20 February marks the first national boycott and day of action by migrants, their friends and supporters in answer to the toxic anti-migrant rhetoric that has infected British political debate of late. Can this welcome development transform itself into something bigger?
Five months ago, a call for a strike by migrants was called to demonstrate what one day without them would look like. Since then it has also turned into a celebration of the contributions that migrants make to the UK. Now, it coincides with a significant parliamentary debate to exclude the President of the USA from visiting the UK because of his politics of division and hatred. Is this the beginning of a resistance to the populist narrative, and can we sustain it?