The leader of Southend City Council has urged Essex Police to block a planned pro-Palestine protest in the city later this month, condemning what he describes as racist language being used to promote it.
Daniel Cowan, Labour leader of the council, has written to police about the demonstration which is scheduled to take place in Southend on Saturday 30 August.
He has branded the march as an “antagonistic stunt” and highlighted the risk of harassment and intimidation of Jewish residents, referencing incidents that took place at a similar protest in Southend-on-Sea earlier this year.
Mr Cowan said:
“On 30th August 2025, there is a planned protest march along Southend seafront and through the High Street. I have asked Essex Police for this protest to be stopped.
I cherish the right to peaceful protest but I will not condone an event that uses hideous, racist language to describe our city.
As with the demonstration in April, I have expressed clearly to the police my belief that the ‘protest’ is an antagonistic stunt designed to harass and intimidate decent people in our city.
It is being promoted as a protest in a ‘horrific Zionist area’ that people would have ‘witnessed’ had they attended the last demo.
The last demo saw Jewish families harassed on Shabbat as they left their places of worship or simply went about their day. Mothers and children were intimidated and abused. This was allowed to happen despite my protestations, and those of others, about the route. This cannot be allowed to happen again.
Southend is being targeted because we have a large Jewish population. I have urged Essex Police to use every power they possess to prevent racism and intimidation from being legitimised on our streets.
This will also be the last weekend of the summer holidays and City Jam will be on in the High Street. The route for this march will be heaving with tourists. This demonstration therefore also poses risks of public disorder and public harm as well as unacceptable intimidation of our Jewish community.
It is not acceptable for Jewish people to feel unsafe in their city or to be told to manage the situation by staying indoors.
Southend does not tolerate racism and intimidation. I have asked the police to support us in this endeavour.”
The protest is being organised by a group calling itself Southend Action for Palestine. Organisers have encouraged supporters to bring flags, kuffiyah head-dresses and drums and to “march along the seafront and into the High Street asking MPs to be on the right side of history and to speak out against this heinous genocide!”
The same group held a march in April, which began in Westcliff before moving into Southend High Street under a heavy police presence. According to Mr Cowan, that event saw members of the Jewish community harassed as they observed Shabbat.
A spokesperson for Essex Police said:
“We are aware of a planned gathering in the Westcliff and Southend area which is due to take place on Saturday 30 August.
“Although we are yet to receive a formal notification from organisers, we speak every week with our communities and local people, and we fully understand the concerns which have been raised.
“This directly informs our policing plans – we are listening, and we will make sure we put local people first.”
Responding to the previous march, the Campaign Against Antisemitism was critical of Essex Police for not doing more to prevent and deal with alleged antisemitism. A spokesperson said:
“Essex Police should never have permitted the hateful procession through the heart of a small Jewish community, as families walked home from synagogue after Sabbath prayers during Passover.
“Not only did police allow this march, despite it apparently being organised without the required legal notice, they took minimal action as marchers shouted, among other things, “Stop killing children” – a chilling echo of medieval blood libels – and openly displayed support for terrorist organisations banned in the UK.
“A volunteer from our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit was assaulted for filming the march, yet police failed to intervene.
“Protesting a conflict thousands of miles away had no place in a quiet residential neighbourhood; this was, in reality, a demonstration targeting Jews.”
The upcoming protest coincides with City Jam, a major annual street art festival taking place in the city centre on the same weekend. Large numbers of families, visitors and tourists are expected in Southend, which Mr Cowan warns could heighten the risk of disorder if the march goes ahead.