Restore Britain, a newly emerging political force to the right of Reform, claims to have 110,000 members and has captured the interest of some UoY students, with regular meetings as an unratified society.
Their application for ratification by York SU has been the subject of controversy with concerns around inclusivity and safety for minorities, sparking protest.
Representatives from the University of York Restore Britain Society told Vision that the “protests against our ratification are both misguided and inaccurate”.
York Student Action Network, a fellow unratified society, organised the protest, citing how platforming extremism “paves the way for even more extreme views and acts”. They referenced Reform Society’s anti-transgender Instagram post on the UK supreme court ruling on the definition of sex, where they claimed that gender reassignment is “ludicrous”. The protesters also referenced the racial attack on campus in September, although there is no known link between them and the student societies involved.
Protestors made their voices heard on a number of contentious issues, such as migrants rights, “institutional islamophobia” and LGBTQ+ rights. The protesters expressed their concerns around Restore Britain’s message, calling it “racist” and one of “hate”.
The protesters frequently addressed Restore Britain as “fascist” claiming their protests were helping to “keep facism out of Yorkshire.”
They repeated their favourite chant “From the Dales to the sea, Yorkshire will be fascist free”.
Representatives from the Restore Britain Society told Vision said they are “not a hateful group”. They continued, “we are composed of students who have as much of a right to voice their opinion and disagree with the student majority, as the student majority do to disagree with us”.
There was no love lost for York SU either with repeated chants of “shame” in response to the organisation over their supposed inaction around the issue. The York SU and the wider University of York were also accused of lacking inclusivity and allowing “facism” to spread across campus.
The York SU responded to the protest by issuing a statement confirming “no decision has been made” and the students right to protest saying they “will continue to work to ensure peaceful protest can take place safely and respectfully for everyone involved.”
They also accepted that “students at York, and more widely, have strong and differing views on the matter” and have “reached out to the protest organisers to request a meeting” to make sure all students’ concerns are addressed.