On Saturday 20 September in Glasgow, I compered a rally in Buchanan Street, of anti-racist anti-fascist activists. This rally was organised by Stand Up To Racism, in response to a “Unity Rally” which had been organised by the far right. The main organiser of this rally, John Watt, had to step down following an expose by SUTR where it was revealed that he had been convicted of domestic violence against two ex-girlfriends.

The “Unity Rally” was just one anti-immigration protest in a long series of anti-immigration protests, which have been set up under the guise of protecting women and children from “illegal immigrants.”

SUTR and anti-racist activists have organised counter-demos where these are happening, mainly outside hotels which are being used as accommodation for asylum seekers, and while we have been outnumbering them, their numbers have grown significantly in the last year or so.

In London on 13 September, there were over 100,000 people marching to support Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson), who has since been deported from both Columbia and Panama as a threat to national security. Yaxley-Lennon has many previous convictions, including stalking and harassing a female journalist, assaulting a police officer who had intervened during an argument between him and his then partner, and illegally entering the USA with a fake passport. All things he supposedly stands against.

We were therefore worried that their numbers would be huge in Glasgow, but we outnumbered them by 3-1. We had a platform of mainly women speakers, where I launched the Women Against The Far Right Scotland campaign. SUTR have set this campaign up to build the wider anti-fascist front, to counter the lies that the far-right actually want to protect women and children, and to help give women the arguments and confidence to oppose the far-right. There is a national campaign also, which PCS has signed up to support.

PCS NEC member Cheral Govind also addressed the crowd as the chair of the STUC Black Workers Committee, and she spoke about how important visibility is within our trade unions as a British-born Asian woman, and how vital it is that the trade union movement is involved in tackling the far-right.

As the women were speaking, there were vile racist, lewd and misogynistic comments being shouted at us from the other side. At the front of our crowd we had formed a women’s solidarity wall, which was unfortunately met with lewd gestures and more of the racism and misogyny being shouting at us. Many of the people turning up for the “Unity Rally” claim to not be racist, and claim they want to protect women and children, but this was not the way to show that.

We know that there are genuine concerns, and that people are frustrated by the actions of the Labour government, especially after 14 years of Tory austerity, Labour have failed to deliver on what they were elected to do. Reform UK have used the anger, frustration, and fears of the general public to garner support and to spread hate. We know that we have to work within our workplaces and communities to challenge the lies of Reform UK and their supporters.

PCS continues to work alongside SUTR to challenge the racism and fascism which we have seen is on the rise in the UK. PCS will also continue to hold the government to account for their actions that have angered the many frustrated members of the public.

In Scotland and Wales next year there will be parliamentary elections, and there is a real danger of Reform UK gaining power. There are also real cracks in the UK government, which has led to speculation that there will be a general election before this term is out. If Reform UK was to win such a general election, Nigel Farage wants to shut down the civil service, tear up terms and conditions, including the ability to work from home, and make huge cuts to public services. The consequences for our members, and for the people who rely on our services, will be catastrophic.

Liz McGachey