In August 1977, the National Front (NF) in Britain was feeling confident. Two months earlier, the street fighting fascist party had stood 91 candidates in the Greater London Council election, gaining 119,000 votes and pushing the Liberals into third place. NF membership had climbed to 14,000, and was accompanied by a surge in racist attacks. In 1976, in a by-election in Deptford, two fascist parties shared 44.5% of the vote.
On 30th May, 21 young Black people were arrested in nearby Lewisham for loitering and “conspiracy to steal”. This was part of a campaign known by the police as PNH (“Police Nigger Hunt”). Police claimed that these 21 individuals were responsible for “Ninety percent of the street crime in south London.” The NF responded by calling a “Muggers Out” march for the 13th of August. NF national organiser Martin Webster told the press: “We believe that the multi-racial society is wrong, is evil, and we want to destroy it”.
Two main demonstrations were organised against the NF march. One was led by the All Lewisham Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (ALCARAF)—a broad front including the Labour Party, Communist Party, and bishops. The ALCARAF demonstration took place in a different part of town at a different time. A second demonstration, organised by socialists and local youth, aimed to confront the fascists and prevent them from marching. It attracted between 5,000 and 10,000 people.
The police response to the counter-demonstration was brutal. Riot shields, already commonplace in the North of Ireland, were used for the first time on the British mainland. Between 4,000 and 5,000 police were deployed, subjecting demonstrators to repeated baton charges. Mounted police on 2,500 horses charged into the crowd. Yet demonstrators managed to break through police lines, physically confront the fascists, and cut their march in half. The fascists did not pass.
In the wake of Lewisham, the Anti Nazi League (ANL) was formed, combining a mass popular campaign with a strategy of confronting fascists directly on the streets. At the 1979 general election, the NF received a miserable 0.6% of the votes. Peter Hain recalls Webster later complaining: “Prior to 1977, the NF were unstoppable and I was well on the way to becoming Prime Minister. Then suddenly the Anti-Nazi League was everywhere and knocking the sheer hell out of them”. This victory began at Lewisham.
