On Saturday 8th November a small band of fascists marched through Sheffield with the support and protection of a massive policing operation.
Despite being billed as a national mobilisation, Nick Tenconi’s UKIP barely managed to draw 100 attendees from across the country, dwarfed by around 800 antifascists, the overwhelming majority from Sheffield. With less than two weeks’ notice, people across the city spread the word and turned out, making it clear that fascists are not welcome in our city.
Despite outnumbering them 8:1, a feat widely celebrated this week, we were ultimately unable to stop the march. We need to learn from this so that the next time we ask “whose streets?”, the answer rings loud, clear and true.
UKIP only marched because the police enabled them. South Yorkshire Police’s last-minute Section 14 order criminalised almost all opposition while granting UKIP a protected route through our city. Hundreds of officers, many drafted in from other forces and armed with batons and mounted units, forced antifascists aside to clear the way for the far-right. Several anti-racists were arrested in the process. (Donate to our legal costs fundraiser here)
This is a stark reminder of where the state stands, and of the scale of the challenge we face.
------It is tempting to rest on our laurels, UKIP drew no support locally and were largely ignored, ridiculed, or harangued by the majority. However, stopping this pathetic husk of a political party was an eminently surmountable task and yet we failed. We have to be ready when Sheffield is targeted again, and a far-right group with more credibility and influence would provide a sterner test, with much greater risks to our city if we repeat the same mistakes.
This march did not occur in a vacuum. The far-right is in the ascendancy and it is not hyperbolic to say fascism is on the rise. Ultranationalist and anti-immigrant movements are gaining more power in countries around the world, including in the UK. In the months and years to come we are likely to see harsher and more widespread oppression and restrictions on our rights and freedoms. In response, we need to build our capacity to resist at an equal or greater rate. First they are coming for the migrants, and we speak out, in part because we know the rest of the fucking poem.
------We recognise that there were many things that we could've done differently last week, including improved communication both within SCARF and with other attendees. We had a clear plan and clear aims but appreciate we might have fallen short in terms of sharing these with others in a way that allowed as many people as possible to contribute to them. In an increasingly atomised society, where people's agency and independence are continuously eroded, a fluid and dynamic plan can be difficult to realise. This task was made tougher by draconian police restrictions announced the day before.
As the counter-demonstration left the cathedral, many antifascists managed to splinter off from the crowd and spill out onto the streets, dodging police lines and repeatedly attempting to block the march. Most, however, found themselves kettled on Castlegate, away from the march route — led, coerced, and cajoled there by police and stewards. Once contained, people were unable to leave, diminishing the counter to the dozens of far-right marchers and live-streamers who were left to roam the streets harassing and attacking lingering lefties and bystanders alike.
We celebrate the willingness of so many to put their bodies in the way of UKIP's racist march, but bigger numbers is not a win in and of itself.
We are determined to address the gaps in our methods that this march made painfully clear, both within SCARF, and as part of the growing wider antifascist movement in Sheffield and beyond. We will build a movement that is more responsive, more effective, and more resilient.
We ask all antifascist and antiracist groups and individuals to work with us towards this shared goal, with honesty, communication, mutual respect, and shared determination to act decisively when hate marches through our streets. Together we can ensure that next time, our resistance is not just courageous, but unstoppable.
We would like to thank everyone who refused to let the far-right march through our city unopposed, and we hope to be able to collaborate more effectively next time. We saw some incredible strength from local groups such as SYMAAG, Walkley Anti-Fascists, Five Rivers Rising, Drummers for Palestine, and a huge show of solidarity from the student population. If any groups would like to reach out to us, please do so via our email or Instagram.
------We firmly believe the current stewarding model does not work. More stewards will not make counter-demonstrations more effective, especially if, as we saw on Saturday, they suppress others’ actions in line with police directives. A diversity of tactics must be respected: this is how we win. Advocates say the Castlegate kettle was for safety, but safety for whom? When corralled, we may be safe; when on the streets, we keep Sheffield safe. We cannot cede control of the streets in the name of safety.
The state has the monopoly on violence, and it has demonstrated time and again that it is willing to use force to allow fascists to march through communities where they have little to no support. If we want to stop them in future, appealing to or working with the state is not going to achieve that goal. We need a movement built on autonomy and solidarity, where antifascists act freely, support one another, and respect each group’s chosen tactics. This is not chaos. It is coordination without control. Liberation cannot be handed down; it must be practised together.
We encourage antifascists to start where all strong movements begin: with people you already trust, your street, your workplace, your mates. Groups of friends who take responsibility for one another, plan together, move together, and refuse to let anyone face danger alone. Held by a movement rooted in empathy, solidarity, love, and rage, a decentralised, resilient way to organise that empowers participants without reproducing hierarchies or policing others.
This is how we keep each other safe. This is how we grow stronger than anything that seeks to divide or contain us. This is how we win. Together, and on our own terms.
Take to the streets. Protect each other. Stand with those under attack. Fight fascism wherever it rises. Trust your friends, act together, and let no one face danger alone. Connect with SCARF, attend actions, and help build a movement that is autonomous, resilient, and unstoppable.
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@sheffieldcarf