About 30 EDL yobs attacked a Unite Against Fascism meeting at the Friends Meeting House on Tuesday evening, but they failed to even get past the front door.

The meeting was titled In Defence of Multiculturalism in the wake of Cameron’s disgraceful remarks a couple of months ago.  Among the speakers were Martin Smith of the UAF Steering Committee and Chris Whitwell of Friends Families and Travellers.

Some good points were made – chiefly that Cameron made the remarks in a desperate attempt to divide communities and divert attention from his government’s slash and burn policies. Questions were asked about Cameron’s right to pronounce that “multiculturalism had failed” given his own monocultural upbringing (unless one includes the drinking culture of the Bullingdon Club!).

I spoke from the Stop the Cuts Coalition, and it was a positive move that the links were made by UAF between the crisis and the rise of far right politics.

The EDL thugs were seen off and the police arrived shortly after.  Incredibly, their verdict was that we had provoked the trouble!  Another bizarre interpretation of events by, arguably, Britain’s oddest police force.

We finished our meeting, so denying the EDL any claim to have broken it up, and then we left together.

People’s Republic of Hove, 6 April 2011

Via Socialist Unity

Update:  See also “Violence at Brighton anti-fascist meeting”, The Argus, 7 April 2011