Is Liverpool still "left-wing"?

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The big story: Liverpool split as migrant hotel protests reach city centre

Top line: Protesters outside the Richmond Hotel, which houses asylum seekers, were met by counter-demonstrators. But are tensions mounting across Merseyside? 

Context: A decade ago, National Action — a now-proscribed far-right organisation — planned a “White Man’s March” through Liverpool city centre. Unfortunately for the group, anti-fascists throwing water bottles, eggs, and bananas stopped the march in its tracks. Famously, two years later, counter-protesters playing Benny Hill music managed to contain an English Defence League rally inside Lime Street Station. And in 2018, the fringe far-right group North West Frontline Patriots briefly made it out of the station only to go home early due to the sheer number of Unite Against Fascism and Merseyside Together counter-protesters. 

These incidents were touted as proof for Liverpool’s “left-wing” label, a reputation the city had garnered during the 1980s when Militant controlled the council’s resistance to Thatcherism. Some attributed this to long-established immigrant neighbourhoods in Liverpool, with the city boasting some of the oldest Chinese, black and Islamic communitues in Europe. Others cited the absence of redtop The Sun, popular in other demographically comparable cities. 

That all just made what happened last summer more shocking, with shops attacked in the city centre and a library set alight in Walton. The efforts of those who dispelled tension, such as was seen outside the Abdullah Quilliam Society mosque on West Derby Road, should be applauded. But those who partook in the disturbance were not neo-Nazis struggling to get out of Lime Street Station: among those instigators from outside the city region, local accents could be heard during the clashes in Southport and at the Pier Head. 

On Saturday, a crowd gathered outside the Richmond Hotel on Hatton Gardens to demonstrate against the hotel being used to house asylum seekers. Searchlight, the monthly anti-fascist magazine and organisation, described the protesters as “known supporters of the banned Ulster Defence Association, former members of the terrorist National Action and ex-members of the British National Party.” No doubt this will have included people from outside Liverpool or its city region, with Searchlight claiming some had journeyed from Manchester, Leeds, Hull and Stoke. But Mark Scholl, a senior researcher for the magazine who was present at the counter-protest, reported around 30 Everton fans standing with the far-right. 

For blues fans, this will be an uncomfortable reminder of when the club had a reputation for racism. Although Cliff Marshall, long regarded as Everton’s first black player in 1975, has since rejected that Everton was a racist club, in 2020 he told The Athletic he’d experienced “my own supporters chanting about my colour and making monkey noises”. Infamously, in 1988, Everton fans threw bananas at black Liverpool forward John Barnes. As late as 2000, university researchers found Everton topped a league table for making the largest number of racist comments heard, worse than any club in England or Scotland.

Getting a reliable figure on far-right agitators is tricky. Either for pollsters or at protesters, people tend not to self-define as in any way fascist, and even at demonstrations, sympathisers tend to misreport numbers. It’s also not the case that anyone concerned about immigration, or the UK’s current policy for housing asylum seekers, is far-right or a racist. 

At least part of the problem is poor communication from establishment figures. When Laurence attended the protest/counter-protest outside Hoylake’s King’s Gap hotel the Friday before last, he encountered frustrations on both sides about the Home Office’s reluctance to comment or clarify what their plans were for the hotel’s residents. And on a national level, facts about why asylum accommodation looks the way it does have not been well reported; this Guardian article over the weekend lays out a damning history of profit motives and short-term political thinking that has greatly contributed to our current moment. 

Radical left politics still maintains a strong prescence in Liverpool. Over the weekend, the city centre played host to yet another protest in support of the people of Gaza and Palestine, something groups have maintained ever since the 7th October 2023 in opposition to the Israeli military action that has been labelled a genocide by experts both within Israel and internationally. And simultaenous with the Hatton Garden rally on Saturday, women from the city joined the national UK Women’s March to protest against misogyny, transphobia and violence against women and girls. Furthermore, looking at footage of and reporting on the Richmond incident, counter-protesters seem to outnumber — or at least out-chant — demonstrators waving union jacks.

But however you want to describe the latter — anti-migrant, patriotic, far-right — it no longer seems to be an element containable within a Lime Street shop front. 

Bottom line: Liverpool’s “left-wing” status has often been overemphasised and the reasons misreported. Often, those who have burnished it for political reasons have contributed to an air of complacency. A regional political identity, like any other, is always in flux: by 1972, the Conservatives had held a majority on Liverpool’s municipal government for 85 of the previous 100 years; now the party is almost persona non grata in the city. But the recent scenes off Dale Street and on the King’s Gap will be disheartening not just for anti-fascists or pro-migrant activists across Merseyside, but further afield. Exactly because of Liverpool’s reputation, there is a fear that if it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo of the week

We love seeing your wildlife pictures, and this snapshot from Sefton Park last week is by far one of our favourites. We’re not sure of the breed of bird though — let us know in the comments. 

The photo was posted on Reddit by user No_Sign6616. 

Have a photo you want to submit to The Post? Email it to editor@livpost.co.uk for a chance to be featured in our Monday briefings.

Your Post briefing

Both Everton and Liverpool enjoyed less than perfect pre-season weekends. The league champions lost the Community Shield on penalties to underdogs Crystal Palace after a 2-2 draw, while Everton were defeated 1-0 by Roma in front of their first capacity crowd at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium. Toffees fans who like paying less than £7.05 for a match day San Miguel may also be concerned about reported planning disputes around proposed waterfront bars in the new stadium’s shadow, with Liverpool Waterfront North councillor Dave Hanratty complaining that "the only investment we're getting at the moment is alcohol-licenced premises". There was some good news for Everton fans, as their “legends” team defeated their Roma counterparts 2-0, with manager and former club hero Peter Reid even taking to the pitch.

Reform councillor Amanda Clare has denied assaulting a security guard at a Pride event. Clare, who represents the Winsford Dene ward in Cheshire, was arrested after police were called to a “disturbance” in Winsford on 28th June. She was later charged with assaulting security guard Richard Welsh and damaging his camera. Now, she has pled not guilty and told the court she was acting in self defence. As a result of the ongoing criminal proceedings she has been suspended from her job working for Sarah Pochin, the Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby. 

Liverpool FC supporters group the Spirit of Shankly has written a letter to Prime Minister Kier Starmer to complain about political commentator Iain Dale’s appearance at the Labour Party conference. The group said Dale should not have been invited because a company he co-owns published books by former South Yorkshire Police chief inspector Norman Bettison and the ex-editor of The Sun, Kelvin McKenzie. It is the second time an appearance by him in Liverpool has sparked controversy in relation to the Hillsborough disaster. Dale has since said he has been to "virtually every Labour Party conference since 1998, including all the ones in Liverpool" and described the protestations as "ridiculous".

Post Picks

🎨On Thursday, head to the Black Lodge Brewery Taproom in West Kirby for a laidback evening of collage. All materials will be provided so just bring yourself — find out more here.

🎸On Saturday, head to District for Frogfest 2025: an electronic and alternative music festival that introduces the international scene to the Liverpool underground. Doors open at 2pm – tickets here.

💮Also on Saturday, Wirral Forest is hosting a guided walk of Hilbre Island. Wander past flowering sea thrift, watch seabirds soar over the waves, and take in the stunning views across the Dee Estuary. Find out more here.

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