By 2023 once covid had lost in prominence in the headlines, Together's campaigning against vaccine passports and mandates was no longer relevant and the organisation had pivoted to being anti-Net Zero, and other policies that have become linked to Net Zero even if they have nothing to do with climate change, for example ULEZ in London which is designed to reduce air pollution for public health.
My article in the Byline Times on the ULEZ protests, September 2023.
The Links Between the ULEZ Protests, Radical Anti-Vaxxers and the Far Right
The heavily-publicised protests were not quite the grassroots movement the right-wing press made them out to be
The heavily-publicised anti-ULEZ protests that took place outside Downing Street on 29 August were organised by a group called Action Against UEZ Extension (AAUE). Leaflets for their protest read “Stand against the Great betrayal, the fight goes on 12 noon onwards” while their placards carried messages including: “RIP London, blood on your hands Khan” and “Stop the toxic air lie”. Our investigation reveals ties between this group and the anti-lockdown Together Declaration and the anti-vax HART group. In recent months these groups, and other linked organisations, have gradually transitioned to opposing Net Zero and measures to reduce air pollution.
AAUE’s website consists of a single anonymous page with a sign up to a mailing list and a link to a Facebook group. The group has just under 38,000 members and carries the hashtag #TogetherWeAreStronger, which is used by the Together Declaration, a group initially set up to oppose mask and vaccine mandates in 2021. On 29 August members of the group were keeping track of which ULEZ camera’s had been vandalised while also identifying which ones were still in use. Members praised the “blade runners” responsible for this criminal damage. One member Mike Foster posted “Please when posting photos of signs and cameras taken out of action please do not state location, TFL probably have people monitoring this site”.
AAUE’s fellow campaigning organisation is the Stop ULEZ Coalition (SUC). SUC’s website also consists of a single page with a declaration, a mailing list sign up and a list of 70 members of the coalition. A considerable number of these names either hold positions in the Together Declaration or have campaigned alongside them on issues relating to COVID, such as GB News regulars James Melville and Tonia Buxton.
While Together give the appearance of merely supporting the protests by sending out four emails in the week leading up to the ULEZ expansion to their supporters with a call to action to take part or support the Downing Street protest, it appears they may be taking more of a leading role in actually organising the protests, as pictures of previous AAUE events have Together’s banner covering the centre of the stage with AAUE’s own banners to the side. Several names on the SUC list have omitted their positions with Together despite being directors of the organisation.
Together’s website front page campaigns against ULEZ with a link to the SUC site. Together have also launched a “Free Our Streets (FOS)” initiative to organise local action against Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), “so called 15 minute cities” and other restrictions. For various areas they list immediate actions to take, local groups to connect with and background information. Four FOS members are on the SUC list.
Other names on the SUC list include Ed Gregory, who is seeking judicial review of ULEZ, and is represented by Robin Tilbrook’s law firm. Tilbrook is chair of the far-right English Democrats party and is involved in the Workers of England Union (WEU) that been promoted by the likes of Toby Young and Clare Fox.
Other figures on the list include the former Conservative London Mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, Lawrence Fox, GB News presenter and leader of the “anti-woke” Reclaim Party, Howard Cox, Fair Fuel and the Reform candidate for London Mayor, Teck Khong, is leader of the ADF Party and appeared at an anti-vax rally in August alongside former Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen and Mohammad Iqbal Adil, who is founder of the anti-vax group World Doctors Alliance, his right to practise as a doctor was suspended by the General Medical Council due to spreading COVID disinformation.
The protests against ULEZ and LTN goes into conspiracy culture via misrepresentation of 15 Minute Cities and going into common WEF conspiracies.
Together's campaigning strategy at this time is similar to that of hard-left groups like Militant Tendencies in the 1980's. This consists of jumping onto issues, bringing their numbers to add to protests while making sure that it’s their banners and placards that they've been handing out to protesters who are visible at the front, they don’t need many at a protest just enough to fill a camera screen. In the digital age there is the addition of social media clips of Together members speaking to camera about their reasons for protesting.
A later example of this is Together's support for the farming protests where they got celebrity protestors like Jeremy Clarkson to be pictured repeatedly with their placard. It's unlikely that Clarkson is fully aware of the anti-vax rhetoric and conspiracy theories spouted by some of Together's founders.
2024 General Election
On 26 July 2024 The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) published, “Hate speech and climate denial: inside the Facebook network run by Reform candidates.” The Together Declaration was named as one of the groups in this network.
From the article.
Reform UK candidates and activists have been running a network of Facebook groups spreading misinformation, conspiracy theories and Islamophobia, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) can reveal.
The groups do not describe themselves as officially linked to the party, yet some are run by a candidate set to stand in next month’s general election.
Many more Reform candidates are part of the network as group members. TBIJ has identified 74 altogether, accounting for well over 10% of all the party’s parliamentary candidates.
The network consists of 11 groups with a combined membership of more than 63,000. Some bill themselves as forums for political discussion, others as fan groups for TalkTV and GB News.
Discussion among members frequently takes a racist tone, with one popular post deploring the “sickening” presence of halal food in UK shops and another reading “Vote Islam or vote Reform”.
Posts also often amplify the far-right idea, known as the “great replacement” theory, that white Europeans are being systematically replaced by people of colour.
The groups’ administrators, who have the power to add or remove users and delete content, include Andy Dawber, the parliamentary candidate for Wigan, who was running three groups at the time of reporting.
Mark Peart, who is standing in Blyth and Ashington, also ran nine groups and has used them to share party fundraisers and sell merchandise.
Admin rights for all 11 groups were gained between October 2023 and March by an anonymous account named Reform U.K. Be The Change, which also controls several other groups with a stated connection to the party. In most cases, the presence of this account as the administrator is the only sign at all that the groups have any link to Reform.
In a post in October, Peart did write that one group was being run by candidates and activists.
Peart told TBIJ: “I am confident in my judgement during my time as administrator and I never posted anything immoral.”
Islamophobia is a recurring theme across the network. On the day of May’s London mayoral election, contested by Sadiq Khan, one post read: “Let’s all vote an English person in as mayor not a foreign one.”
Transphobia and climate change misinformation are also prevalent, as are conspiracy theories involving “chemtrails” – harmful chemicals supposedly dispensed by planes – and elite-driven plots to push digital currency.
The SDP
During the 2024 General Election the social media of Together and close affiliates promoted two parties that they thought were most aligned with their policy demands.
Reform and the Social Democratic Party
Under the leadership of William Clouston, the party currently using the SDP's name has adopted anti-migrant and culturally conservative policies drawn from the culture wars which are very similar to Reform, with economic policies that focus more on a programme of renationalisation. Policies included anti Net Zero, bans on solar farms, fast tracking for new oil licenses, leaving the European Court of Human Rights, and abolishishing DEI.
Rod Little, the abrasive right wing journalist stood as a SDP candidate, and the party received glowing praise from many of the usual culture war characters. A minor party of the size of the SDP receiving support in the mainstream press during a general election is an oddity.
Molly Kingsley of UsForThem came out in support of the SDP, saying a coalition between them and Reform in government would be her dream ticket. She was a speaker at the SDP's 2025 conference alongside Liam Halligan, Telegraph writer and co-host with Allison Pearson of the Planet Normal podcast, which started in 2020 as a platform for covid contrarians.
This was a common theme with many of the usual characters backing Reform while also promoting the SDP.
Together's 3rd Anniversary
On 20 September 2024, Together held its 3rd Anniversary celebration. It was a typical affair with high profile characters in the disinformation ecosystem.
The World Council for Health (WCH) appears to have helped in organising the one day event, offering the chance to win free tickets. Founded by Tess Lawrie (Pandata, HART, British Ivermectin Research Development group), the WCH is an international umbrella group for grifters, cranks and conspiracy theorists with over a hundred partner organisations. Anti-vax, cures for autism and cancer, 5G, chemtrails, weather control, hexagonal water, false flag alien invasions, they all have a place in the WCH.
Speakers at the event were:
Neil Oliver, GB News most outrageous conspiracy theorist, who regularly goes off on rants about global cabals, some of which seem to have been directly from antisemitic conspiracies around blood libel and the Protocols of Zion.
Bev Turner, only Oliver surpasses her in the ranks of GB News conspiracy theorists. In May 2021 she reached out to the anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists of HART for evidence to oppose child vaccines. A few months later she was the face of Toby Young's Covid19Assembly's legal challenge against MHRA approval of covid vaccines.
In 2022 after the legal challenges and appeals came to a halt, Turner was given her own show on GB News.
Matt Le Tissier, former footballer who appears to have been radicalised by covid disinformation.
Allison Pearson, Telegraph, Free Speech Union, Net Zero Watch (formerly Tufton Street based Global Warming Policy Forum).
Claire Fox (Free Speech Union, Academy of Ideas, Battle of Ideas, former Brexit Party Candidate).
Zuby, conservative US rapper who has faced criticism for anti-vax views.
Katherine Birbalsingh, set up Michaela School with Suella Braverman, but also a big character in the culture wars who has spoken at numerous conferences including NatCon and the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship funded by GB News owner Paul Marshall.
Dan Wooten, left GB News in March 2024 after having been suspended in September 2023 regarding comments made by his guest Lawrence Fox.
By 2024 Together had become a MAGA like protest organisation, relying on playing to conspiracy culture with their choice of rhetoric regarding globalists, and a cog in the online disinformation ecosystem with its close alignment to GB News.
Further Reading
Together Declaration Report: Part Two, the company one keeps
Part One looked at the creation and launch of the Together Declaration to oppose vaccine mandates and passports. Founded and launched by antivax conspiracy theorists and veteran culture war characters, Part Two examines the wider disinformation space Together inhabits.
Together Declaration Report: Part One, Directors, Founders and Launch
The Together Declaration was formed in August 2021 to “push back against the rapidly growing infringements to our rights and freedoms” with a focus on opposing COVID mandates, passports and children being offered the covid vaccine. Closely intertwined with GB News, Together have since expanded to oppose Net-Zero, migration, and a range of other issues, …
The radicalisation of Bev Turner
Bev Turner is a TV and radio presenter who prior to the pandemic, the closest she had come to controversy was accusing several former employers of sexism. The pandemic appears to have radicalised Turner, it appears she bought entirely into the counter narrative of the disinformation ecosystem as she moved from anti-lockdown into anti-vax messaging and t…
Farage can't distance himself so easily from anti-vax conspiracy theorists
Nigel Farage and Reform are under pressure to explain their decision to have the antivax conspiracy theorist Aseem Malhotra as a speaker at their conference, with the backlash coming from the Right as well as the Left. Reform have tried to distance themselves from Malhotra, claiming they don’t endorse his comments despite having said he was advising the…
delivering liberty, unn, Sean finch, david clews, piers corbyn and John mappin. all organised this with help from russia.