Barely 20 damp middle-aged racists turned out in the county town of Suffolk for a much-touted anti-migrant rally on Saturday – and were outnumbered five-to-one by anti-fascists.
Announced weeks in advance, the latest pratfall continued a series of weak showings for far-right echo chambers in places like Dulwich, Lewisham and Newquay. A number of unbranded callouts have been made recently as part of an initiative by fascist group Patriotic Alternative, which likes to take credit for big events while abandoning their “comrades” to face humiliation when interest is low.
This was certainly the case outside the Ipswich Novotel, where around 200 refugees have been temporarily housed in the face of a very public campaign of sniping from the likes of local Tory MP and former Boris Johnson loyalist Tom Hunt, supported by local conspiracy theorists.
Refugee protectors nipped in early to grab the best spot, then kept up a barrage of anti-fascist chanting throughout the morning and early afternoon towards a small band of miserable creeps who spent a couple of hours getting rained on as they hid behind a handful of police just across the road.
More than 100 people stood outside St Peters church on Star lane to oppose the harassment of people who have often fled horrific circumstances and are now stuck in limbo with no say in their treatment.
