THE last few weeks have changed British politics. We face a new, urgent far-right threat. But we have also seen how anti-racists can turn the tide.

The protests that took place on Wednesday August 7 and Saturday August 10 show what a mass movement against racism looks like.

In response to far-right riots, pogroms against migrants in hotels and attacks on mosques, the anti-racist movement roared back. Because people organised, mobilised and took to the streets we pushed the far right back — and shaped a crucial juncture in British politics.

We can’t get complacent. The protests have put the far right on the back foot for now. But we know that the political climate is one where the racism coming from the top of society means the fascists on the ground can grow.

Many comparisons have been made with the Anti-Nazi League in the 1970s. But in many ways, the situation today is more volatile and potentially more dangerous.

In the 1970s the far right didn’t have Donald Trump speaking their language, who may well win a second term in November. They didn’t have far-right or fascist parties winning or coming second in elections across Europe, from Giorgia Meloni in Italy to Marine Le Pen in France.

And they didn’t have the electoral advance of Reform UK — the first time in British history that a hard-right party to the right of the Tories has had MPs in Parliament. Remember, they have five MPs, but finished second in 98 other constituencies at the general election.

Last Saturday we brought thousands of people out to a protest at Reform UK’s offices in London. Our message was a clear one: Nigel Farage is fanning the flames that are giving the far right confidence.

He may have been forced to condemn the violence and thuggery on display from the fascists, but Farage talks about the legitimate concerns people have about immigration.

He is giving them a nod and a wink. And he now finds himself in alliance with billionaire Elon Musk and fascist Tommy Robinson by framing the riots as a free speech question.

The language of Farage, but also the rhetoric from Suella Braverman and the Tory election slogan of “Stop The Boats,” was echoed by many on the protests called by the far right.

So the situation remains dangerous. We have seen the fascists pushed back, but they are getting cover from the likes of Farage and will no doubt attempt to break through again in the coming weeks and months.

That is why today, Saturday August 17, Stand Up to Racism is launching a “Stop the Far Right” campaign with an event in London featuring Jeremy Corbyn, drag queen Bimini, Owen Jones plus trade unionists and anti-fascist campaigners.

Stand Up to Racism has brought together several forums of MPs, trade unions, anti-racist groups, faith groups and music artists who have agreed on a battle plan to push back the far right.

This includes rallies, Love Music Hate Racism gigs, 100,000s of leaflets and badges, and crucially mobilisations and events in local areas — in particular north-west and north-east England — to push back the racists and fascists.

It is a big challenge. And it will only be met if we build on the past two weeks and deepen the movement of solidarity and unity at every level. We hope every trade union, at a national and local level, can support and be part of our campaign.

The politics of our movement matter. We should be clear that it isn’t the police and the repression by the state that has made the difference. Anti-racists turned the tide.

The 10,000 who marched in Walthamstow — and the thousands of others across the country — are what pushed them back. It has been a week where fear changed sides and our mobilisations gave a boost to every anti-racist in Britain.

This is true of some of the bigger cities. But the most heartening examples are the protests that happened in areas where the far right has mobilised a base.

On our national day of protest on Saturday, we saw hundreds joining anti-fascist protests in Hull, Wakefield, Shrewsbury and Portsmouth. These places have been targeted by the far right over recent years, and in the week before saw big fascist mobilisations.

Building the anti-racist movement in such areas is a crucial task, which is why it’s so positive to see new Stand Up to Racism groups set up in town after town, from Bishop Auckland in the north-east to Taunton in the south-west.

It also matters that our mobilisations didn’t make any concessions to racism and the far right. Unlike Keir Starmer and some of the Labour front bench, we called out their racism and Islamophobia for what it is.

Our protests were explicitly anti-fascist, opposing and countering the far right. And they explicitly said refugees are welcome here, no to Islamophobia.

We have called Farage out as a fraud: a millionaire private schoolboy who wants to blame migrants for the problems in society, deflecting the anger away from the rich. It is crucial that future mobilisations continue with these politics front and centre.

There is deep bitterness in British society. Successive governments have signed up to austerity, decimated social services and kept wages down. And they have hardened up racism and Islamophobia to point the finger of blame at migrants, Muslims and refugees.

The last two weeks have shown that we can build a movement of thousands of people up and down the country who can hit back. It’s an urgent task to deepen and strengthen that movement at every level.

With the rise of the far right across Europe, it feels closer to the 1930s than we have ever been. But it’s not inevitable. If we organise, we can defeat the far right.

We defeated the National Front, the EDL, the BNP and the Football Lads Alliance. We can do it again. The politics of hope and unity can beat the politics of despair.

Weyman Bennett is co-convener of Stand Up to Racism.