On Saturday, I attended my first Britain First day of action, and it was fairly action-packed!

It took place in Birmingham and when I arrived at the rendezvous point at 11am I was pleased to see a large team of Britain First activists already assembled there.

Some had travelled hundreds of miles, including several activists from Northern Ireland (an area of strong Britain First support).

Soon we were proceeding in an orderly fashion towards the city centre, placards aloft, flanked by our experienced security marshals.

We set up a stall at the end of New Street in the shadow of the Rotunda - an area thronging with weekend shoppers, many from out of town - our portable sound system blasting out patriotic favourites.

Over the next three hours, the team distributed thousands of leaflets and spoke to many interested or curious members of the public.

Most were supportive, including one old soldier I spoke to who was impressed that our leaflet included a section supporting the military, a local Sikh man deeply worried about the spread of radicalism in the city, and a Christian lady who strongly agreed with our promotion of British heritage and Christian values.

Not far from us were two other stands with tables sagging under the weight of pro-Islamic literature, including stacks of large, hard-bound Korans that were being given out freely.

A local couple told me that these stands are manned most days, and I couldn't help wondering who was bankrolling the propaganda push.

Early afternoon, things livened up when a ragtag procession of trade union zealots, SWP communists, wild-eyed feminists and other far-left oddballs passed by and - for no reason - began screaming insults at us.

When you're up close to these people you really get to see how weird many of them are!

The Britain First team of course remained disciplined, refusing to be provoked, even when one woman in a feminist-slogan tshirt began shouting hysterically and flailing at us with a stick!

The action finished mid-afternoon, which left me enough time to do a bit of shopping and explore Brum's fascinating Jewellery Quarter, which has some great little shops, pubs, bars and galleries, also the picturesque St Paul's Church and Square.

Birmingham is still a city worth visiting, despite its problems with dangerous extremism.

Overall, I believe we created a positive impression with the public, generating considerable interest and goodwill.

For me, it was great to meet the other activists, all of whom were very friendly, and I look forward to seeing many more new faces at future days of action.

If you'd like to sign-up as a Britain First activist, CLICK HERE.

Dr George Whale
Elections Officer