Protestors branded RNLI volunteers “traitors” and accused the charity of operating a “collection service”.
Angry protests in Portsmouth this month (Image: Getty Images)
The RNLI has temporarily suspended operations at a Portsmouth lifeboat station after volunteers were subjected to physical and online abuse following protests over migrants brought ashore. Portsmouth Lifeboat Station in Eastney has been out of service since September 10, four days after two RNLI all-weather lifeboats brought 120 migrants to shore following their rescue in the English Channel.
The arrival sparked demonstrations near the station, with protesters branding RNLI volunteers “traitors” and accusing the charity of operating a “collection service”. Police remained at the station in the days afterwards as a precaution amid a surge in threats directed at the RNLI and its personnel. The backlash has also spread online, forcing Eastney RNLI to remove its Facebook page.
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Several people have been charged with violent disorder following the late-night protest, while a number of police officers were treated for injuries sustained at the scene.
The RNLI has since taken additional steps to protect its volunteers, including advising some not to wear uniform or branded clothing in public.
The organisation has stressed that the temporary suspension has not left Portsmouth without search and rescue cover.
A charity spokesperson said: “Portsmouth Lifeboat Station has been temporarily off service since 10 September.
“We hope to have the lifeboat station back on service as soon as possible.
“Search and rescue cover continues to be provided through established contingency arrangements, including flank RNLI stations and other declared assets.”
The latest disruption comes after similar problems elsewhere, with Poole Old Lifeboat Museum also closing following incidents in which volunteers were verbally assaulted by anti-migrant protesters.
RNLI chief executive Peter Sparkes condemned the abuse, saying it had followed misinformation about the charity’s work.
Mr Sparkes said: “Recent events have generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI – our purpose, our tasking, and particularly our lifesaving work in the Channel.
“Sadly, as a result, some of our volunteers and staff have been the subject of online and, in the worst cases, physical abuse.”
He criticised those responsible as people who “hide behind a balaclava or a keyboard”, describing their “action” as “wholly unacceptable”.
The RNLI said lifeboat stations can sometimes be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance or other operational requirements, with contingency arrangements in place to maintain rescue coverage.
The Portsmouth station remains temporarily out of service while those arrangements continue.
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The protests followed the arrival of the 120 migrants at Eastney Point on September 6 after the two RNLI lifeboats picked them up while they were attempting to cross the Channel from France.
The RNLI lifeboat was denied access to Southampton and Portsmouth before the passengers were eventually landed at Eastney in Portsmouth.
News of the landing quickly spread, prompting demonstrators to gather near Portsmouth Lifeboat Station in opposition to the migrants being brought into the city.
The protest continued late into the night and descended into violence, with police officers injured during clashes. Multiple people have subsequently been charged with violent disorder.
The RNLI has faced criticism from anti-migrant protesters over its Channel rescue operations, despite the charity saying its role is to respond to people in distress at sea.
The hostility has extended beyond Portsmouth. Volunteers at Poole Old Lifeboat Museum were verbally assaulted during several incidents involving anti-migrant protesters, prompting the museum to close.
The RNLI has warned that misinformation about its work has contributed to abuse directed at staff and volunteers, and has advised them to exercise caution when deciding whether to wear its branded clothing.
The Express has contacted the RNLI for additional comment.
Labour nudges ahead of Reform for the first time in a year as new poll puts Burnham-led party on 27%.TA
More in Common have published new polling asking voters how they would vote if a general election were held tomorrow, with Andy Burnham as Labour leader instead of the outgoing Keir Starmer. The results put Labour ahead of Reform for the first time in over a year.
The numbers
With Burnham as leader, Labour rises six percentage points to 27%. Reform drops to 26%. The Conservatives sit at 23%, with the Liberal Democrats on 10% and the Greens on 8%.
It is a modest lead, and one that should be treated with caution given the volatility of the current moment – Burnham has not yet been formally confirmed as leader, and a leadership contest with other candidates could change the picture. But the direction of travel is significant. Labour has been stuck below 22% for months. A six-point uplift – enough to clear Reform – is not nothing.
The head-to-head figures are even more striking. On the question of preferred prime minister, Burnham beats Farage 62% to 38%. For comparison, Starmer beats Farage on the same question by only 53% to 47%. And when asked to choose between Burnham and Starmer directly, voters prefer Burnham by 67% to 33%.
What Luke Tryl said
Luke Tryl, director of More in Common UK – the same pollster who called Makerfield Reform’s worst night since the general election – shared the findings on social media, noting that the Burnham bounce is coming from a specific set of voters.
“Looking at voter flows, Labour under Andy Burnham particularly gain from undecided voters, Lib Dems and the Greens,” he wrote. “He also changes the outcome of the ‘preferred PM’ question, moving one point ahead of Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch. The picture is even more stark on head to heads between potential PM candidates. Burnham bests Starmer 67% to 33%. Although Starmer beats Farage 53-47, Andy Burnham beats him by a significant margin of 62-38.”
The pattern in those voter flows is worth dwelling on. Burnham is not primarily winning voters from Reform – he is winning them from the centre and left, from undecided voters and from people who were drifting to the Lib Dems and Greens. That is a different kind of coalition from the one Reform would need to beat him – and it mirrors what happened in Makerfield, where Burnham secured 54% and the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Greens collectively won just 3%. Voters who might otherwise have split their support parked it with Burnham as the candidate most capable of keeping Reform out.
What it means for Farage
For Reform, the polling adds to a deeply uncomfortable week. Tryl’s post-Makerfield analysis described it as the party’s worst byelection night since the general election, with barely any vote share increase in a seat that had been one of their best second-place finishes in 2024. Internal Reform figures are calling for Zia Yusuf’s removal and warning of “serious splits about to break out.” And Farage himself has spent the week being grilled about his £5m gift across three separate broadcasters without providing a consistent explanation.
The polling does not mean Reform are finished. They are still on 26%, they have significant local government representation, and the contest for the right of British politics is far from settled. But the Conservatives winning Aberdeen South and closing the gap in the polls suggests the squeeze on Reform from the right is real too. Restore Britain taking 7% in Makerfield added another complication. The space Reform occupies is no longer as clear as it was twelve months ago.
The leadership race
Streeting’s endorsement has all but locked down the leadership race, with nominations opening on 9 July and a new leader required by 1 September. Al Cairns, the recently resigned defence minister, is reportedly considering entering the contest, but faces the steep task of reaching 81 MP nominations while Burnham already has more than 200.
If Burnham does become leader – and the arithmetic makes it very difficult to see how he doesn’t – Tuesday’s polling suggests the general election conversation is going to look very different from what it did even two weeks ago. A Labour Party competitive with Reform, a Conservative Party showing signs of life, and a Reform party with a fragmented right flank and a leader under formal parliamentary investigation is a meaningfully different landscape from the one that existed when Starmer was clinging on.
Earlier polling from More in Common had shown Labour overtaking Reform by eight points under Burnham. Tuesday’s figures are slightly more modest – one point – but they come after a week of real political activity, not a hypothetical. Burnham won a byelection. Starmer resigned. The leadership contest is underway. And Labour, for the first time in over a year, is back in the lead.
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A week ago Andy Burnham was not an MP. Now he is the near-certain next Labour leader and prime minister, and the polling is already reflecting what his supporters have been arguing for months: that he can do something Keir Starmer has not been able to do. He can beat Nigel Farage.
More in Common have published new polling asking voters how they would vote if a general election were held tomorrow, with Andy Burnham as Labour leader instead of the outgoing Keir Starmer. The results put Labour ahead of Reform for the first time in over a year.
The numbers
With Burnham as leader, Labour rises six percentage points to 27%. Reform drops to 26%. The Conservatives sit at 23%, with the Liberal Democrats on 10% and the Greens on 8%.
It is a modest lead, and one that should be treated with caution given the volatility of the current moment – Burnham has not yet been formally confirmed as leader, and a leadership contest with other candidates could change the picture. But the direction of travel is significant. Labour has been stuck below 22% for months. A six-point uplift – enough to clear Reform – is not nothing.
The head-to-head figures are even more striking. On the question of preferred prime minister, Burnham beats Farage 62% to 38%. For comparison, Starmer beats Farage on the same question by only 53% to 47%. And when asked to choose between Burnham and Starmer directly, voters prefer Burnham by 67% to 33%.
What Luke Tryl said
Luke Tryl, director of More in Common UK – the same pollster who called Makerfield Reform’s worst night since the general election – shared the findings on social media, noting that the Burnham bounce is coming from a specific set of voters.
“Looking at voter flows, Labour under Andy Burnham particularly gain from undecided voters, Lib Dems and the Greens,” he wrote. “He also changes the outcome of the ‘preferred PM’ question, moving one point ahead of Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch. The picture is even more stark on head to heads between potential PM candidates. Burnham bests Starmer 67% to 33%. Although Starmer beats Farage 53-47, Andy Burnham beats him by a significant margin of 62-38.”
The pattern in those voter flows is worth dwelling on. Burnham is not primarily winning voters from Reform – he is winning them from the centre and left, from undecided voters and from people who were drifting to the Lib Dems and Greens. That is a different kind of coalition from the one Reform would need to beat him – and it mirrors what happened in Makerfield, where Burnham secured 54% and the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Greens collectively won just 3%. Voters who might otherwise have split their support parked it with Burnham as the candidate most capable of keeping Reform out.
What it means for Farage
For Reform, the polling adds to a deeply uncomfortable week. Tryl’s post-Makerfield analysis described it as the party’s worst byelection night since the general election, with barely any vote share increase in a seat that had been one of their best second-place finishes in 2024. Internal Reform figures are calling for Zia Yusuf’s removal and warning of “serious splits about to break out.” And Farage himself has spent the week being grilled about his £5m gift across three separate broadcasters without providing a consistent explanation.
The polling does not mean Reform are finished. They are still on 26%, they have significant local government representation, and the contest for the right of British politics is far from settled. But the Conservatives winning Aberdeen South and closing the gap in the polls suggests the squeeze on Reform from the right is real too. Restore Britain taking 7% in Makerfield added another complication. The space Reform occupies is no longer as clear as it was twelve months ago.
The leadership race
Streeting’s endorsement has all but locked down the leadership race, with nominations opening on 9 July and a new leader required by 1 September. Al Cairns, the recently resigned defence minister, is reportedly considering entering the contest, but faces the steep task of reaching 81 MP nominations while Burnham already has more than 200.
If Burnham does become leader – and the arithmetic makes it very difficult to see how he doesn’t – Tuesday’s polling suggests the general election conversation is going to look very different from what it did even two weeks ago. A Labour Party competitive with Reform, a Conservative Party showing signs of life, and a Reform party with a fragmented right flank and a leader under formal parliamentary investigation is a meaningfully different landscape from the one that existed when Starmer was clinging on.
Earlier polling from More in Common had shown Labour overtaking Reform by eight points under Burnham. Tuesday’s figures are slightly more modest – one point – but they come after a week of real political activity, not a hypothetical. Burnham won a byelection. Starmer resigned. The leadership contest is underway. And Labour, for the first time in over a year, is back in the lead.