Enforcing Britishness: from the ‘numbers game’ to far-right vigilantism
The Institute of Race Relations has published a new briefing paper, Enforcing Britishness: from the ‘numbers game’ to far-right vigilantism. Authored by Liz Fekete, it aims to provide an overview of recent trends on the far right.
The last six months have seen far right manipulation of protests outside asylum accommodation, the Unite the Kingdom rally in London on 13th September, a rapid escalation in racial violence across the UK and threats against NGOs working on migration and refugee issues. In response to these multiple threats, the IRR briefing holds these key findings:
- US hard-right influence on UK political parties and the far right is increasing. The organisation, branding and merchandising of the Unite the Kingdom rally suggests an attempt to create a UK version of ‘Make America Great Again’.
- The US trend, associated with the rise of Trump, of anti-woke ‘citizen journalism’, has come to the UK and has led to attacks on the work of migrant and refugee charities, philanthropic trusts and foundations, lawyers and judges.
- The far right is diversifying its tactics, seeking to dominate the debate on patriotism and pride, as part of an attempt to intimidate through gaining control of spaces and neighbourhoods. The far right has become an industry, with its influencers seeking to monetise their efforts on social media.
- Parliament is engaged in a race to the bottom on immigration: Reform, Conservative, and Labour politicians are playing the ‘numbers game’, attempting to mimic the approach of Enoch Powell. Recent research has shown that Labour’s ‘messaging on deportations’ increases the importance of this issue in the minds of the electorate while simultaneously strengthening Reform.
The result is a rise in racist vigilantes, migrant hunters and beach patrols, seeking to enforce ‘Britishness’. Community safety is being jeopardised. But there are growing signs that more and more people now recognise that the far right is a threat to the inclusivity and safety of our communities and are pushing back against their offensive.
Liz Fekete, who wrote the report, said: “Today, the violent enforcers of Britishness are active across the country, enforcing the internal racist frontier, the frontier between ‘us’ and ‘them’. It’s vital that we fight back against this intimidation, which also shrinks the space in which NGOs operate. While people will be rightly concerned with safety, we also need to recognise that real security comes from ending corrosive culture wars, expanding local democracy, and developing an everyday anti-racism, in recognition that solidarity is strength and neighbourhood belongs to all of us.”
The report can be downloaded here.
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