The far-right grows louder. So must we.

There are lots of reasons why I love Brighton, the city I’ve called home for my entire adult life. But I was never prouder of my city than this weekend, when thousands of people took to the streets and outnumbered far-right agitators by more than ten to one. People of all ages and races came together to tell the fascists they don’t speak for us. They carried banners, chanted slogans and waved flags all to say ‘not in my name’.

It was a carnival atmosphere, with drummers, people in costume and local DJ Fatboy Slim playing an impromptu free performance for the counter-demonstrators. It stood in stark contrast to the message of hate and division espoused by racist demonstrators who had descended on the city.

At its core, the values people were taking a stand to defend were values that have long sat at the heart of the labour movement – tolerance, inclusion, and solidarity. It was particularly heartwarming to see in the crowd representatives of Brighton’s vibrant trade union movement, as well as my local Labour councillors.

Our Labour council leader Bella Sankey put it best when she said: “Brighton and Hove is a proudly diverse city – where white residents, Black residents, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, people of no faith, gay residents, trans residents, feminists, refugees and mixed race people like me, live side by side peacefully.

“We know better than to blame whole communities for the actions of individuals. This is our home, and in Brighton and Hove difference is famously our strength.”

It wasn’t just Brighton that showed up against fascism over the weekend – huge crowds turned out in Glasgow, Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle, Leicester, Maidstone, Bristol and Belfast – days after far-right thuggery saw homes, businesses and cars set alight. It’s a reminder, if one were needed, that those who shout the loudest on social media don’t represent the whole of our country.

The far-right menace poses a direct and real threat to the values that we have spent generations cultivating and fighting for. While recent outrages in Southampton and Belfast have dominated the headlines, tomorrow we mark the tenth anniversary of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, killed in her constituency by a fascist extremist. I would like to think that the counter-demonstrations across the country over the weekend embodied the words of her maiden speech in Parliament: “We are far more united and hold far more in common than that which divides us.”

As the far-right grows louder and more organised, none of us can afford to be complacent. The values we cherish endure only if people are willing to stand up for them. Defending those values does not begin and end on the streets. It matters at the ballot box too. In a week when voters in Makerfield go to the polls, that reminder feels especially timely.

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