Agree and was thinking earlier that there'll probably have to be new threads as to what their strategy/ goals are, and best ways to combat them,,ultimately, what to put in their place ; basically the same issues AFA had and then once successful, the issues the IWCA had. With social media, post brexit and labour austerity as added extras
At the moment, they seem to be hitting out in randomized acts of violence where they can, but still seem devoid of an overall strategy like the BNP had, March and grow, rights for whites etc. But, probably for another thread as people still dealing with stuff and getting over today atm.
Thats a very good point about what seems to be a lack of strategy and I think the where next for the far right/populist right has to be a key part of any discussions that we have.
Some quick, and random, thoughts. There must be a question mark as to whether the localised acts of violence and threats to mosques and refugee locations are sustainable. We won't have seen the last of them however in addition to the impact of arrests and media coverage of court cases taking their toll, the policing will get more effective ( I suspect there's been a huge turnover regionally since the last riots), intelligence will improve ie social media monitoring, I think the local public sector ( what is left of it ) and third sector/community groups will end up being pulled into a strategy.So the question is what will/can happen next.
Although there are a number of far right groups ie Britain First/Patriotic Alternative, trying to recruit it's hard to get a sense of any real leverage by them in calling the shots. Obviously, the figurehead is abroad, seemingly hindered by the warrant and other legal issues that are pending. TR does have some form of command team around him ( who I have suspicions that they also have fingers in the financial pie) however there doesn't seem to be any regional structure /momentum. This has some positives, ie low overhead costs , no full time regional organisers etc, and also some negatives. The TR strategy has been built around him making appearances. It's hard to guess what their next step would be, I would have thought ideally a national demo with the return of the King across the water. However, that still doesn't provide an overall strategy, it might be the nearest to march and grow but it doesn't provide for any regional or local representation, and it also begs the question as to whether or not it suits TR and his backers to escalate into a show of strength or whether the aim is to keep the pot boiling and keep the donations coming in.
What would be the signs of some form of strategy from below? One of the things in the back of my head is what will happen in terms of any far right/patriot mutual aid for fines, legal costs, prisoner solidarity /demos when there are jailings? How would that run alongside the grift to TR and team?
One long term consideration is the potential opportunities involving Reform . There were some rumours that TR's organising committee had tried to reach out to Farage to speak at their rally and that he had declined. Reform especially the opportunist Farage will want to get something out of this, not from the sharp end ( Farage in UKIP actually had some sort of line on excluding fascists from membership) but from the softer elements and below.
Lots to consider.
