News / protest
Protesters gather outside hustings to ‘unmask’ Reform
About 30 anti-racist protesters gathered outside a mayoral hustings on Wednesday which Reform UK candidate Arron Banks was expected to attend.
The emergency demonstration, organised by Stand Up To Racism, was called in response to Banks’ candidacy announcement on March 29.
With banners welcoming refugees and leaflets busting racism and immigrant myths, the group hoped to “unmask Reform UK”.
In a leaflet being handed out to passers-by, the group had said about Reform UK and Nigel Farage: “The party whips up racism and Islamophobia. It threatens everyone except the very rich elite.”
A poster calling Arron Banks “incompetent and insecure” was seen at the protest
The leaflet added: “Less than a month after they won five MPS at the general election, we saw the far-right riots and the fierce attacks on mosques and hotels where refugees were housed. They have nothing to offer ordinary people – except scapegoating.”
Busting a myth about asylum seekers being “illegal immigrants”, another leaflet from the group read: “Under international law, anyone has the right to apply for asylum in any country that has signed the 1951 Convention and to remain there until the authorities have assessed their claim.”
The same leaflet also busted other myths about the vested interests of refugees and migrants, increasing refugee and migrant population in Britain, refugees and asylum seekers being the reason for draining out resources and overwhelming services and more.
Despite Banks being invited to the hustings, the Reform UK candidate remained absent.
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In a blog on the Watershed website ahead of the hustings, CEO Clare Reddington said: “Watershed stands for inclusion, justice and equity. We believe Bristol and the culture sector is stronger and richer for the immigrants in our city and we support partners and organisations who work in this area with free space and staff time.
“We stand against racism and deplore anyone who promotes racist and anti-immigration views.”
All photos: Rob Browne
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