By Christian Edwards, CNN
London (CNN) — When some 150,000 people descended on London in September for a rally organized by Tommy Robinson – an agitator who spreads anti-Muslim bigotry and has several criminal convictions – it felt like a watershed moment in British politics.
“Something in our country changed,” Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said at the time. “This felt different.”
And so when at least tens of thousands gathered again in the British capital on Saturday for the latest “Unite the Kingdom” march, it felt less out of the ordinary. Views that would once not have been expressed in public are becoming commonplace. Marches organized by Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, are becoming a regular outlet for them.
“Millions have got to go,” said Pete, 64, from Derbyshire, in the English midlands. He was referring to unauthorized immigrants. “They shouldn’t be in this country,” he told CNN. “They’re claiming benefits. ‘Benefit Britain’ has got to end.”
At September’s mass rally, the mood was militant. “Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you,” Elon Musk told the crowd via video link. “You either fight back or die.”
Saturday’s march was smaller, according to early estimates, and did not attract the same high-profile foreign guests. But Robinson’s message was similarly combative. “Are you ready for the Battle of Britain?” he asked his supporters, packed into Parliament Square. Ahead of the next general election, he said his supporters must “get involved” and “become activists,” or “we are going to lose our country forever.”
The next general election is not due until 2029, but a frenetic week in Westminster – in which Prime Minister Keir Starmer has struggled to see off a revolt among his Labour Party lawmakers – has led many in Britain to wonder whether Starmer’s government will last that long. Labour’s wobbles have injected Britain’s increasingly organized hard-right movements with fresh force.
Ahead of the march, Starmer said he supported peaceful protests, but accused the organizers of peddling “hatred and division” and said his government had blocked visas for far-right agitators who wanted to come to Britain to spread extremist views. “They don’t speak for the decent, fair, respectful Britain I know,” Starmer said.
That vision of Britain feels in retreat. “Unite the Kingdom” does not affiliate with a political party, but draws in supporters of several. Many marchers wore turquoise – the color of the hard-right Reform UK party, led by the Nigel Farage, a chief architect of Brexit and an ally of US President Donald Trump. Reform surged in last week’s local elections, sending Starmer’s Labour Party – which had positioned itself as Britain’s best defense against populism – into a tailspin.
But for many marchers, Farage’s party does not go far enough. Analysts attribute Reform’s recent electoral successes to how Farage has tempered his party’s rhetoric and policies. Farage claims to have “professionalized” his party, in part by welcoming in several high-profile figures from the previous Conservative government.
For Pete, from Derbyshire, this has diminished Reform’s appeal. Instead, many at the march waved “Restore Britain” flags, in support of the far-right party led by Rupert Lowe, who was expelled by Reform last year over allegations of workplace bullying. Lowe – who has been publicly backed by Musk as the man who can “save Britain” – maintains he was kicked out because he posed a threa