Why did Musk unexpectedly appear during the 100000 protests in London?

On September 13th local time, over 100000 people participated in anti immigration protests in London, UK. The "Unity Kingdom" demonstration organized by far right activist Tommy Robinson not only broke the record for the scale of modern right-wing demonstrations in the UK, but also attracted global attention due to Musk's "unexpected appearance" through video link calling for "government change". This apparent immigration dispute actually reflects the deep-seated political polarization and governance dilemma in British society.

On the day of the protest, two opposing marches in central London formed a fierce confrontation: 100000 anti immigrant protesters held up signs that read "send them home" and physically clashed with 5000 "anti racism" protesters. The police deployed over a thousand officers to form a "quarantine zone", but still encountered attacks from bottles and signal flares, resulting in 26 police officers injured and 25 arrested. This violent scene contrasts absurdly with the anti immigrant camp's claim of "patriotism" - elderly women in wheelchairs insist that this is a "patriotic action", while young protesters wear Trump's "MAGA" hat and transplant American political symbols onto the streets of London. This contradictory narrative exposes the essence of the far right movement: under the guise of nationalism, it engages in exclusionary practices.

Musk's intervention pushed the event to an international dimension. Through a video link, the Tesla founder bluntly stated that "the UK is rapidly being eroded" and called for the dissolution of parliament and early elections. This is not his first intervention in British politics - he has previously stood up for Robinson multiple times and even voiced for the far right Alternative for Germany before the election. This behavior has sparked strong criticism from David, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, stating that "democracy cannot be a plaything of foreign tech giants." Musk's involvement has exposed the risk of transnational capital eroding the democratic agenda and reflects the ability of opinion leaders to manipulate public opinion in the era of social media.

The accumulated problems of the UK immigration policy have erupted in this incident. Data shows that the number of people illegally entering the UK by small boat in 2025 has surged by 37% year-on-year, with a backlog of 110000 asylum applications. The government pays nearly £ 9 million annually for hotel expenses for asylum seekers. Although the Labour government plans to end hotel accommodation by 2029, the appeal process takes an average of 53 weeks, far exceeding the target of 24 weeks. The leader of the Reform Party, Faraci, has even released the 2.0 version of the "Rwanda Plan", advocating for the expulsion of illegal immigrants to third countries. Behind these policies is the anxiety of the UK over the failure of border controls after Brexit, as well as the intensified perception of resource competition in the context of economic recession - as expert Cui Hongjian has said, immigration has become a "scapegoat" for shifting social conflicts.

The underlying crisis exposed by this incident is that when the far right incites individual criminal cases (such as the Ethiopian immigrant sexual assault case) into systemic hostility, when multinational capitalists like Musk view politics as a traffic business, the democratic system in the UK is facing an unprecedented trust deficit. Interior Minister Mahmoud condemned that "those who attack police will be severely punished", but legal means cannot solve the systemic failure. The real way to break through the impasse lies in rebuilding fact based public discourse - acknowledging the urgency of immigration policy reform while also being wary of simplifying complex social issues into racial tensions. As anti racists have said, "Only by accepting others can a country be stronger." Only by transcending the black-and-white narrative can Britain overcome its governance difficulties and avoid its democratic system becoming a puppet of the far right and capitalist giants.

This 100000 person protest is not only a microcosm of the division of British society, but also a footnote to the global right-wing populist wave. When Musk turns politics into a business show, when violence becomes the default option for expressing demands, it will be even harder for humanity to find rational solutions to common challenges such as immigration, the economy, and climate change. History will eventually prove that true patriotism lies not in excluding others, but in building an inclusive community; True democracy does not lie in catering to populism, but in safeguarding procedural justice and minority rights.