Bristol Anti Migrant Protest

I am sure everyone is aware of the migration protest and counter protest that took place in Bristol this weekend. How were these protests reported and what did we learn from these reports?

Mainstream Media

Details of the actual protests were widely reported, but there wasn't any real analysis of the reasons and drivers behind the protests, with the notable exception of Al Jazeera who did mention the data related to UK immigration. They also described the Reform Party as "far right". The BBC did publish comments from Bristol City Council.

BBC

Anti-immigration march met by large counter group

Bristol City Council said it has no plans to challenge the government's use of hotels to house asylum seekers in the city.

Councillor Tony Dyer, leader of Bristol City Council, said: "Bristol is a long-established place of sanctuary. We are a diverse city and are proud to welcome and provide safety for people seeking sanctuary from a wide range of backgrounds.

"As a City of Sanctuary, we will continue to support and show compassion to people when they need it most."

He added: "Our focus is on working collaboratively to improve conditions for people seeking sanctuary and fostering compassionate and resilient communities in Bristol."

Bristol Live

anti-migrant protest updates as police form human wall across street

People started to gather at Castle Park from 10.30am after a poster circulated on social media advertising a "march to stop the racists". It comes as nationally, including in Bristol, more protests are expected to be held outside hotels housing asylum seekers today.

As afternoon arrived, a smaller group of anti-migrant protesters arrived at the park, with some carrying 'stop the boat' placards and union flags. They were surrounded by the other group and anti-fascist protesters, some wearing face coverings, as police made a human wall between the two sides.

Bristol 24/7

Anti-immigration protesters face off against counter-protesters

Around 20 members of the ‘Bristol Patriots’ group were in attendance. The group played Sweet Caroline and Wonderwall while the counter-protesters chanted pro-immigration messages.

One refrain regularly repeated by the counter-protesters was “Bristol is anti-fascist”.

There were more than 100 counter-protesters in Castle Park and among them were the University and College Union, the Socialist Workers Party, Stand Up to Racism and supporters of Antifa.

As the anti-immigration group walked through Broadmead they were also confronted by dozens of members of the Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who were protesting outside Barclays as part of a National Day of Action calling for a boycott of the major UK bank.

The Guardian

Police clash with protesters as asylum hotel demonstrations take place in UK

In Bristol, mounted police were brought in to separate rival groups in Castle Park, with officers scuffling with protesters.

There has been continued tension around the use of the hotels to house asylum seekers. On Tuesday, the high court granted Epping Forest district council a temporary injunction to remove asylum seekers from the Bell hotel in Epping, Essex, from 12 September.

Regular protests had been held outside the hotel in recent weeks after an asylum seeker was charged with trying to kiss a 14-year-old girl, which he denies.

Al Jazeera

Scuffles, arrests as protesters across UK rally against asylum hotels

Protesters have rallied in cities and towns across the United Kingdom, demanding that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government stop housing asylum seekers at hotels.

The rallies on Saturday were met with counterprotests by antiracism campaigners, triggering scuffles between the opposing groups, and police intervention to keep the camps separated.

In Bristol, police in riot gear and on horses separated dozens of anti-migrant protesters and several hundred antiracism protesters, according to the BBC and Sky News.

Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis said "We’ve made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this parliament [in 2029], but we need to do that in a managed and ordered way"

Home Office data showed last week that more than 50,000 migrants and asylum seekers had crossed the English Channel in small boats since Starmer became prime minister last year, a sometimes deadly journey often made in flimsy inflatable dinghies.

And the most recent figures available showed that there were about 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily at hotels in the UK by the end of March.

Official data also shows that a record 111,084 people had applied for asylum in the UK by the end of June this year.

Meanwhile, the leader of the far-right Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, outlined on Saturday how he would pursue “mass deportations” to tackle irregular migration.

Citizen Reporting

Reddit (Bristol)

This isn't just any nationalism, it's M&S nationalism - Bristol anti-refugee protest

Despite this being the number one rule in this group there were a lot of abusive comments:

"It's amazing how they look just how you'd imagine them looking, tracksuits and all."

"Bristol Patriots guy in #19 is exactly the reason Americans would say "go brush your teeth" to us on Xbox live back in the day."

"Lol at that kid who took his date to a far right protest"

"Absolutely wild how rare it is to see an attractive fash, they're all just drab at best, but usually just hideous lkkking"

"Why is it all racists look like they need an injection of fresh genes into their gene pool?"

"Fair play to those brave enough to stand up to a bunch of thick fascists."

"It's almost as if they get it in their head that 'we know wee'm thick, but if these other folk is allows to stay, wee'm pushed further down the line'"

"Why is it that they always look like that. Thick, with a touch of inbred"

"The irony of how inbred all these anti-immigration (fascist) protesters look… y’all would all greatly benefit from more immigration to diversify your gene pool"

"It's like the police cleared out a Wetherspoons"

But a number of commenters were more considered in their responses:

The Almighty Gob

John Langley has published the only commentary I have seen (so far) that tries to explain the situation in a logical manner without resorting to abuse and shallow observations:

Beyond the Hype: The Logical Case Against Illegal Entry To The UK

The #Bristol Protest and the Dangerous Triumph of Emotion Over Fact.

You know, in the increasingly heated and fraught debate surrounding migration, we're seeing something I deliberately call emotional incontinence. It feels like, over the past twenty-five years especially, reasoned discourse has been systematically drowned out by raw emotion. Gut-feelings and sentimentalism are allowed to outweigh logic, law, and even common sense. So let's be clear from the outset: the logical arguments I'm about to put forward aren't just my opinion. They are facts that have to be faced, and we can't afford to ignore them any longer.

This isn't a call to "close the borders" or a rejection of our humanitarian duty. This is a reasoned defence of the rule of law and the principles that actually make a nation-state work. So, here's my logical case for why we simply have to oppose illegal entry, a case brought into sharp focus by the recent Bristol protest today.