- A Ukip march has arrived at Southampton Cenotaph from the Bargate
- Anti-racist campaigners have also headed to Watts Park
- Police are keeping the two groups separate
Thanks for following our live blog.
Both protests have now left the city centre.
A strong police presence remains, but this is to be expected on a Saints home game matchday.
“My parting message would be that we’ve shown what behaviour will not be tolerated in our city,” an anti-racism protestor said.
A strong police presence remains by the Bargate. A big group of anti-racism protestors continue to chant their message at the Bargate, though the Ukip rally seems to have left now.
Anti-racism protestor Callum Joyce spoke to our reporter on the scene, saying: “We’re here to oppose the far right and Ukip trying to whip up a division and pointing the blame at migrants and refugees, whereas we think it was the Tory or labour government not building enough houses and cutting budgets and jobs.
“We’re here for a national campaign for jobs and services, not racism, so we think trade unions can help with that.”
(Image: Newsquest)
Both protests have headed back towards the city centre, after the anti-racism rally boasted almost double the numbers of Ukip marchers.
“We won’t tolerate hate of any kind,” another unnamed protestor said.
Another anti-racism protestor, who did not want to share their full name, said: “Nobody can come to Southampton and spread hate.
“We won’t stand for it. And I think we’ve made it clear today.”
‘The message is to keep hate out of our city’
One anti-racism protestor, who wished to be unnamed, told our reporter at the scene that the message today is to ‘stop hate.’
”Where it be Ukip or anyone else, this is a beautiful multicultural city,” the unnamed person said.
”We have a rich history here and we have always welcome anyone to our city.
”We will continue to do so, and whoever it might be in anti-immigration rallies does not speak for us.
”This is a city of love and the message is to keep hate out of Southampton.”
‘There are many, many more of you than us’ continue to be the chants from anti-racism protestors, who have completely outnumbered the Ukip rally.
Police have closed Commercial Road as vans remain in the road.
Officers told a motorcyclist to turn back around as it tried to head towards Above Bar Street.
The anti-racism protest continues to chat as the Ukip march heads out of sight into the town centre.
The Ukip march is now heading back towards the town centre.
The Ukip march has moved back to the south side of Commercial Road, and police vans are now separating both groups.
Protesters at Watts Park now pic.twitter.com/0kiPxiB6DM
— Daily Echo (@dailyecho) January 25, 2025
Marchers at Southampton Cenotaph today - by @reecebrrtt pic.twitter.com/XuumlyxOWP
— Ben Fishwick (@ben_fishwick) January 25, 2025
Police van blocking entrance to Watts Park (Image: Reece Barrett)
View from the side of the anti-racism protest (Image: Reece Barrett)
Protest separated by Watts Park fence (Image: Reece Barrett)
Police struggling to keep counter protest moving forward
Police setting up a new line next to Cenotaph - counter protest on their way up (Image: Reece Barrett)
“In a year's time, I want this crowd 10,000,” he says.
Speaking into a microphone, Nick Tenconi asks the crowd: “Is anyone here from Southampton?”
Silence.
Police and Ukip marchers at the Southampton Cenotaph (Image: Reece Barrett)
Ukip marchers are going through Watts Park.
They have arrived at the Southampton Cenotaph in the park.
Newcastle fans filming and laughing at the protest.
Away fans in Yates's now joining in with “get Starmer out” chants.
To recap - Ukip has marched from outside Poundland on Above Bar all the way up through the middle of the road.
Police had to stop drivers from pulling out of junctions along the way, now almost at Guildhall Square.
(Image: Reece Barrett)
The Ukip march (Image: Reece Barrett)
One man shouted “shame” at the passing Ukip march and was met with shouts of “have a wash” from those marching.
The Ukip march in Southampton (Image: Reece Barrett)
'Immigration is not the issue' pic.twitter.com/kf37bmq6mV
— Daily Echo (@dailyecho) January 25, 2025
The Ukip march in Southampton pic.twitter.com/XQM2aVdknG
— Daily Echo (@dailyecho) January 25, 2025
Tattoo and piercing shop Asgard Southampton has said it is shut due to the protests.
Posting on social media, the shop said: "Due to the current anti-racism & Ukip protesters outside our store we are temporarily closed, we will be reopening our doors once the protesters are gone or the threat of violence between the two groups is no longer present.
"We are urging our customers to please be safe if you are in town today."
Ukip leader Nick Tenconi has been teasing the unfurling of this banner for most of the afternoon (Image: Reece Barrett)
'Migrants welcome here' (Image: Reece Barrett)
Callum Joyce: “We’re here to oppose the far right and Ukip trying to whip up division and pointing the blame at migrants and refugees, whereas we think it was the Tory or Labour governments not building enough houses and cutting budgets and jobs.
"We’re here for a national campaign for jobs and services, not racism, so we think trade unions can help with that.”
Callum Joyce (Image: Reece Barrett)
Rob Owen from Portsmouth (Image: Reece Barrett)
We've spoken to more of the people attending the Ukip rally.
Rob Owen - from Portsmouth - is draped in an England flag. He said: "The march I think is about refugees and things like that. For instance, illegal immigrants are coming from France.
"You might go on a holiday to France this year, it’s not a warzone. They’re being sent here, picked up halfway and given life jackets, because they’re cheap labour.
"The billionaires are still getting richer. We are a service industry now, you max out credit cards, we’re all on credit. It worked with 20 years but it’s not working now.
"They’re bringing people for delivered, Uber eats, amazon, we won’t do it but they’ll come off a boat and do it. These people are not bringing in wealth to the country.
"The rich, earning money from that, are not even pay in taxes here. They’re offshoring their money, they’re not paying taxes.
"We’re being undercut wage wise by the influx of cheap labour. Very soon, the majority of white and black working people will be too expensive. It’s madness. It’s a Ponzi scheme, at some point this country will go bankrupt, it’ll be bust.
"We’ll be ruined and then what you’ll have on the streets of this county is chaos. I’ve spent most of my life as a socialist.
"We didn’t become a country until we embraced multiculturalism. We were invaded by the Danes, the Romans, we weren’t a country until we embraced multiculturalism.
"But those lot are driving us back to times where we weren’t a country. They are trying to divide us so that we aren’t united, so that we are divided. That will ruin us."
Ukip member Roger Quilliam at the protest in Southampton today
— Daily Echo (@dailyecho) January 25, 2025
Live updates with @reecebrrtt here: https://t.co/gfcMHSqSf1 pic.twitter.com/Fdjap8JiDz
'Fascists belong in the dustbin of history' - sign at Southampton anti-racism rally (Image: Reece Barrett)
A man stands draped in an England flag at the anti-immigration rally (Image: Reece Barrett)
A man with a Starbucks branded cart has been handing out bottles of iced coffee to both sides of the protest.
Earlier we reported there were some clashes. To recap, scuffles started with one person on each side stepping across the road at Bargate Street.
More people stepped up as the people shoved each other, forcing police to immediately step in and swarm the protestors involved.
Minutes later, another man approached the Ukip protest which resulted in more shoves.
A plastic bottle drink was thrown from somewhere in the crowd, hitting a bus that was driving towards Westquay.
Police radioed for back-up and at least 20 extra officers ran across from The Walls to create two lines of police to separate protesters.
A man was later arrested as five police officers grabbed, disarmed and handcuffed him outside Poundland on Above Bar Street.
The man was holding a can of Lynx Africa deodorant wrapped inside a meal deal sandwich container, which police snatched off of him as they detained him.
Ukip leader Nick Tenconi has spoken to our reporter at the rallies.
Mr Tenconi said his ill-fated attempt to speak in Southampton last year was supposed to be to a handful of Ukip members.
He said: "I was going to that venue to speak to eight, nine or 10 Ukip members.
"And that was enough of a threat for the far left to contact the venue, who I rang and spoke to after it was cancelled, they were almost in tears because they were so scared in regards to how the far left had spoken to them.
"They were intimidated that much that they called the police. They had to close the venue for the day which I wasn’t even supposed to be there until 7pm.
"We’re back as promised, because we don’t cower or bend the knee to Marxist, Communist or Islamist thugs, who despise Britain and want open borders.
"We’re taking our country back, that starts today. We’re asking good people of Southampton to march with us as we say close the borders, no more illegal immigrants and it’s time for mass deportations."
Ukip leader Nick Tenconi (Image: Reece Barrett)
Flyers are being handed out that say "Reclaim Southampton from the far-left"
Shirley Franklin: “We don’t want you here, we don’t want racism here.
"We are an anti-racist, tolerant thoughtful city and it’s an absolute disgrace that racists think they can come and intimate here.
"We’re clear that we don’t want them on our streets.”
Shirley Francis (Image: Reece Barrett)
Southampton Tenants Union, Unison Southampton District branch, Southampton Stand Up To Racism are all at the anti-racist rally.
A food vendor, who did not want to be named, said: “I’m all for protesting but the little bits of violence earlier, this causes hours of lost business.”
They say say it “hurts” because they are only outside the Bargate once per week.
Members of the anti-immigration rally are holding aloft a picture of the Southport killings victims.
Rally in Southampton (Image: Reece Barrett)
Small section of the crowd has broken out in “Oh Tommy Tommy, Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy Robinson” chants
A man is being arrested - he had a can of Lynx deodorant in his hand as five police surrounded and handcuffed him
A man is being arrested - he had a can of Lynx deodorant in his hand as five police surrounded and handcuffed him (Image: Reece Barrett)
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated: 1st January 1970 12:00 am
Report this comment Cancel