It’s time for us to reclaim our faith and our flag from the far right

The Unite the Kingdom protest exposed a dangerous fusion of Christian imagery and far‑right ideology, argues Guy Hewitt. The Church must urgently reclaim its message of love and justice, he says

There is a debate whether the 13 September ‘unite the kingdom’ 110,000+ person protest march and rally was a ‘far right’ event? Were that a valid question the response would be a resounding ‘yes’ if you focused on the stage and lineup of global bigots reverberating a visceral cacophony of collective hatred of Muslims and migrants.

Tommy Robinson told the crowd that Britain is ‘being invaded’, ‘being raped’, and, like ‘every single western nation’ faced with ‘an orchestrated, organised invasion and replacement of European citizens’. It was a torrent of obsessive hatred, for which a ‘far right’ label might seem generous.

However, beyond the stage, the diversity of the marchers makes that label seem somewhat ill-suited. It seems some came to convey not their racism but their despair, both about the material deterioration of their lives but also their sense of voicelessness. If there was one phrase that may have resonated across the marchers, it was: ‘No one listens to us.’