On Saturday, February 10, protestors from the group Students Against Tyranny were met by counter-protestors at University Green.
Students Against Tyranny arrived at 1pm.. Counter-protestors from Manchester Leftist Action and the Socialist Worker Student Society, who had assembled in Brunswick Park at 12pm, met the group there.
There was heavy police presence on campus and at the protest in order to manage crowds.
At the same time, a Pro-Palestine protest, organised by the group Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine, traveled up through Rusholme and Oxford Road, before arriving at University Green where a small scuffle broke out in the crowd.
Police officers formed a line in order to keep the different groups apart.
Students Against Tyranny displayed a banner reading “Stop discriminating against non-woke students.”
The group had invited numerous guest speakers to their demonstration such as Nick Buckley, an independent candidate running for the Mayoralty of Greater Manchester.
Mr Buckley had previously ran for Mayor of Greater Manchester as a candidate for Reform UK in 2021.
Members from the Socialist Student Worker Society held up banners with slogans such as “No to Racism, No to Fascism,” “Unite against the far right,” and “Trans Rights now.”
Chants of “fascists off the streets” were heard throughout the counter-protest.
Turnout from both Students Against Tyranny and the counter-protest was low, although the protest gaining in size once the Pro-Palestine protest arrived.
The crowd dispersed around 2:30p.m., after the Pro-Palestine protest had moved on and the counter-protestors left the scene, leaving Students Against Tyranny to continue their demonstration.
