Crawley Residents Praised For 'Very Clear' Attitude Towards Britain First

Tuesday, 4 August 2020 06:48

By Karen Dunn, Local Democracy Reporter

Cllr. Peter Lamb (Lab), leader of Crawley Borough Council

The leader of Crawley Borough Council has praised residents who twice made it ‘very clear’ to Britain First that they were not welcome in the town.

The far-right group twice dropped in on Crawley in July in an attempt to drum up support – but was met with vocal opposition.

In a question during his weekly online Q&A, Peter Lamb was asked what could be done to stop its members from ‘intimidating people’ should they come back.

Mr Lamb said:

“People ultimately have a right to be present if that’s what they want to be.

“I can’t stand these people because they are racist ultimately and this is a town which has done really well in terms of actually surviving with a very diverse population.

“The most encouraging thing about all of this is that no one’s really been paying attention to them apart from the people who’ve made it very clear [they are not welcome].”

Britain First called the two July drop-ins a ‘well-received recruitment drive’ and claimed the vocal opposition shared on social media had been organised by Labour activists and anti-fascists.

Mr Lamb had no problem with being associated with people who oppose racism in all its ugly forms but denied the folk who stood up to Paul Golding and his ilk were sent by Labour.

He said:

“People are turning up and making it very clear that these people aren’t welcome here.

“And if that’s the voice of the town, I think it’s a very positive sign in terms of community development.”

“Britain First can keep turning up all they want – they’re going to get the same kind of Crawley welcome every time they do.”

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