Hundreds of pounds in lost takings, staff being racially abused and workers on guard for any signs of trouble. Manchester city centre businesses have been speaking of the impact of the latest march by Britain First.
Large parts of town were effectively put on lockdown on Saturday afternoon as a huge police operation was put into action to try avoid a repeat of the ugly scenes witnessed the last time the far right group came to Manchester in February. Trams were halted for hours, roads were closed off and the movements of the several hundred marchers and those of counter-protests from anti-racism groups were tightly controlled by lines of officers.
And in the end it seemed to work. Three people were arrested during the demo, as police said the day passed ‘with no significant issues reported’.
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“I hope the work of our officers and partners meant that the general public were able to enjoy their day in Manchester city centre without significant disruption, and I thank them for their cooperation and patience,” said Assistant Chief Constable Rick Jackson.
Businesses speak out about the day
But, for some of the businesses along the route of the march, the protest still had an impact. Ian Ainscow, assistant manager at the Grey Horse Inn on Portland Street, said the pub decided to open at 3pm on Saturday, instead of the usual 11am. He estimates that meant they lost somewhere between £500 and £1,000 in takings.
He added: “We had the council round and we were monitoring the situation so decided to open later than normal. In February (the last time Britain First marched through the city) we stayed open but we were in the middle of the neutral zone, so that definitely impacted us.”
Ian Ainscow from the Grey Horse Inn -Credit:Manchester Evening News
Shahzur Ahmad, from Portland Street-based Portland News, said his colleague was racially abused by some Britain First supporters. He said: “It was just one guy as they were walking back after the march.
“He was terrified to be honest. He’s new to the UK – he’s only been here three or four months. They were calling him an f****** immigrant and telling him to go home. It was really upsetting for him.
“I am used to it because I do evening shifts. It gets horrible sometimes when people are drunk. You can’t do much about it. It is what it is.”
Alex Filson, from Piccadilly vape shop eCig, said he had ‘prepared for the worst’, but said the day passed without incident. He said: “We brought our sign in from outside and put the door on the latch because last time someone ran in here trying to avoid the police and knocked a load of shelves over.
“We were ready to bolt the doors if anything kicked off. But everywhere seemed pretty quiet on Saturday, I think because there were still problems with the trains at Piccadilly, so people were avoiding coming into town anyway. I think now everyone who lives or works in town kind of goes ‘Oh, another march’ and just gets on with it.”
Several hundred supporters of the far-right group march through town on Saturday -Credit:Getty Images
Kaja Rose, from the nearby Tanning Lounge, said: “To be honest it was the calmest I have ever seen town on a Saturday because there were so many police.
“People were saying there were going to be 8,000 people marching. I thought it was going to be dead and we did have a few people saying was it still OK to come in, but we had a good day in the end.”
Meanwhile Neil Clarke, from Clampdown Records on Paton Street, said the biggest impact on him was that Metrolink delays which ran on into the evening meant he missed Doves’ supporting James at Co-op Live later that night. He said: “Takings weren’t down or anything like that. It seemed like there were more flags than people.
“I don’t know if they’re trying to feed off some of the discontent in the north west, but Manchester seems like it’s become the main place for these types of protest now. It’s crackers. I understand the importance of freedom of speech, but it does cause massive disruption.”