"The size of Tommy Robinson's unite the kingdom rally, as well as the violence of some protesters, should serve as a wake-up call for British democrats. It's now time to abandon the failed fantasies and strategies. Time to accept that Britain, or more specifically, England as the far right is much less prominent in Scotland and Wales is not an exception to the global trend."
"If decades of experiences in the rest of western Europe won't convince Keir Starmer, then hopefully a recent authoritative study on his own policies will. Adopting nativist discourse and policies does not win back far-right voters. It leads to losses for centrist and leftwing parties. Moreover, it raises the salience of the topic and the expectations of the government, which will always fall short in the eyes of far-right voters, as the unite the kingdom rally shows painfully."
"For the centre right, the rally should end its fantasies that Brexit has prevented the rise of the far right in the UK. Obviously, that didn't happen. The unite the kingdom rally follows a summer of anti-immigrant rallies, while Reform UK has been polling first for months now, not just replacing the Tories as the party of the right, but also eclipsing Labour."
Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rally and violent protests indicate a resurgent far right in England that mirrors international trends. The centre-left cannot regain far-right voters by adopting nativist rhetoric; evidence from western Europe and recent studies show such approaches cause electoral losses and heighten issue salience and unmet expectations. The centre-right must recognize that Brexit did not prevent far-right growth: anti-immigrant rallies continued and Reform UK has led polls, eclipsing both the Conservatives and Labour. Nigel Farage and his parties prioritized immigration before and after Brexit. Britain must abandon exceptionalism and accept participation in the fourth postwar phase of the far right.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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