04/10/2026
The Battle of Cable Street was a violent clash on October 4, 1936, in East London between anti-fascist protesters and a march by Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists.
Sir Oswald Mosley planned for thousands of his "Blackshirt" fascists to march through East London, an area with a large Jewish population.
The fascist group sought to scapegoat immigrants and intimidate the local Jewish community.
Over 100,000 counter-protesters—including local Jewish residents, socialists, communists, trade unionists, and Irish dockers—mobilized to block the route.
Protesters erected street barriers using overturned trucks, mattresses, and household debris on Cable Street.
Around 6,000 to 7,000 police officers charged the crowds on horseback to clear a path for the march.
Resistance: Residents threw stones, garbage, and marbles to disrupt the police horses, shouting the anti-fascist rallying cry "No pasarán!" ("They shall not pass!").
Police Commissioner Sir Philip Game forced Mosley to cancel the march through the East End to prevent further bloodshed.
Roughly 150 people were arrested and around 175 people were injured.
The event prompted the passage of the Public Order Act 1936, which banned political uniforms and gave police powers to restrict public marches.
