A Short History of Liverpool & Fascism
We live in troubled times. If you aren’t sure whether or not that’s true, you need only take a look at the news from around the world to get a sense of the direction in which we are heading.
Between Donald Trump attacking migrants and trans people in between rounds of golf through to the rise of the far-right in Germany, it is clear that things aren’t going particularly well for the more liberal amongst us.
Liverpudlians would like to consider themselves to be liberal in nature, but has that always been the case? We can look at the city’s handling of fascism to get a sense.
Liverpool v Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley, who would later go on to be knighted, was born in Mayfair in 1896. If you ever want to get a sense of whether or not someone is genuinely looking out for the interests of the working class then have a look at where they were born and if it’s Mayfair or similar then it’s probably worth ignoring them.
He was a British aristocrat who became disillusioned with mainstream politics, choosing to turn instead to fascism. He founded the British Union of Fascists in 1932, espousing thoughts of anti-semitism whilst looking to alliances with the likes of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
Oswald Mosley visited Liverpool on 10th October 1937. His plan was to recruit working class people…
When he got up on the van, gave the crowd a fascist salute and before he could even speak a single word, stones were thrown from the crowd and hit Mosley in the head. pic.twitter.com/h4W8Nu3iYR
— Cllr Ulrich Savary 🕎 🇺🇦יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (@stephane_ulrich) September 13, 2020
On the tenth of December 1937, Mosley was due to address a rally of the BUF in Liverpool. As the meeting was due to get underway, however, it was attacked by anti-fascists, who threw stones at Mosley. One of them hit him on the head, knocking him semi-conscious.
He had been standing on a van with louder speakers at the time, allowing for hundreds of missiles to be thrown at him, with one causing him to fall on his face. Large sections of the crowd showed their disapproval of Mosley, even as they were rushed by nearby police.
The fascist leader was rushed to Walton Hospital, where he was photographed with a bandage around his head. He was kept in for a week before being discharged. It was arguably the start of a downward trajectory for the rich politician, with working class people in the likes of Manchester, Devon, Stockton, Newcastle and London also rejecting the British Union of Fascists.
The organisation was disbanded in 1940 in the wake of the British government’s decision to proscribe it after the outbreak of the Second World War.
National Action & the Left Luggage
Mosley isn’t the only fascist to have attempted to spout their rubbish in Liverpool only to leave with their tail between their legs. Back in the August of 2015, the Neo-Nazi group ‘National Action’ planned a ‘White Man March‘ in the city.
When they arrived at Liverpool Lime Street Station, however, they were met by a huge anti-fascist crowd that blocked them from leaving. Eggs and bottles were thrown at them, whilst some of the anti-fascists broke through the lines of police separating them in order to punch some of them in the face.
There were around 50 members of the Hitler-loving National Action group who arrived in Liverpool, but they were overwhelmingly outnumbered by the anti-fascists who refused to allow them to spread their hate in the city. Having threatened that the city would ‘go up in flames’ if the march was banned, the National Action members ended up crowded in the Left Luggage shop within the station. It was another sign, nearly 80 years after Mosley had been left humiliated, that Liverpool’s welcoming nature isn’t something that will be extended to people hoping to spout hatred and anger.
‘Tommy Robinson’ Sent Packing
Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has made a name for himself by spewing racist, hateful rhetoric. Aiming to become a Member of European Parliament in the North West, he planned a tour of the Merseyside region in 2019, only to be told he was ‘not welcome‘ in the area.
The founder of the English Defence League was told by former Liverpool and England player and current Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher that the people of Bootle ‘strongly oppose the politics of hate and division’ being led by the man and his organisation.
@dramaslutt #tommy #robinson #uk#fyp #england #muslim #white #brown #viral ♬ original sound – Dramaslut
It came two years after anti-fascists had chased an EDL rally out of the city to the sound of the Benny Hill theme music, with anti-fascism seen as a core element of Liverpool’s political stance. When the election count was eventually held, Yaxley-Lennon had to ‘sneak out’ on account of the fact that he won so few votes.
In the end, he won just 2.2% of the vote, which meant that he lost his initial deposit of £5,000. Sadly, the Brexit Party did win big during the same elections, suggesting that the far-right isn’t as unwelcome in the North-West as those living in the area would like to claim, even if the fascists are chased out of Liverpool.
The Far-Right Rally of 2024
Those living in Liverpool might like to imagine that the far-right has no place in the city. The chasing out of the area of the likes of Mosley, Yaxley-Lennon and other fascists would certainly suggest that that has been the case historically. In reality, however, Liverpool is no more immune to the spread of far-right hatred than anywhere else.
If proof of such a thing were needed then you can view what happened in 2024 as the perfect example. In the wake of the deaths of innocent young people at a Taylor Swift-themed event in Southport, the far-right turned up to spread hate.
The fascist presence in Liverpool looks strong.
It’s not ‘different’ here. Don’t be fooled.
pic.twitter.com/IeJXTYKqTN— S C A L L Y M A G (@ScallyMagazine) August 3, 2024
Although a huge number of anti-fascists were also present, this time there were far more of the far-right than had been the case previously. In fact, chants of ‘Tommy Robinson’ could be heard loud and clear.
Thankfully, the best side of Liverpool turned up in the hours that followed. From ‘Nans Against Nazis’ signs to members of a local mosque heading out with food to give to the far-right protestors, the idea that ‘love will prevail‘ was demonstrated well. One anti-fascist said, “Liverpool is a place that comes together as a community”.
