Billy Bragg has encouraged people to send a clear message to those seeking to divide the country by turning out to support what is expected to be the biggest multicultural march in UK history on Saturday.
Speaking to the Guardian before the Together Alliance’s march against the far right in central London, the musician and political activist said participants hoped to “send out a message to our fellow citizens that we are willing to take a stand against [the politics of hate] being imported into the UK”.
The event, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people, is supported by a wide range of celebrities, including the actors Christopher Eccleston, David Harewood, Lenny Henry, Steve Coogan, Toby Jones, Lolly Adefope and Maxine Peake, the musicians Paloma Faith, Charlotte Church, Brian Eno and Beverley Knight, and the comedian James Acaster.
Dozens of coaches will leave from across the country on Saturday morning – including 10 from Manchester alone – to begin marching from Park Lane to Trafalgar Square at midday.
Two stages – one on Whitehall for speeches and one in Trafalgar Square for music, which are both free to attend – will feature cross-party speakers and award-winning musicians, including Self Esteem, Jessie Ware, Katy B, Joy Crookes, UB40, Fontaines DC, the Charlatans and Hot Chip.
Speeches are expected from the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, and the Labour MP Dawn Butler, as well as trade union leaders.
Bragg, who will perform on the speakers’ stage, said the political situation in the UK and around the world was shifting. “I think we’re in a situation where the idea of universal rights, the sort of postwar settlement after the Holocaust where we realised that rights had to belong to individuals if they were going to be protected … is being severely challenged by a policy that you might call ‘might is right’, where the strongest do what they want to the weakest.”
He said Donald Trump was the de facto leader of the approach, calling him a “blaring horn that never switches off”. “He’s like a constant reminder of the cruel realities of the politics of division,” he said.
Bragg said that message could be countered when people came together, and he expected the turnout to exceed that of the “unite the kingdom” rally in September last year, in which 110,000 people marched through the streets of London waving England flags and union jacks and chanting racist and anti-immigrant slogans.
“You see a lot of people out on the streets marching for the kind of politics that you want,” he said. “And you feel, for a moment, you feel seen. You feel that your concerns are legitimate. And that’s a really important thing. It’s the start of something.”
Sabby Dhalu, of Stand Up to Racism, one of the members of the Together Alliance, said: “Together was formed in response to last September’s far-right ‘unite the kingdom’ demonstration, when violent groups went on the rampage. The overwhelming majority of people reject the racism, Islamophobia, division, hatred and violence promoted by Tommy Robinson and the far right.
“This Saturday we will demonstrate that clearly. Tens of thousands will take to the streets of central London, bringing the same spirit of unity that helped bring the racist riots of 2024 to a halt.”
Bragg said: “In the end, if we believe in those basic fundamental values of empathy, then we’re going to need that. Because that’s the one thing that Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage and Donald Trump seem to lack – any sense of empathy whatsoever.
“And that angers me because I’m in the empathy business, that’s what music does. It makes you feel that you’re not alone. So that’s why we’re in this fight.”