A divided city: Rival demonstrations brings chaos to London

London is in utter turmoil these days. The economy is in a shambles, crime and violence are making residents fearful,  antisemitism is rampant, and so is Islamophobia. Brits are dissatisfied with the Prime Minister, and his own party wants to see him go. Tension fills the air.

Yesterday, 100,000 people descended on the centre of the city to protest, forcing the Government to send in 4,000 police officers and activate a 4.5 million pound operation which employed live face recognition technology.

The United Kingdom wing, led by Tommy Robinson, drew huge crowds. It wants the UK to remain fundamentally British, for the country to keep its traditions and to drastically reduce immigration. It says western civilisation is in decline, and at the rate things are going, the UK will be overtaken by foreigners who do not share British culture and Christianity.

Yesterday at the demonstration, Tommy Robinson bellowed: “Are you ready for the Battle of Britain? In 2029, we have an election. We’re not asking anyone to go out and fight, but this is the most important moment in our generation.

The Unite the Kingdom movement is growing, and it proclaims that the Kier Starmer -led government is too tolerant of mass immigration and accommodating people at the expense of true Brits. These people coming into the country are a burden to its resources, particularly the National Health Service and the social security system. Too many are claiming benefits without making meaningful contributions to the country.

Robinson is calling on all Brits to support tech billionaire and founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, who is an avid supporter of the United Kingdom.

The other demonstrators consisted of pro-Palestine supporters, making it known they are celebrating “Nekba Day”. This marks the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 to make way for the founding of modern Israel. They insist they are not antisemitic and do not want harm to come to Jews, but are concerned about what they term as “genocide” in Gaza and the inhumane treatment of Palestinians.

Former Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn and a number of leading British actors came out in support of Palestine yesterday. 

 Craig Patterson,  a pathologist attending the United Kingdom demonstration, said: “We are not Nazis or racists looking to kill black and brown people. We value our country and want to see its traditions remain. We are part of Western civilisation and want to remain so. Why don’t these people remain in their own countries and make it places where they want to live? We cannot be displaced by people from within who do not share our ideals. There are so many knife attacks in London by blacks and Asians now, and schools are talking about our children learning about Allah and Islam-this is a Christian country. Why should we change to make foreigners happy in our own home? There is a reason why the world knew us as Great Britain for centuries.” 

Jeremy Corbyn said: Today is the 78th anniversary of the Nakba. That was the time when 700,000 Palestinians were driven out of their homes. Since then, the Palestinians have been under occupation, and since October 13, there has been the most intense bombardment of Gaza in which 73,000 people have been killed. We are here commemorating the Nekba – that fateful day, and are determined there won’t be a second Nekba.