8 hours ago
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This is England 2025.
It starts slowly at first, then all of a sudden it just creeps up on you.
A fortnight ago, a mob walked along one of the main streets of Faversham, the small town in Kent where I live. They were chanting “Sieg Heil”, hanging St George’s flags from lamp posts, and crudely daubing roundabouts and zebra crossings with red crosses. The mob had been emboldened by Reform, and by mainstream politicians unwilling to call them out. They are using our flag as a symbol of prejudice to instil hate and fear – it is not jolly old bunting.
Fast forward a week, and late at night, a small group stalked the streets – hanging up more distressed nylon and subjecting residents who objected to abuse and threats, filming them for social media channels. The ringleader and his followers also conducted a street patrol – making sure his flags were not touched. Stickers for the British National Socialist Movement, an extreme neo-Nazi group, have materialised on the town’s postboxes and street furniture. Residents feel they are under siege – and the atmosphere for people, especially those of colour, in the town is like the 1970s when the National Front held sway (I’m in my 50s so I remember that time well, and I cannot believe we are back in this position).
The town has a small residence for unaccompanied refugee children – there has never been any trouble – and our coastal town is proud to be a refuge for this tiny and extremely vulnerable group of children before they are accommodated elsewhere in the UK. In the current atmosphere – where immigration is a hot topic – this has made us a magnet for far-right hate. Facebook posts, claiming these youngsters have facial hair and are pushing local kids out of parks, have gained traction.
It starts slowly at first, then all of a sudden it just creeps up on you.
On Saturday, a group of far-right protesters descended on our small town to march on the children’s centre housing unaccompanied children.
Hundreds of local people came out to defend our town and held the centre for two hours, from 9am to 11am. There was no meaningful police intervention, as young families, doctors, teachers, priests and university lecturers were abused. One far-right protester continually sprayed us with bug spray.
Faversham is a Liberal Democrat town, and the only person maintaining crowd control was our councillor, Hannah Perkin, who is recovering from surgery and bravely held the line between the far-right thugs and townspeople.
At first, townspeople far outnumbered the far right, but their numbers grew as reinforcements joined from trains. All the while, their leader revelled in his new-found fame, shouting abuse and hoisting himself on to street furniture. In scenes pulled straight out of Mad Max, a group of neo-Nazi bikers turned up, revving their engines, belching exhaust fumes and intimidating people by circling the town.
The police eventually turned up, and the far right were allowed to march on the children’s centre. Again, residents followed, determined not to let this group of thugs intimidate children. We saw them off – for now – but the flags still fly.
It starts slowly at first, then all of a sudden it just creeps up on you.
These are not “legitimate concerns” about “women and girls”; this has been warped by a clever disinformation campaign and a compliant media willing to parrot Nigel Farage’s line. Very few of those involved will have met an actual asylum seeker or refugee: it is basically a cloak for general racism against the Black and brown population of this country.
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And as we defended our town, 54 miles away, 900 protesters, mostly elderly and infirm, were arrested for supporting Palestine Action. Has this government got its priorities right?
What is Kent county council, a Reform council, doing about this? Nothing. Just some blather about allowing people to express their views and “common sense”.
If you want to understand what England will look like with a Reform government, just come to our town. Racists and thugs are acting with impunity, intimidating local residents and people of colour, who are living in fear.
This is England 2025.
It starts slowly at first, then all of a sudden it just creeps up on you.
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The author has requested anonymity
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