challenge. They say culture is something fragile that must be defended by attacking the most vulnerable. This is the ideological armour of the far right. It is polished, polite and wrapped in references to liberty and heritage, but its purpose is the same as ever. It protects the politics of division and directs anger away from the people who actually hold power. A revolutionary socialist response cuts through all of this. The working class has nothing to gain from racism and everything to gain from unity. The far right is not a defender of culture or freedom. It is a tool used to divide people and weaken collective resistance. Anti racist organising is not an act of authoritarianism. It is an act of self defence by communities who refuse to be intimidated. The real betrayal is not committed by those who stand against racism. It is committed by those who excuse it, minimise it or dress it up as patriotism.
Seamus
2026-01-31 21:58:52
Waffle soup from Paul Murphy. "The three comments all follow the same pattern. They attack anti racist organisers" nope, just pointing out that the far left is just as poisonous and self serving as the far right. The vast majority of people are in the middle are normal and are fed up of both groups at the extremes being so needy to validate themselves. Boring extremists are just vaccuous, insecure and people are fed up with you.
Trudi
2026-01-31 22:47:40
Well said Seamus.I notice that the so-called 'revolutionary socialists' of Paul Murphy are not exactly topping the opinion polls. People are sick of paying £ billions to maintain illegal migrants from completely alien cultures. Our towns and cities are becoming unrecognisable and alien. Go to European countries like Hungary and Poland, which firmly rejected such migrant policies to defend their sovereignty and culture. They show the way. The nation state is base and we must defend our cultural homogeneity before it is too late. It might be too late already. We are losing so many of our best people: entrepreneurs, skilled and productive people leaving for the UAE, USA, Australia and other more tax friendly destinations. They are being replaced with what? Just look at our cities for the answer. It is bleak. The UK and other western European countries are becoming unrecognisable as the lands of our parents and grandparents. People are demanding change and change will come. So-called multiculturalism has failed. We need a cultural renaissance.
Val
2026-01-31 23:21:48
This article is so misleading. It mentions several groups making a so/called stand when we all know it the usual handful of unwashed scarecrows who try to sell their grubby Socialist Worker rag and routinely wave Palestinian flags and chant nonsense. A complete bunch on nonentities who have probably never done an honest day's work. Give it a rest. No one takes you clowns seriously.
Dave
2026-01-31 23:23:40
Tommy Robinson fans are morons who lap up the BS like good little sheep. Keep going, idiots.
Carolyn
2026-02-01 10:01:45
Paul Murphy I was listening on the radio today of residents in Braintree and Crowborough who don't exactly confirm or support your views. These illegals should not be here. Place them in camps on an uninhabited Scottish island or in tankers offshore pending deportation. That will 'smash the gangs' as they won't want to come here.
Tim Read
2026-02-01 12:34:52
Strange that none of the Lefties and wokes make any mention of the horrendous atrocities by the autocratic Iranian regime where the death toll is said the be over 25,000. Suppose it doesn't fit their perverse narrative.
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