HISTORY was made on Saturday as over half-a-million people joined the Together Alliance for the largest anti-racist, anti-fascist mobilisation this country has ever seen. Over 500 groups were involved in mobilising for the day, with thousands of activists playing their part in getting their communities out.

We should not underestimate the significance of this mobilisation in the fight against the far right.

Firstly, it dwarfs the demonstration on September 13 last year, organised and addressed by far-right figures from Britain and internationally. 

At the time 110,000 people, the largest far-right demonstration in British history, seemed worryingly big – and we still shouldn’t underestimate the danger this poses. But set against more than 500,000 who marched on Saturday, it shows the balance is still very much in favour of those who support unity and solidarity. 

That will give confidence to anti-racists, environmentalists, trade unions, socialists and communists, and so it should. Our ability to outnumber both the far right and those who have been drawn into their orbit is significant. 

At half a million, this is a significant mobilisation of working people and shows that our organisations, though they may be much weakened from their height, can still turn people out and can be rebuilt on an ongoing basis.

Secondly, the breadth of organisations that has been brought together — from trade unions to environmental and global justice campaigns, from faith groups to anti-war groups, from solidarity campaigns to community associations, and of course every major anti-racist organisation in Britain — is in itself an achievement. 

Our class too often finds itself divided, by questions of political strategy, ideology or tactics, and this is a real weakness in the face of a rising tide of far-right hatred funded by the super-rich. The Together Alliance has managed to bring together a genuine united front against the far right.

There is plenty to celebrate about Saturday’s mobilisation. However, while we must not underestimate the significance of this mobilisation, we should also not overestimate its significance.

Firstly, while 500,000 people is impressive, it will not alone be enough to turn back the tide. As speakers repeatedly said from the platform on Saturday, for this movement to achieve its aims — to slow, halt and reverse the strength of the far-right street movement and the rise of far-right ideas in British politics — it will need to find expression in every workplace and every community. That means going beyond mobilising existing supporters and concentrating on workplace and community organising.

It is encouraging to see that Together has put forward a three-year strategy, with six strands, including a workplace organising strategy, a community organising strategy and an education and training strategy to support these, but this work needs to begin immediately and show real gains fast if it is to succeed. 

The evidence of every previous movement shows that repeated mobilisation, without investing in organising and developing local leaders, leads to diminishing returns. There are too many movements that flashed and then faded before they ever got started. Together must not become one of them.

Secondly, it is abundantly clear that the rise in support for far right organisations and ideas has been driven by the economic insecurity that working people have experienced over the past decade and a half, and the failure of social democracy to respond to this. 

Working people don’t have access to decent housing, to decent jobs that pay a decent wage, and Labour has not provided any answers. It is this sense of hopelessness that the far right have preyed upon, as has every successful fascist organisation before them.

For Together to succeed, it must take up these questions, posing real economic solutions for working people – solutions built on unity and solidarity in the fight for a better society.