“Not in our backyard!” That was the overwhelming view of the people the Gazette questioned over today’s march through South Shields by right-wing extremists.
Members of North East Infidels (NEI) and the English Defence League (EDL) were parading from the town’s Fowler Street to Pier Parade, where a rally was being staged. They were to be met by representatives of the newly-formed South Tyneside Unites Against Fascism (STUAF), a group set up specifically in response to the rally.
Concerns have been raised that the rival demonstrations are a “recipe for trouble”. Last night Northumbria’s crime commissioner Vera Baird and town MP Emma Lewell-Buck were meeting members of the local community to allay fears.
Meanwhile, Chief Superintendent Ian Dawes, of South Shields police, has pledged that “public safety is our absolute priority”, adding: “Our aim at all times is to facilitate these events and ensure they pass off peacefully with the minimum of disruption.” The exact cost of policing the rally and counter-demo is not known – but it won’t come cheap.
Some believe that in a democracy everyone should have a right to express their views – no matter how disagreeable those opinions may be. But on the streets of King Street, South Shields, we found little support for that stance.
