On Saturday 10 January, activists and residents in Manchester, concerned about the recent rise in anti-migrant rhetoric showed up to counter a far-right rally calling for “remigration”. Over 120 people turned up outside Bridgewater Hall and were immediately flanked by a group of around 20 right-wing social media influencers and provocateurs who were seeking to intimidate, harass and abuse the participants to create content for their social media profiles.

The participants, whilst being followed by these influencers, who were backed up by the police, then marched down to the Manchester Central Library to oppose the “remigration” rally, which had around 20 participants and was swamped by another protest, metres away being held by Iranian monarchists and their supporters. By strongly outnumbering the far-right crowd, we showed them that their ideas were not welcome in Manchester, and we showed the diverse communities around Manchester that they are a vital and welcome part of this society.

As has happened in Manchester previously, including at a recent climate event, these provocateurs and influencers showed a willingness to act out violently and abuse people. Because of this, all those who joined us deserve credit for their courage and discipline along with their refusal to back down in the face of attempted bullying. The continued courage of people across this country in response to intimidation and violence from racist activists, provocateurs and social media influencers will inspire more people to stand up and oppose these thugs.

Even on the right, suggestions of “remigration” remain a fringe and preposterous idea. This idea posits that people from certain backgrounds, races, religions or ethnic groups should be deported or “sent back” to a different country, regardless of where they were born, how long they have lived in Britain, the vital contributions they make to society or how this would ruin countless lives and divide the community. The deportation of hundreds of thousands or millions of workers across Britain would lead to a collapse of nearly all sectors of the economy and even the suggestion, which is becoming increasingly mainstream, that certain people are less welcome in this country is dividing communities. Racism and bigotry of all types should always be opposed as a matter of principle, before it can have real world consequences.

Whilst the protest, whose main organiser describes himself as an “ethno-nationalist” remained small and was severely outnumbered by two separate rallies, it is important to remain vigilant and continue opposing racism wherever possible so that these ideas cannot continue to permeate through our communities. We must continue to mobilise against the intimidation of oppressed groups so that more people feel emboldened to stand up to those who seek to divide us.

But to stop the growth of the far-right and beat reform we also need a positive vision of how society could be. We must present a new vision for a just and sustainable society in which people’s basic needs are met so that the most marginalised can not be scapegoated when this does not occur. We need to make clear that the declining standards of living in this country are not the fault of the various scapegoats that reactionaries come up with, but is instead the result of the systemic hoarding of wealth by a small minority of people who have access to most of societies resources and who have shown a willingness to contribute to people’s suffering to make a profit.