A far-right nationalist group who firmly believe that 'native British people' will become a minority by the year 2066 appear to be linked to a banner which was flown over the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
Football fans were left in 'disgust' after spotting the sign which read "British to be minority by 2066" during Manchester City's Premier League clash against Liverpool at the east Manchester football ground on Sunday.
Residents have also told The Manchester Evening News that in the North West leaflets had been posted through their letter boxes this weekend titled "White's to be a minority by the year 2066 or sooner" - a similar message to that on the banner. One woman, whose is pregnant with a mixed-race baby said the flyer had left her and her partner feeling 'upset' and 'disgusted.'
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A nationalist group named Patriotic Alternative claimed responsibility for the flyers on Twitter, claiming activists across the country had posted thousands of leaflets - warning people of 'mass immigration' and 'falling white birth rates.' However, no one has yet claimed responsibility for organising the banner that was flown on the plane.
The group proclaims to have been founded in 2019 by Mark Collett, who according to Companies House is based in Manchester.
While neither Mr Collett or Patriotic Alternative have taken responsibility for the banner flown over Manchester, the group's deputy leader, Laura Towler, posted an article about the incident on social media platform Telegram. Some activists who support the group also appear to have retweeted a video of the banner.
The group's projection appears to have come from comments made by population expert Professor David Coleman, of Oxford University, who stated back in 2010 that White British people will become a minority in their country by 2066 if current immigration levels were to continue.
The professor said the demographic group would make up less than half the population in "little more" than 50 years, the Independent previously reported. Mr Coleman said the decline would be caused by 'record-breaking levels of immigration' and the 'migration of thousands of British nationals abroad.'
A countdown to the year 2066 is plastered on Patriotic Alternative's website with this April having been labelled by the group as "drama month" - perhaps suggesting why activists have been more prevalent in the community in recent days.
One woman, who lives in Burnley with her partner, says they discovered one of the "White Britons to be a minority" leaflets on their doorstep on Saturday afternoon. She said the flyer had left her and her boyfriend, who is black, feeling extremely concerned.
"The front of the leaflet was very similar to what it said on that banner over the Etihad," said the woman, who asked for her identity to remain anonymous. "It's a very weird and specific date and its shows an image of people from different ethnic backgrounds on the front of it.
"On the back it said that the country can’t cope with the rising number of migrants and that we are overcrowded. They talked about nobody being able to access social housing anymore and that it was ruining our beautiful countryside. It said immigration was affecting wages and increasing the cost of living.
"I got angry and actually ripped it up into pieces. There were bits of it that were really quite scary to read. We were concerned that other people might not have got this and that we were specifically targeted as my partner just moved to the area but then we saw the story about the plane over the football game."
The woman said her partner had been left feeling 'uneasy' and 'unsettled' about going out after receiving the leaflet. "He's just moved here and it's not the most welcoming feeling if you go and pick that up from your front door," she said.
"We are having a baby and thinking about the world they are going to be born into is worrying. We are going to have a non white child so it makes me upset and angry to see. We are in a scary world as it is right now. There are vulnerable people around here who might read that flyer and really take that information on board and that is a real concern."
A tweet posted by user EnglishMan'66, who claims to be an 'English Civil Rights Activist' said: "Today a team of Patriotic Alternative activists delivered 2,790 leaflets in Burnley bringing our people's attention to the fact that White Britons are being demographically replaced within our own homelands.
He later wrote: "On Saturday, a team of Patriotic Alternative activists delivered 2,336 leaflets in the Hertfordshire town of Hoddesdon. A Patriotic town on the outskirts of North London which had one of the highest Brexit votes in the whole country. PA's message was warmly received by the locals."
And in another tweet on April 8, he wrote: "For "DRAMA" Month, Patriotic Alternative activists have been leafleting the length and breadth of Britain to spread awareness of the ethnic cleansing of the Native British people within our own homeland. Today, an activist delivered 445 leaflets in Canvey Island, Essex."
The banner which was flown across the Etihad on Sunday prompted confusion and anger from football fans, who posted pictures and videos of the plane as it flew over the stadium. "Words fail me" was the verdict from one viewer, while another claimed the message "makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."
One football fan pointed out that "British is already the minority. There's like 7 billion other people". "2066 is oddly specific," another pointed out. It comes less than two years after a controversial banner was flown over the same stadium during City's game against Burnley. On that occasion, "White Lives Matter Burnley" was the message displayed.
Patriotic Alternative have been approached by the Manchester Evening News for comment about the banner. A spokeswoman said they 'consider it our aim to raise awareness' about their claims around British people.
