I was one of some 2500 people whose Sunday was taken up with the so-called March for England in Brighton. However just in case my interest might be seen to have been fleeting I have been thinking and discussing this event for many months. I am like a number of other people (albeit in my case as an amateur) who have been spending valuable time on the activities of a small group of individuals whose idea of a good time is to come to Brighton, walk around for a bit with a phalanx of police officers nearby, spend some time in wire cages and then go home again. Indeed I have participated in similar conversations for the last 3 years, but this year, with the elections for Police and Crime Commissioner imminent (I am standing as an Independent candidate) I felt I needed to see for myself. In the event I was glad I had done so, although faced with my own preferences, I and most of the people who were there would simply have gone about our usual business on a warm and sunny Sunday.

The 120 or so people who assembled on the Station concourse on Sunday wrapped in the cross of St George (as most readers will known George was Turkish!) appeared to be a bit of a mixture. I did not speak to any of them and so I am basing my analysis on my own visual judgement and some third hand accounts from officers of Sussex Police. It was clear that some were what would have been described as skin heads had they come to Brighton in the 1970s (although I did not spot any Doc Marten’s). One presumes others were the ideologists who wanted to make a statement of their beliefs and make a stand for the England they believe in (about as relevant as the England that some of the rural Irish villages espoused when I visited in the 1980s). Finally there were a significant number of people who in different ways appeared to be vulnerable. A number of young people and children and some adults who appeared to me as having learning disabilities. In one case, a middle age man needed to be constantly reassured by the police officers near him that he would be protected and they would not leave him. Had those opposing this march seen and understood some of these people, and had more compassion and less ideology of their own, plus applied their considerable organisational skill to a different end we might have witnessed a much less compromised rejection of the values that a few of the marchers clearly held. Just to clarify I am personally opposed to the idea that we need to hold such events to express our Englishness. I would have much rather been in Crawley where organisers including Laura Moffatt (previous MP) celebrated St Georges day in a way that all of us should have no objections to.

The Police had spent man weeks planning this event with a major disadvantage. They simply did not know what to expect from the counter demonstrators who refused throughout to engage with them in any constructive way. The one notable exception to this was a group of 3 people from Portsmouth who came over to oppose the March, two of them spoke to Sussex Police by phone. Yet none of other 2000 counter demonstrators were willing to engage with the force. However despite this and in some senses with an eye to the march in 2011 when a different and more confrontational approach was taken by Sussex Police (early containment of those opposing the march), a group of the 350 officers on the day agreed to be separated from their  protective equipment in order to surround and accompany the Marchers throughout the day. These officers deserve our total respect as they were targeted with the many weapons being used by people who one can only describe as anarchists. However many were indistinguishable from the peaceful protesters and if we are to treat the Marchers as one homogenous group, the counter demonstrators need to apply the same logic to themselves.

I regret that I did not see any of the activities subsequently shown on You Tube, at the time as I would then feel able to comment on them. They are not edifying and clearly need to have scrutiny and challenge applied to them. However I did see some of the events that led up to that point and recognise significant danger to marchers, police officers and many of the counter demonstrators due to the plate throwing and urine etc that was being used as weapons. There were also problems for Police in moving forward against a group which included a counter protestor who was on a mobility scooter. I am clear that the 90 seconds of video does not show the whole picture by any means.

I also did not see for myself any pepper spray being used, but I know that some was used at a time when bottles and other objects were being thrown into the crowd of Marchers and unprotected police officers whilst the march was in Church Street. People I know and trust have expressed disquiet at the way in which these two interventions by the police were carried out. However they cannot be treated in total isolation and need to be understood in their context. This was a very difficult day out in Brighton for many of those involved. There remains some questions and observations:

The core Marchers and Anarchists essentially achieved what each sought to do, and they did so in a cynical way that affected many more people than were on the march.

The peaceful counter demonstrators (some of whom were impacted by the action from the police) were largely thwarted in their desire to challenge people they disagree with on our streets – the solution in my view is clear. The more dialogue and constructive discussions they can hold with the police the better chance that their views will be heard and responded to. My own view is that a totally silent response by the counter demonstrators in the same numbers as turned out on Sunday would have made the point much more effectively than all of the energy and effort achieved. 

The police clearly used force in some areas, and it is vital that this is explained and justified if it can be. I know that on this occasion the Police have opened themselves up to academic scrutiny in a way that ensures that questions will not go unanswered. However across the march and counter protest as a whole the Police appear to have acted in an exemplary manner and those that agreed to protect the Marchers and be unprotected themselves need to be honoured and respected by all of us, whatever our views of the rest of the days activities. They took on a role which few people in our society would have agreed to in the same circumstances.

Those in leadership in our city (not just the Council but certainly the council leadership and the MPs along with other leaders) need to stand up and be counted, ensuring that those who came to March are communicated with as well as those who are involved in the counter demonstration. This event was the culmination of marches over the last 5 years and we owe it to the city as a whole to prevent a repeat in 2013. If elected as Police and Crime Commissioner I will certainly use my office to ensure that assist in any ways in which I can.