GLASGOW is a proudly multicultural city with a long history of standing up against the far-right. The news that a Tommy Robinson-endorsed demonstration is being organised in George Square next month is something that I have no doubt our city will unite to oppose.

If it goes ahead, it will be a hate-fest that will mobilise some of the most bigoted and racist groups from across the UK, and they will seek to bring their prejudice and their violence to our streets. They will be met with huge opposition. I am confident that those of us who stand against them will far outnumber them. That is what we have done before and what we will do again.

The last few days, and particularly the shocking scenes in Southport, Hartlepool and London, have shown the cynical opportunism of the far-right and the appalling, heartless contempt that they have for grieving families and communities. They haven’t thought twice about weaponising a horrific killing and the pain of others for their own self-interest.

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From the tone of some of the coverage, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a uniquely English issue, but there is a resurgent and growing far-right on the march, not just across the UK but in Europe and beyond.

The riots in Southport have been directly fuelled by misinformation and lies being spread on social media. With a vast echo chamber sharing and pushing it, a lot of people, particularly people from marginalised groups and communities, will be very worried.

Groups like the English Defence League, Patriotic Alternative and Britain First may be changing the way they organise, with social media playing a huge role, but the hate that they represent is not new.

The far-right has always been very quick to play people against each other and to jump on and exploit national tragedies, like they have done following the awful killings in Southport. They have no respect for people’s grief, have no interest in bringing people together, and instead of seeking solutions to the problems the country faces they offer only their own twisted interpretation of those problems, stoking fear and division.

But this is more than just a tiny fringe; the well of hatred that they are drinking from is one that much of the UK’s media and political establishment have helped to build.

For far too long, successive Westminster governments have tried to outflank the far-right by stealing their clothes. They have used far too many of the same reactionary talking points and the same fear-mongering in a bid to play divide and rule, weaponising the same issues as the extremists.

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We saw that last year when the then home secretary, Suella Braverman, was instrumental in inciting a riot at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day after amplifying Islamophobic tropes and lies about pro-Palestine protesters.

It is part of the same brand of politics that has given us dawn raids, deportation vans, prison-like detention centres and the racist Rwanda scheme and systemic attacks on the basic rights of refugees.

It’s not just the Tories. Those of us who remember the last Labour government remember the countless anti-migrant initiatives and reactionary home secretaries like David Blunkett telling us that the children of migrant families were “swamping” our schools. They built a lot of the infrastructure that the Tories would expand into the hostile environment of Theresa May and her successors.

One of the small details that stuck with me about the riots in Southport this week was that one of the rioters was wearing a T-shirt with the slogan: “Nigel Farage for Prime Minister, Tommy Robinson for Home Secretary.”

We cannot stop the far-right by replicating it or doing their work for them, and nor should we ever try to.

There is a responsibility on all parties and politicians to reject the politics of hate, stop the spread and normalisation of prejudice and work with communities, trade unions, activists and faith groups who are taking action against it.

That is what happened on May 13, 2021. It was a day that will live long in the memory and the story of Glasgow. It was the day that Kenmure Street made the global news, and when thousands of people took to the streets to defend their neighbours from Home Office vans.

The vans were turned away, but that only happened because of the action and the will of Glaswegian families and activists who blocked the road in solidarity. That is the same sense of purpose and unity which needs to characterise our response to the threat posed by the far right.

I have written to every MSP in Glasgow to propose that we work together and help to build a united response, along with campaigners and civil society. Glasgow’s Green councillors will also be talking to their colleagues from across the chamber about doing something similar.

This goes far beyond party politics. There are thousands of people across different parties and none who will be horrified to know that an event like this could be taking place in Scotland’s biggest city. And we must be clear that it transcends the independence debate too.

The far-right rally is being billed as a pro-Union event, but I know that the vast majority of people who don’t back independence will be firmly opposed to this.

The politics of Tommy Robinson and those like him will never be welcome in Scotland. If it is allowed to go ahead, I am confident that Glasgow will stand together and reject them.