"Yet even if this reassuring picture was accurate in the past and that is open to question nowadays the British right appears to be on a much less cautious path. On law and order, immigration, net zero, multiculturalism, press freedom, the British empire, Donald Trump's administration, the European convention on human rights, the condition of British cities and general state of the nation, leading Conservative and Reform UK figures routinely say inflammatory things, far outside the supposed bounds of responsible conservatism."
"This week, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, Gavin Stephens, without naming specific politicians, took the unusual step of warning that those in a leadership position should not sow division. A radicalisation is under way on the right, encouraged by excited reactionaries in the media, thinktanks and academia, on a scale not seen since the feverish mid-1970s. What caused this transformation? And where is it leading? One driver is desperation."
British rightwing politics has long been treated as having red lines after punished transgressions such as Enoch Powell, Oswald Mosley and Keith Joseph. That restraint now appears diminished as leading Conservative and Reform UK figures routinely make inflammatory statements on law and order, immigration, net zero, multiculturalism, press freedom, the British empire, Trump, the European convention on human rights and the condition of cities. Police leaders warned that those in leadership should not sow division as a radicalisation on the right increases, encouraged by reactionary media, thinktanks and academia. One driver is desperation tied to the loss of credibility of free-market policies since 2008, creating restlessness and insecurity within conservative ranks.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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