by Berkay Kartav, Socialist Party National Committee
On Saturday 16 May, Socialist Party members joined tens of thousands who flooded the streets of London to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba day — or ‘catastrophe’ — marking the systematic destruction of hundreds of Palestinian villages and the forceful uprooting of millions of Palestinians in 1948 at the time of the creation of the state of Israel.
The genocidal slaughter of Palestinians by the Israeli regime continues, with more attacks recently on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aims to send aid to Gaza. The devastating war on Palestinians and peoples of the Middle East is a big mobilising issue for many. Coaches brought people from around the country.
This demonstration acted as a counter-protest to far-right activist Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ demo on the same day, called provocatively to coincide with Nakba day. The numbers on this demo, however, were smaller than the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ demo in September 2025. It was smaller than the pro-Palestine march.
The two demonstrations were separated by the police.
Prior to the demo, Socialist Party members argued that there should be a discussion in the trade union movement about the programme and strategy needed to fight racist division and the far right, as well as to beat back Reform, including how demonstrations are organised without relying on the police for safety.
We pointed out, both prior to the demo and on the day, that trade unions, the mass organisations of the working class, should take the lead in building the working-class fightback against Starmer’s Labour austerity, war and racist division.
Democratically organised defensive trade union stewarding is also key to make sure these demonstrations to oppose the far right are properly organised.
The demonstrations on Saturday showed that the forces the far right can mobilise are fewer than what the anti-war movement alone can mobilise. The Together Alliance demonstration in March, a quarter of a million strong, gave a taste of the numbers that can be mobilised when the leaderships of the trade unions put resources into building for a march. On that occasion, the organisers’ slogan was an insufficient: ‘love, hope and unity’. A trade union-led demo, uniting the struggles against war, austerity and racism – with demands to fight the cost-of-living crisis, for jobs, homes and services for all – could mobilise far bigger numbers still. Crucially, it would point the way towards the kind of working class-led struggle needed to cut across support for the far right.
Starmer’s Labour has continued to attack the living standards of working-class people while their rich mates rake in billions. It was revealed last week that the leader of Reform, Nigel Farage, received a ‘gift’ of £5 million from a billionaire. These parties defend the crisis-ridden capitalist system and have nothing to offer working-class people.
Workers need a party of our own to take on the establishment parties. Our placards on Saturday’s demo called for uniting all struggles against racism, austerity and war and for a socialist challenge to Starmer’s Labour and cut across Reform.