About 200 local trade unionists and anti-fascist campaigners marched behind the Cambria Drum Band through Wrexham town centre on 12 April in a lively and good-natured protest against the presence of the British National Party (BNP).
The BNP has targeted the town, which has seen an influx of migrant workers in recent years. The far-right party has seven candidates in the 1 May local elections.
After the march, which was well received through the town, the Miners’ Institute was filled to capacity to hear speeches denouncing Gordon Brown’s “British jobs for British workers” slogan as playing into the BNP’s hands.
Some of the campaigners then went back to town to challenge the half-dozen BNP members who had provocatively set up a stall in the town centre.
“It was 30 years since I last marched and I’d forgotten the hate-filled faces of the BNP,” said Julian Eastwood from Aberystwyth.
“But we had a good crowd, loads of humour and banter. A lot of people shouted encouragement and took our leaflets. Throughout the town I felt we had overwhelming support, but only 5% of the vote is needed for the BNP to get a place in the [Welsh] Assembly. We have a lot of work to do!”
Topics: Local campaigning, Fascism
See more of: Wales