Monthly Briefing: Unite the Kingdom fails to maintain numbers in low energy rally

 In brief

• Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom (UTK) rally drew less than expected as several speakers were banned from entering the UK
• Patriotic Alternative, Remigration Now and White Vanguard activists leafleted the UTK rally with white nationalist propaganda
• Restore are threatening Reform's chances in the Makerfield by election, with some polls giving them a small but significant share of the vote.
• Following a RF investigation, far right commentator Matt Goodwin has pulled out of a Traditional Britain Group black tie dinner.
• Far right activists from across Europe gather in Portugal for a remigration summit. The event was attended by former US Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino.

Unite the Kingdom Rally

On Saturday 16 May Steven Yaxley-Lennon (known as Tommy Robinson) held a second Unite the Kingdom (UTK) rally in Central London.

In light of the rally in September 2025, in which a 150,000 strong crowd broke containment from Parliament Square and moved up Embankment to attack a smaller anti-racist march gathering at the top of Whitehall, the police imposed harsh restrictions. The UTK rally was given the entirety of Whitehall and Parliament Square as a rally point, with the march starting on Kingsway near Holborn. A joint Nakba day commemoration and anti-racist march organised by the UK Palestine coalition and Stand Up to Racism rallied in Haymarket, after marching from Exhibition Road. Ahead of the day the Met announced it would use live facial recognition technology.

Before the march, the UK government barred eleven far-right figures set to speak at the rally, on the grounds that their presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good. These included founder of Rebel News, and Yaxley-Lennon confidant, Ezra Levant, Rebel News correspondent Avi Yemini, Polish MEP Dominik Tarczyński and Islamophobic US commentator Valentina Gomez.

On the day, attendance at the rally amounted to less than half of the previous occasion, with an estimated 60,000 attendees. Another difference was the prevalence of merchandise from Reform UK rival Restore Britain, in September Ben Habib’s Advance UK dominated. There was a large contingent of Iranian monarchists who were treated with suspicion by elements of the crowd.

As before, a short march was followed by an interminably long set of speeches. US Christian Zionism had a heavy influence, perhaps unsurprising as one major donor to the event, Robert Shillman who gave £100,000, sits on the board of The Friends of the IDF and has donated widely to international far-right causes. Shillman and Yaxley-Lennon have maintained a long relationship. In 2018 the businessman funded a ‘journalism’ fellowship for Yaxley-Lennon with far-right Canadian outlet Rebel News.

Despite the trappings of Christianity, the crowd remained largely uninterested in the religious speakers. A video featuring AI character Danny Bones, created by an anonymous collective called The Node Project, garnered the loudest response. Another segment involved the display of British and European politicians on screens, with the crowd encouraged to loudly boo each one. Later, Yaxley-Lennon led a round of applause for Elon Musk, who he thanked “on behalf of Great Britain.” There were some outlandish displays of Islamophobia, one man on stage played a cello with bacon draped across his shoulders, another moment saw a group of French identitarian women arrive on stage in burquas. 

Despite the large numbers, there is still little interest on the part of the organisers in developing any kind of movement that goes beyond central London rallies and the frequent solicitation of donations from subscribers of UTK-aligned email lists. On the stage, Yaxley-Lennon encouraged his supporters to “get political” before the 2029 general election. He remained vague on a path forward for his followers, declaring, “I’m not going to tell you which political party you need to join. We’re a cultural movement. I’m going to tell you that you have to join a political party. I don’t care if it’s Reform, if it’s Advance, or it’s Restore, or it’s the Conservative party. We have to locally get involved in politics.”

As with previous occasions, the rally provided an opportunity for other groups to raise their profiles. Mark Collett and Sam Melia of Patriotic Alternative and Steve Laws of Remigration Now distributed leaflets in front of a banner which said “Stop White Replacement” in a joint ‘ethno-nationalist protest’. Fascist youth group White Vanguard also displayed a banner and distributed a leaflet which read, “In a country saturated with degenerates, grifters and imported political enemies … We are a brotherhood of White Europeans who share the same values.”

According to the Metropolitan Police, there were 30 arrests on the day, spread across the UTK and Nakba protests. The most significant arrest came at the beginning of the day. As crowds gathered at Euston Station, police arrested Raise the Colours co-founder Ryan Bridges on suspicion of grievous bodily harm following an incident the previous day where a man had his leg broken.

Following the rally, Yaxley-Lennon has announced an intention to produce a sixth instalment of his ‘Rape of Britain’ series. The announcement came with yet another request for donations.

Reform and Restore

Reform UK and their rival even further to the right, Restore Britain, have both aggressively targeted the Makerfield parliamentary constituency in advance of the high-profile by-election on 18 June. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons, in order to allow Andy Burnham a chance to become MP. In the 2024 general election Reform came second in Makerfield but at the recent local election they won all available seats in the area.

Reform’s candidate Rob Kenyon has come under scrutiny for his social media history. On a now-deleted Facebook profile, he was friends with Gary Raikes, leader of the fascist New British Union. A Twitter/X account suspended in 2024 and a second now-deleted account included a litany of sexist and homophobic posts, as well as incendiary anti-immigrant rhetoric.

While Labour and Reform have attracted most media coverage, Restore are hoping to build on their recent growth in members and their local election success in Great Yarmouth to establish themselves as a serious prospect at the parliamentary level. Restore’s candidate in Makerfield, Rebecca Shepherd, has been promoted as a genuine local voice and an alternative to career politicians, and doesn’t appear to have much of a background in politics. However, others involved in the campaign reveal about the nature of the party and the directions it could take.

Since it launched as a political party in February, Restore has attracted the support of activists from across the far-right. Steve Laws, the fascist anti-migrant activist and leader of Remigration Now (covered below), has claimed to have daily contact with the party’s leadership team, and a number of veteran neo-Nazis have thrown themselves into campaigning for the party. In recent weeks a number of these activists have travelled to Makerfield to campaign for Rebecca Shepherd, including Patriotic Alternative (PA) members Thomas Bryer and Craig Buckley, and Essex-based former PA and Homeland member Callum Barker.

Restore leader Rupert Lowe released internal canvassing data claiming to show 24.6% support in Makerfield for his party. Reform leader Nigel Farage shared a Survation poll of 369 people with Restore on 7%, Reform on 40% and Labour on 43%, and has been keen to portray the by-election as a two-horse race.

Patriotic Alternative

Patriotic Alternative (PA)’s Wales branch appears to have been the fascist organisation’s most active regional group in the last month. posted on 2 May that they had undertaken a hike the weekend before (25-26 April) in Snowdonia. Also on 2 May, PA Scotland members attended an anti-immigration protest at the Blairgowrie and Rattray War Memorial in Perthshire. The group handed out leaflets and claimed that the protest was well received by local people. 

On 23 May, PA Wales posted that they had visited Hereford the weekend before (16 May) to learn more about the town’s Christian heritage and posed for photos by local monuments for photos. Also on 23 May, PA West Midlands conducted a banner drop over a motorway flyover bridge on the M6. 

PA Yorkshire claimed to hand out over 1000 leaflets outlining the group’s beliefs about so-called demographic replacement. Pictured with other PA activists was Sam Melia, who has returned to political activity after the end of restrictions placed on him following his release from prison in 2024. On 28 May, the PA music club posted about a rehearsal earlier in the month. The group claims that they will play at “future nationalist events”.

PA’s online output focused largely on their activists’ attendance at Tommy Robinson’s UTK rally (covered above). Additionally, Sam Melia appeared on the Lotus Eaters-linked podcast Brokenomics on the 12 May. The podcast is hosted by “Lotus Eater” Dan Tubb. The show describes itself as separating “economic facts from the torrent of mainstream BS”. Brokenomnics alleged that Melia was imprisoned for his “motivations”. 

Homeland Party and Remigration Now

May was another quiet month for the ailing Homeland Party, whose social media output - largely consisting of poor quality AI-generated graphics and low-effort photo opportunities - now far outstrips its real-world activity. Small numbers of Homeland activists continue to do litter picks and deliver leaflets, actions mainly geared towards creating content for social media. However, most of the party's output on X - its primary social media platform - has very low engagement. Although a small number of Homeland members and organisers attended the 2026 Remigration Summit conference in Portugal (covered below), none spoke at the event. On its current trajectory the party looks set to pale into insignificance. 

By contrast, Homeland splinter group Remigration Now (RN) has been busy. Around 7 RN activists - one wearing a t-shirt featuring a Nazi ‘black sun’ symbol - attended a protest outside the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Crewe on 9 May. The building was raided by police last month over alleged sexual offences. RN activists attended the UTK protest in London on 16 May (covered above). On 27 May members of RN were amongst a small, loosely organised far-right contingent of Crystal Palace fans who travelled to Leipzig, Germany, for the Europa Conference League final. The group, bearing flags stating “Defend Europe” and one from RN, were attacked by the Bukaneros ultras group from Rayo Vallecano. Meanwhile, RN leader Steve Laws is attempting to crowdfund legal fees following his arrest in September 2025 “over an alleged tweet”. RN activists including Laws and Callum Barker also attended the Remigration Summit in Portugal.  

Elsewhere

Matt Goodwin, former academic and leading figure in Reform UK, has pulled out of a speaking gig at a secretive fascist black tie dinner after his involvement was exposed by Red Flare. On their website, Traditional Britain Group (TBG) advertised the guest speaker at their event as “a well-known mainstream British political figure most closely associated with issues of demographic change.” In an email to supporters of the group seen by Red Flare, TBG revealed that the speaker would in fact be Matt Goodwin. Following enquiries by Novara Media, Goodwin stated that he “will not be speaking” at the event but failed to elaborate on why he had initially agreed to appear. Goodwin had also been invited by the New Culture Forum to speak in Cambridge but after two venues cancelled the booking this engagement appears to have been postponed.

May’s iteration of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) ‘Walk with Jesus’ event only attracted a couple of dozen attendees. Under Nick Tenconi, UKIP has pivoted to a very vocal Christian nationalism, despite the protestations of Church leaders and Christian groups. A protest in Blackpool on 30 May attracted more supporters. Although its events are amplified by a crowd of live-streamers, UKIP’s persistent approach to protests has failed to result in any kind of sustained growth.

Britain First (BF) reported that a small group of activists cleaned the memorial to Lee Rigby in Woolwich, South East London, and hung flags in the area, as well as hanging an anti-Keir Starmer banner over the M25 motorway. BF’s next event of note is a ‘March for Remigration’ in Birmingham on Saturday 20 June. BF’s co-leader Ashlea Simon has resigned this month, with no reason given for her departure. Previous BF co-leader (and previous romantic partner of Golding) Jayda Fransen accused Golding of domestic violence following an acrimonious split.

Two anti-migrant protests planned for 23 May in Dover, Kent, largely failed to materialise with many prominent local activists choosing to stay away. A handful of protestors were opposed by a similar number of anti-racists. More anti-migrant protests have been planned for the summer, some of which could attract larger numbers: a Pink Ladies UK protest on 4 July and a march on 25 July organised by Pink Ladies splinter group Kezia’ Pink Patriots.

A National Rebirth Party (NRP) regional meeting in Manchester had to be cancelled after leader Alek Yerbury and neo-Nazi activist Peter Rushton were confronted by anti-fascists.

The Guardian reported that “one out of every five people arrested after their participation in the 2024 summer riots has since been reported to the police for domestic abuse,” following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the police. The Guardian had previously reported that two out of every five arrested had been the subject of a domestic abuse report before their involvement in the public disorder. Much of the rhetoric around the 2024 protests and riots and subsequent anti-migrant activity foregrounded the supposed threat to women’s safety posed by immigration.

International

Far-right activists from across Europe and further afield gathered in Portugal at the end of May for the 2026 ‘Remigration Summit’, held at the Salmanha Residence between Lisbon and Porto. US Border Patrol leader Greg Bovino, who became a public face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, was announced as a speaker shortly before the summit began. Other speakers included Austrian identitarian Martin Sellner and representatives of far-right parties from across Europe.

In Germany, police have raided around 50 homes and other locations in an operation targeting two far-right youth groups, Jung & Stark (JS), or Young and Strong, and Deutsche Jugend Voran (DJV), or Forwards German Youth. According to prosecutors, “Some of the accused are said to have attacked members of the left-wing scene or people they believed to be paedophiles. In each case, the victims were beaten by several attackers and sustained significant injuries.”

Two gunmen opened fire at a mosque in San Diego, California, killing three people. The two suspected shooters were found dead inside a car from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds. They were wearing military clothing covered in Nazi symbols and inside the vehicle police found anti-Islamic writings and a suicide note referring to racial pride.

The Australian government has banned the group White Australia, using hate laws introduced after the Bondi terror attack. In January the National Socialist Network (NSN), led by Thomas Sewell, announced its dissolution in anticipation of the forthcoming legislation, but reformed as White Australia. Although the name was new, the group mirrored the ideology, membership and organisational structure of the NSN. The ruling makes it illegal to support White Australia, the NSN or the European Australian Movement, with the government warning that any further attempts at a rebrand would be dealt with swiftly.