By Southampton Stand Up To Racism. Photo by Milo Wilson.
Southampton has a proud tradition as a welcoming and compassionate city.
Yet the ongoing mobilisation of far-right agitators targeting asylum seekers at the Highfield House Hotel has placed that reputation under strain and created a climate of hostility for some of the city’s most vulnerable people.
For months, far-right agitators have staged intimidating weekly demonstrations, targeting people seeking safety. Earlier in the year, these agitators even erected an unauthorised structure in Hoglands Park. At the time, the council leader promised “decisive action,” but no enforcement or prosecution has followed. This inaction has emboldened those attempting to divide our community.
The outrageous claims and inventions spread by these far-right agitators on social media about asylum seekers and minority communities are breath-taking. Despite this pattern of harassment and misinformation, the council now proposes to bring these same far-right groups in for a ‘chat’ about moving their protests — a proposal that risks legitimising those intent on intimidation.
Beyond targeting asylum seekers, we have seen far-right agitators engaged in increasing hostility across the region. They have engaged in anti-gay bigotry, harassed pro-Palestine demonstrators, and attempted to disrupt left-wing political meetings in Portsmouth, Bournemouth, and elsewhere. This pattern of behaviour indicates that the goal is not local ‘concern’, but a broader campaign of intimidation aimed at minorities, campaigners, and anyone who stands for equality. These are not isolated incidents — they are part of an organised attempt to spread fear and division across our communities.
The council motion: a false framing
As reported by the Daily Echo, councillors voted to send the issue to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, inviting protesters, counter-protesters, police and the Home Office. The amended motion frames the situation as involving “two sides” needing dialogue — a false equivalence.
Even senior Labour cabinet member Cllr Simon Letts acknowledged in the chamber:
“It’s rapidly turning into a series of protests and marches about race and about religion and about ethnicity… This is being turned by a rather nasty group of people to try and divide our city.”
In the same debate, Conservative group leader Cllr Peter Baillie raised concerns about the location of the protests but offered no condemnation of the far-right racism and intimidation at the heart of the problem. Focusing on relocating the protests, while avoiding addressing the hateful behaviour itself, is deeply disappointing. The problem is not the postcode of the protests — it is the actions and rhetoric of those organising them.
Escalation on the streets
Last weekend again saw the local far-right agitators bringing reinforcements from Portsmouth, Basingstoke and beyond. Meanwhile, our counter-protest was made up overwhelmingly of Southampton residents, peacefully defending their community.
During the march from Waitrose to the Highfield House Hotel and back, these agitators attempted to move around police lines to approach, film, and intimidate counter-protesters.
While our group remained tightly together on the pavement, the agitators spread across the road, alarming shoppers and shop owners. Their behaviour confirms they are not seeking dialogue or resolution — they appear to be seeking confrontation and dominance.
Institutional inaction enables intimidation
When an unauthorised structure in Hoglands Park goes unchallenged for weeks, when enforcement promised publicly does not materialise, and when the council continues to frame racism and anti-racism as equivalent ‘positions’, it normalises a false narrative that both sides share equal responsibility.
This framing is profoundly misleading. There is no moral symmetry between a movement committed to equality, safety and community solidarity, and a group promoting hostility and targeting vulnerable people.
Treating these as two comparable viewpoints does not create balance — it erases the harm being inflicted, sidesteps the real source of tension, and risks lending legitimacy to those spreading division.
By presenting this as a dispute to be managed rather than a clear-cut case of intimidation to be challenged, the council’s approach blurs the line between those defending human rights and those undermining them, reinforcing the dangerous idea that racism and anti-racism simply occupy opposite ends of the same debate.
Southampton Stand Up To Racism calls for:
- A full public explanation for why no action followed the unauthorised structure in Hoglands Park.
- Consistent enforcement of bylaws, with no tolerance for far-right agitators spreading hate.
- Clear, unequivocal public statements from council and police rejecting racist intimidation.
- Protection and dignity for asylum seekers and local residents, who have endured weeks of targeted harassment.
We reject any attempt to present racism and anti-racism as equal sides in a debate. One group is promoting hostility; the other is defending safety, dignity and human rights. Southampton deserves leadership that follows through on its commitments, confronts racism honestly, and restores peace and safety to our city.
SSUTR has been made aware that another ‘Southampton Patriots’ protest outside Highfield House Hotel is likely this weekend – probaby. When we know further details we will be holding an emergency counter demonstration.
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