Hundreds of people marched through Glasgow for a 'day of rage against Reform UK'.
Stand Up to Racism called on people to come together in the city for a unity march and rally following Reform’s election success.
Anti-racist campaigners gathered at the McLennan Arch at 10.30am on Saturday, May 9, before marching to the Buchanan Street steps where a rally took place from 12pm.
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It comes after two Reform candidates, Thomas Kerr and Kim Schmulian, were elected to the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow region.
The party gained 17 seats across Scotland overall, coming in joint second place behind the SNP with Labour.
Stand Up to Racism said the emergency unity march would be an opportunity to “demand real change, not racism”, and to show people will “reject the normalisation of far-right ideas in Scottish politics”.
Organisers said they also wanted to show solidarity with communities targeted by the far right.
Karen Turner, who lives in the city’s East End, told the Glasgow Times she joined the march because she wants marginalised groups to know “we’re here for them”.
The 35-year-old said: “I came here because I want immigrants, migrants, women, people of colour and anybody who’s in a marginalised group in the UK to know that this is their home and we’re here for them.
“The results that have come out do not necessarily show what the majority wants.
“This is Scotland; we are anti-fascist, we always have been.
“We have a strong history of being welcoming to all.”
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Karen also said she found it “concerning” that Reform gained so many seats.
She said: “I think overwhelmingly Scotland is still against the far right, it still leans left; however, it is concerning the number of seats that Reform did end up with.
"It is clear that their slogans were quite useful for them and it's a shame because it seems like people don’t let facts get in the way of their opinions.
“Perhaps that’s something that needs to be worked on.”
Michael Duncan, who travelled from Fife to Glasgow to take part in the march, said he wasn’t “totally disheartened” with the election results but still found them concerning, and said he was “thoroughly disappointed” by local election results in England.
He said: “There is enough there to make me worried about the future and feel like I still need to do more to educate people in Scotland.”
He continued: “I’ve been involved with Stand Up to Racism for quite a while now so I felt even after it wasn’t as bad as we thought it was going to be, we still need to do more.
“I need to keep coming out and still show my face, stand up, and make my voice count.
“We need to stand up as the Scottish people and make our voices heard because we look at what’s happening in the rest of the UK and we don’t want Scotland going down that road.
“I hope we come to a brighter future for Scotland and for Britain.
“I’d rather see us be happy together and working together; that’s what I’m hoping for.”
Amelie, who lives in Glasgow, took part in the march following Reform's success in the polls.
The 20-year-old said: “I think it’s important for people to get out and show that we do support refugees, women’s rights, trans rights, and LGBT rights in general.
“Scotland shouldn’t be divided by hate and people like Reform.”
Amelie continued: “I was largely happy with the results of the election; it was the result I wanted.
"I wanted the SNP to fall just short of a majority and the Greens to do well so they could work together, but I am disappointed with how well Reform did.
“They fell short of how well they were predicted to do, which I’m happy about, but they still did very well.”
Hebe, 19, also took part in the march after being disappointed with the number of seats Reform gained.
She said: “I’m very happy with the Greens, especially with the results for regional MSPs for Glasgow and Edinburgh, but I was also disappointed with the Reform seats that have been won.
“It’s not enough to just vote; it’s important to also demonstrate beyond voting and to not let the far right be the only people who have rallies and events.”
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