Cornwall Resists - Farage Fumes

Following a counter-demonstration to the fascist Reform Party conference, Cornwall Resists relay their experiences on the day and reflect upon the ever growing police clampdown on protest and self defense. 

Oh dear, we seem to have rattled Farage the fascist. 

We're going to celebrate that as a win!

According to Farage, we're domestic terrorists who should be proscribed, describing us as "a very violent and dangerous organisation". 

He also claims hundreds of people contacted the venue asking them to cancel his conference, and that we prevented 100 people from attending altogether. If this is the case, we're very happy with that result. We hope that Carn Brea Leisure centre will think again next time Farage wants to use its premises as a breeding ground for hate. We do not tolerate hate, especially on our turf.

Like most people, we aren't pacifists - we will defend ourselves and our communities when under attack. As we saw in Plymouth last summer when fascists attacked us for hours with bricks and fireworks, the police do not protect us. We - the people - protect us. 

But let's also be clear - the violence that occurred on Monday night was instigated by the police, Reform-hired security and Reform supporters. 

On Monday afternoon we were able to block one of the entrances to the conference. We didn't try to storm it, we simply stood in the way. Reform supporters didn't have to walk through us - they could have gone back to the main entrance, which many did. However instead of redirecting Reform supporters back to the main entrance, the police and Reform security tried to get them through our blockade by violently assaulting people, punching people and throwing them to the floor. 

Reform supporters were deliberately provoking protesters, getting in their faces and even punching one person in the face. The police did nothing to stop them, so it was down to us to protect our friends and allies. Across the road a Reform supporter spray-painted "Islamism is Nazism".

Farage singling out former Camborne mayor Zoe Fox is disgraceful.  Zoe turned up to support a lawful protest against a far-right party threatening her community. At no point did she ever incite violence. Likewise, Farage blaming Zarah Sultana for our protets is a disgrace. While we have nothing but solidarity with Zarah, she had zero influence on our protest. Both these unwarranted attacks reek of misogyny and will fuel unwarranted online hatred.    

This online hatred is one of the reasons we wear masks. Labour's new proposal to ban face coverings at protests will put us at physical risk. Antifascism is dangerous. There are violent individuals who spend their time trying to identify us so they can take revenge on us and our loved ones, for speaking out. The threat when they do this is very real. In 2021 we saw it locally when Penzance mayor Nicole Broadhurst received racist threats and had to have a panic alarm installed in her house. We live in our communities, some of us have children or live with vulnerable people. We should not be expected to put the safety of our loved ones at risk just for attending a protest. 

We also hide our identities to resist police harassment, as new legislation has criminalised many forms of protest. Under the public order act, protesters who haven't even commited an offence can be handed Serious Disruption Prevention Orders. These will prevent people from attending protests, stop them seeing named people, prevent them from organising online and can be enforced by electronic tags. Antifascists are labeled "aggravated activists" by the police, and you don’t need to have a criminal record to be added to their databases, simply associating with a known person and going to several protests is enough. This information has been used countless times to harass and intimidate campaigners. No-one should face police intimidation for standing up to fascists.

And it’s not just antifascism. Police have collaborated with illegal blacklisting that prevented people getting work because of left-wing political views, and trade union activity. No-one should face police harassment, intimidation or criminalisation for campaigning. So Cornwall Resists advocates wearing masks on all demos regardless of whether there is a risk of far-right violence. We will continue to do so regardless of the proposed legislation.

Our protests were not antidemocratic. Democracy is about more than ticking a box every few years. It means "power to the people".  'Reform' divides communities. They act in the interests of the rich and powerful. 17 local groups coming together to oppose a far-right conference is more democratic than a supposed 'political' party that fuels hatred, spreads misinformation and incites mobs to race riots. True democracy is communities coming together to say no to hate.

Kernow is broken. We all know radical change is needed. Our land has become nothing but a playground for the rich. We are priced out of our communities. Our land is stolen by second home owners. Our services have been decimated by years of austerity. Our Cornish language, history, culture and desire for autonomy is mocked or dismissed. Mainstream political parties don't represent us. But neither does "reform" and their far-right views.

Farage is not a man of the people. On top of his £91k a year salary, he earns over £1 million in other work. He is part of the problem. He is part of the rich elite that is screwing over the rest of us while the planet burns. Nigel Farage talks about taking "his" country back, but we don't want to be part of his country. Our problem is with second homes, not with refugees fleeing torture.

We recognise that while not every Reform voter is a fascist, those at the top of the party undoubtedly are. Their rhetoric is a threat to every person of colour, trans person and disabled person. And when a fascist comes to speak in our community we have to stand up and say no.

We know to stop the far-right will take more than one protest at a conference. We need to organise our communities to build an alternative to Farage and his hate. 17 local groups came together for this protest. We live and work in our local communities. We are the carers, the shop workers, the mothers, the grandmothers, the charity workers, the NHS workers, the hospitatlity workers, the teachers, the volunteers, the students. It's up to us, all of us, to do our part.

Whenever and wherever fascists mobilise in Kernow, we will be there, we will mask up, and we will do what is necessary to stop them.

We are proudly Cornish. We are proudly antifascist.

Kernow bys vyken!

Kernow yw gorthfaskor!■

Cornwall Resists

Cornwall Resists are involved in campaigns and demonstrations against fascists, borders and the police across and outside of the region, follow them on instagram for more.