While the mounting popularity of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is widely known, it was the activities of the more fringe UKIP and Advance UK that sparked interest in the afternoon of 27 September. The plan was for UKIP’s ‘Mass Deportations March,’ ending at the Newbridge Hotel, to coincide with a planned launch event by the infant Advance UK at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. In reaction, a larger counter-protest sprouted, expressing sympathy with migrants.
Due to the rising number of refugees and asylum-seekers, they have frequently been put up at ‘migrant hotels’ around England. The Home Office aims to provide asylum decisions within six months of filing; in reality, however, this takes much longer—often several years. As they must have been living here for at least twelve months to work, many asylum-seekers are left in the lurch once their hotel stays expire. Support services and charities have become overwhelmed; migrant homelessness has grown to critical levels, and public anger has soared. This boiled over into the scene on Saturday, outside Newcastle’s chief migrant hotel.
The migrant issue has formed the backbone of various upstart right-wing parties. Advance UK, given support by both right-wing activist Tommy Robinson and foreign tech billionaire Elon Musk, is only the most recent of these. The Crowne Plaza Hotel, supported by Newcastle City Council, cancelled Advance’s launch event, minimising the latter’s part in the demonstration before it even began.
The public response was larger, however, as estimates for the counter-protest turnout far exceeded that of the combined UKIP and Advance attendance.
From 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on 27 September, crowds of counter-protesters formed around Grey’s Monument and on Sandhill, as the UKIP rallyists gathered outside the Quayside law courts. The police, acting to prevent contact between the groups, surrounded the Sandhill counter-protesters as the rallyists began their march up Pilgrim Street. The police gradually allowed counter-protesters up Dean Street to join the bulk at Monument, doubtlessly hoping to unite all the counter-protesters in one large group that would be easier to contain.
The police were faced with chants of “Fascist police, off our streets!” The two sides, marching in parallel up Dean and Pilgrim Street respectively, met on conjoining Mosley Street. The officers there struggled to keep the groups separate, resorting to manhandling and shouting furiously. Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., the counter-protesters and rallyists, separated by a thin line of policemen, faced each other outside the Newbridge Hotel. After 3 p.m., the police compelled the rallyists back down the hill, where they were dispersed and the contention ended.