Brexit Day Clash Of The Fash

And so arrives the day on which the UK was intended to leave the European Union. All that false hope, all the column inches, all the hot air has so far been in vain. Brexit has become the latest of Theresa May’s cans to be kicked down the road. To register their disappointment, the far right has decided to congregate in London this afternoon - but in what appears to be four separate gatherings. The potential for disorder is high.

Kicking off somewhere behind here this evening

As Zelo Street regulars may already know, the rump of the party still calling itself UKIP has summoned the faithful to a rally in Parliament Square. Here, Adolf von Batten will be joined by Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson. This gathering will probably appeal to many out there on the far right, and given the afternoon start, many of them may have already been in the Rub-A-Dub beforehand.

I em not a racialist but, und zis is a big but ...

That might not have been such a problem, except that three other gatherings are taking place, one of them just across Parliament Square. The so-called Yellow Vests movement, aka the Amateur Comedy Sturnabteilung, is gathering somewhere near the Shard, and as the Independent has reported, they “were sharing a meme on social media that threatened: ‘If you stop Brexit, we’ll make the Paris riots look like a f***ing tea party.’”

But they don’t have the wit or the wherewithal to do such a thing, and the Police already have their measure. However, and here we encounter a significantly sized however, “The Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA) had called its own protest in central London, against the delay to Brexit and ‘insults against the people of England ... not just from the EU but from the fifth columnists within our own society’”. Do go on.

Against all extremism - except their own

“The DFLA …  suggested in an online post that British MPs were ‘becoming worse than Nazis [they’d know about Nazis, of course] … We must fight for Brexit, we must fight for democracy,’ it continued. ‘The DFLA expects every man and woman to do their duty.’” So far, so much occasional distraction for the law enforcement authorities.

Squeaky Fash showdown finger up the bum time

But the pièce de résistance is provided by Nigel “Thirsty” Farage and his pals, who are rocking up in Parliament Square - yes, very close to the UKIP bash - at the end of the farce which was laughingly titled March To Leave. Nige will be joined by the usual array of Leave Means Leave clowns, and also, not that they’ve fallen in with the far right you understand, Brendan O’Neill and Julia Hartley Dooda.

Farage and Co on one side of Parliament Square, with Batten and Lennon on the other, is a recipe for trouble. Throw in the DFLA and a realisation by the “Yellow Vest” movement that outside Parliament is where the action is, and you have the potential for the Fash to kick off against itself big time. Especially as there is one more group involved.

The Independent again: “Counter-protesters, including anti-fascists, trade unions and faith groups, were planning to oppose the rallies held by Ukip, Mr Robinson and the DFLA … ’Whether you’re Leave or Remain, these people aren’t having a genuine Brexit protest, it’s a far-right rally,’ Stand Up to Racism organiser Michael Bradley told … ‘It’s an attempt to make hay while the sun shines.’” Something Gerard Batten just confirmed.

The UKIP leader spreading false scare stories about water cannon being deployed shows he is giving plausible deniability to his thugs. Go carefully in Westminster this evening.

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