Crivvens! Jings! And Help Ma Boab! Not only was there a dismal turnout for the EDL demo in Slough last weekend but an even tinier contingent turned out for the latest attempt to ‘unite the right’ (which appears to be a contradiction in terms).
The South East Alliance’s flop was exactly the same as every other attempt by the far right to unify: a poorly attended failure. The problem is everyone wants to be leader and no one wants to do the hard work so the fascist dregs and rejects of the EDL decided to ‘sort it out!’ and didn’t.
Present in the backroom of some seedy boozer in Essex was a litany of would-be ‘leadership material’ with more initials in their group names than members. The SEA fuhrer, Paul Prodromou, was at the helm of what looked like an Alcoholic’s Anonymous day out and he was joined by Dave Smeeton, the March For England eejit who insists on going to Brighton every year for his annual humiliation and ex EDL ‘leader’ Tony Curtis who came on his own as an ‘independent’ (i.e., no friends). The eejit leader of the splinter group Bristol Defence League came on his own as well. The English Volunteer Force (EVF) sent along their entire membership (2) and they were joined by nonentities from Facebook fascist groups like 1 member of Combined ex-Forces (neither combined nor ex-forces), Patriots Unite and the SW Infidels. Which was all very cosy but illustrated that far from uniting the UK, the meeting only consisted of a small contingent from south of the midlands. No NWI, No SYI, No NEI, very few Scottish or Welsh – probably as the NWI are in prison, the SYI have all fallen out over Snowy’s dodgy dealings and the NEI are interchangeable with the NF. We counted 35 eejits and at least 9 groups. Which leaves 3 and a bit members per group and is distinctly under-impressive. They will now be organising under the United British Patriots banner whilst keeping their 'own identities.' How long this lasts is very debatable given the amount of ego problems contained under one roof. They also hung a Help For Heroes flag up amongst their tawdry other rags despite the charity wanting nothing to do with such alcoholic far-right arse-bugles.
This portly gathering of male muffin-tops, delusional patriots and a Walt or 2 guzzled pints of lukewarm lager in plastic glasses as Prodromou tried to maintain a semblance of order. Someone had bought biros and a pad from Poundland to write it all down in and we managed to get hold of their minutes:
11am: Meet & Greet, lager, complimentary mini-Swiss Rolls
11.30: Call to order. Most still at bar.
12.30: Meeting finally called to order
12.45: CxF excused for ‘disorderly trousers’
1pm Lunch: more complimentary mini-Swiss Rolls & lukewarm lager (and poor quality gak in the ladies toilet)
3pm: meeting finally called back to order (several members ‘missing in action’ sleeping it off in the carpark)
3.05: Meeting called to a close
3.30: full scale battle between themselves in the car park over who is the ‘real leader’
3.45: police raid premises & enquire after ‘designated driver’
3.55: ‘designated driver’ found comatose in ladies toilet
4pm: publican closes meeting, plod forces them out and Prodromou is seen weeping
4.10: meeting declared an enormous success’ on Twitter.
4.15: no one notices.
What is clear from this meeting is that there is a major schism between the rump EDL and the extremists as well as a clear North/South divide – which will create future problems like the EDL had. We are supposed to believe that this disparate bunch of potential sex offenders, snot gobblers and trouser foulers are the far right’s ‘top boys’ who will be leading the masses into Brighton at the end of April. They will no doubt be joined by the more local EDL supporters for their ritual embarrassment. Despite the last few years having their marches delayed, rerouted, attacked, being outnumbered and getting a good kicking, it is now a question of pride. They know it will be smaller this year, they also know that opposition will be large but they also know that they will be completely surrounded by plod for their own protection. We also know that Sussex plod is fed up of having to fork out for overtime and hand wads to other police forces as they simply cannot control the streets on the day and they would clearly like to ban it – thus saving face for them and the MfE! It was also clear last year that plod were turning a wee bit of a blind one towards muscular anti-fascist opposition on the day and we took very few arrests despite it getting a bit tasty on the seafront.
What will be interesting is how many EDL will defect now that ‘Sir Tommy’ has deserted them and the whole thing is in tatters. We know that many divisions have left and many individual members are very bitter over their lack of support from the EDL and the long prison sentences doled out following their Walsall debacle. Needless to say that anti-fascists in the South East of England are getting very well-prepared. See you on the day!
Present in the backroom of some seedy boozer in Essex was a litany of would-be ‘leadership material’ with more initials in their group names than members. The SEA fuhrer, Paul Prodromou, was at the helm of what looked like an Alcoholic’s Anonymous day out and he was joined by Dave Smeeton, the March For England eejit who insists on going to Brighton every year for his annual humiliation and ex EDL ‘leader’ Tony Curtis who came on his own as an ‘independent’ (i.e., no friends). The eejit leader of the splinter group Bristol Defence League came on his own as well. The English Volunteer Force (EVF) sent along their entire membership (2) and they were joined by nonentities from Facebook fascist groups like 1 member of Combined ex-Forces (neither combined nor ex-forces), Patriots Unite and the SW Infidels. Which was all very cosy but illustrated that far from uniting the UK, the meeting only consisted of a small contingent from south of the midlands. No NWI, No SYI, No NEI, very few Scottish or Welsh – probably as the NWI are in prison, the SYI have all fallen out over Snowy’s dodgy dealings and the NEI are interchangeable with the NF. We counted 35 eejits and at least 9 groups. Which leaves 3 and a bit members per group and is distinctly under-impressive. They will now be organising under the United British Patriots banner whilst keeping their 'own identities.' How long this lasts is very debatable given the amount of ego problems contained under one roof. They also hung a Help For Heroes flag up amongst their tawdry other rags despite the charity wanting nothing to do with such alcoholic far-right arse-bugles.
This portly gathering of male muffin-tops, delusional patriots and a Walt or 2 guzzled pints of lukewarm lager in plastic glasses as Prodromou tried to maintain a semblance of order. Someone had bought biros and a pad from Poundland to write it all down in and we managed to get hold of their minutes:
11am: Meet & Greet, lager, complimentary mini-Swiss Rolls
11.30: Call to order. Most still at bar.
12.30: Meeting finally called to order
12.45: CxF excused for ‘disorderly trousers’
1pm Lunch: more complimentary mini-Swiss Rolls & lukewarm lager (and poor quality gak in the ladies toilet)
3pm: meeting finally called back to order (several members ‘missing in action’ sleeping it off in the carpark)
3.05: Meeting called to a close
3.30: full scale battle between themselves in the car park over who is the ‘real leader’
3.45: police raid premises & enquire after ‘designated driver’
3.55: ‘designated driver’ found comatose in ladies toilet
4pm: publican closes meeting, plod forces them out and Prodromou is seen weeping
4.10: meeting declared an enormous success’ on Twitter.
4.15: no one notices.
What is clear from this meeting is that there is a major schism between the rump EDL and the extremists as well as a clear North/South divide – which will create future problems like the EDL had. We are supposed to believe that this disparate bunch of potential sex offenders, snot gobblers and trouser foulers are the far right’s ‘top boys’ who will be leading the masses into Brighton at the end of April. They will no doubt be joined by the more local EDL supporters for their ritual embarrassment. Despite the last few years having their marches delayed, rerouted, attacked, being outnumbered and getting a good kicking, it is now a question of pride. They know it will be smaller this year, they also know that opposition will be large but they also know that they will be completely surrounded by plod for their own protection. We also know that Sussex plod is fed up of having to fork out for overtime and hand wads to other police forces as they simply cannot control the streets on the day and they would clearly like to ban it – thus saving face for them and the MfE! It was also clear last year that plod were turning a wee bit of a blind one towards muscular anti-fascist opposition on the day and we took very few arrests despite it getting a bit tasty on the seafront.
What will be interesting is how many EDL will defect now that ‘Sir Tommy’ has deserted them and the whole thing is in tatters. We know that many divisions have left and many individual members are very bitter over their lack of support from the EDL and the long prison sentences doled out following their Walsall debacle. Needless to say that anti-fascists in the South East of England are getting very well-prepared. See you on the day!
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However
06.02.2014 14:58
MDN
The EDL is NOT fascist it protests against Islamic extremism!
06.02.2014 15:01
Malatesta is an apologist for Islamic extremism!
Be warned
06.02.2014 15:24
The subjects of immigration and Islamism are not going away despite how often somebody shouts "fascist" at anybody who raises them. These are issues that need a proper debate.
George
@Malatesta is an apologist for Islamic extremism!
06.02.2014 17:26
delboy
While this is inflammatory the right will exist
06.02.2014 19:11
Search and replace of the word Muslim/Islam for appropriate alternatives. That should ahve filtered out the casual reader. Nudge theory in action there.
The truth is the EDL has served its purpose. It has destabilised the focus of the Left for half a decade and displaced activity from making any kind of progress in social justice. Forget the rights and wrongs. While the above paragraph can get your hackles up or make you belch out a diatribre (as I do here) then the EDL have worked.
Why is nobody declaring that the War on Terror is over? Primarily because the Left is weak, spineless and without an agenda for peace. Weak, spineless - but we did this and this and this. Yes, the achievements of the left are stupendous. But there are no future achievements in sight.
In 2015 Democracy will end in the UK. There will be no right to dissent and the EDL will be a pale memory. People such as Malatesta will have the hindsight to analyse the role the EDL have played. With respect to that ability, they will not be saying what people should demand.
In their four years of Office, the Tories have developed the "Behavioural Influence Unit" and then privatised it. Essentially giving themselves a £19m propaganda machine for the next election. Where it will be all about the magical illusion of "choice". What does this have to do with the EDL?
The EDL have been a very modern, marketing driven bunch of thugs. They have, as Malatesta points out, wandered off to UKIP and the Tories. The EDL has been a marvellous testbed for a lot of political extremism. If you told the EDL to cut and paste Christian for Muslim, they would do it. There's the point. It's not a conspiracy. It's the kind of "Behavioural Economics" that is espoused by that shiny new £19m propaganda unit.
Four years of not demanding a future has reduced the any kind or radicalism outside of official ideology to a state of asking for the past back. There are no demands for the future. Unlike the Left's Heros of the Past demanding a National Health Service as a right, the left are now asking for the crumbs from their Masters' tables.
It really is not about a debate. The time for endless debate is over. The time, now, is for demands. The EDL were not "defeated" they simply became very obviously useless idiots instead of useful idiots. Mister Robinson is off to Prison where some smart legal type will get him out in relative obscurity. He has probably already made his demands. And will probably get them. It might be a coke and whore filled villa in Spain to eke out his days. Who knows. What is certain is that the EDL are all making good on their promise to far right politics.
Which is really obvious from them slinking back into the UKIP-Tory Fold. Remember 1979? The NF pushing Thatcher to victory and the lost decade that followed? See: very good at analysing the past.
So what about the future. What are the demands for the future? No more EDL clones? Nice one! But not ambitions enough. How about the nationalisation of Banks and Utiliites without compensation? Start as you mean to go on. There is a year to the election. If anybody (regardless of their intention to vote) with any kind of radical bone in their body does not start making demands now (from the reasonable to the aspirational) then we are all doomed to at least a decade of Totalitarianism. As market researched with the EDL, BNP and so on. As thought out by Nudge Economics.
Unless Radicals start to nudge, now and often, we are facing the biggest disaster since Hitler (oh no! this is the internet - Godwin's Law forbids saying that). The Truth is the Right is Triumphalist, Neoliberal and happily using useful idiots and useful idiocies to perpetuate their power. If nobody asks for something new, then all that you are left with are the choices that have been laid out for you.
Choose something New.
Historical Note:
Malatesta's cutting gear is on permanent display at the City of London Police museum at Wood Street police station. The cutting gear was sold to one of those involved in the Sidney Street Siege. Make of that what you will. But bear in mind: they were demanding of the future.
Tommy Robinson Reinvented