The Tories are welcoming far-right politics
"Fury over billionaire's plot to sabotage Brexit"
"Man who 'broke the Bank of England' backing secret plot to thwart Brexit"
"Puppet master [...] track record for helping to overthrow governments is planning to halt Brexit"
"Soros' MPs"
Are these the words from online cranks, writing far-right propaganda for obscure websites? No these are the full headlines or extracts from headlines from the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, The Sun and Conservative Home (in that order).
For years, the far-right has singled out George Soros, a Jewish Hungarian-born philanthropist, as the target of their anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. By attacking him directly, they can spread the same anti-Jewish conspiracy theories that have been around for decades but with a very thin veneer of deniability, saying that they are only attacking the man, not Jews in general.
It is deeply implausible for anyone involved in politics, political commentary or journalism to be unaware of this. Yet when the Daily Telegraph revealed their piece on Thursday, some Tory MPs came forward on social media to defend it. That, in the wake of the outrage it generated, the other three publications followed up the very next day with a similar line shows the scale of the threat to our democracy.
What used to be present only on the margins of British society has been brought in from the cold by conservative politicians and media. What was once completely unacceptable is now being defended and advocated. This is the reality of right-wing politics in the UK today: authoritarian, nationalist and more than open to xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism.
This is not a sudden shift that has emerged from nowhere. The adoption of Nationalism as the central pillar of the UK right has been building up over years. Conservative leaders have repeatedly failed to challenge europhobia, an ideology that has grown and taken over multiple right-wing media outlets as well as a significant part of the Conservative Party. Europhobia has consequently provided a legitimate (in the UK context) cover for xenophobia and even racism. Since the victory of Brexit in the 2016 referendum, these forces have felt emboldened, openly advocating nationalist politics, taking over almost the entirety of the Conservative Party. They've attacked the independent judiciary. They've denounced democratic opposition and dissent as "treason", even publishing lists of names of these supposed traitors. This Nationalist ideology is now moving into its next phase, seen in nationalist movements across the world: hostile conspiracy theory. The attacks against Soros are not simply criticisms of one man, they are part of a long history of anti-Semitic euphemism and demonstrate a hostility towards civil society.
Nationalism is becoming mainstream in the UK and conservative media and politicians are responsible. Our democracy is under threat. By their own words we can determine that these Anglo-Nationalists want:
"Man who 'broke the Bank of England' backing secret plot to thwart Brexit"
"Puppet master [...] track record for helping to overthrow governments is planning to halt Brexit"
"Soros' MPs"
Are these the words from online cranks, writing far-right propaganda for obscure websites? No these are the full headlines or extracts from headlines from the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, The Sun and Conservative Home (in that order).
For years, the far-right has singled out George Soros, a Jewish Hungarian-born philanthropist, as the target of their anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. By attacking him directly, they can spread the same anti-Jewish conspiracy theories that have been around for decades but with a very thin veneer of deniability, saying that they are only attacking the man, not Jews in general.
It is deeply implausible for anyone involved in politics, political commentary or journalism to be unaware of this. Yet when the Daily Telegraph revealed their piece on Thursday, some Tory MPs came forward on social media to defend it. That, in the wake of the outrage it generated, the other three publications followed up the very next day with a similar line shows the scale of the threat to our democracy.
What used to be present only on the margins of British society has been brought in from the cold by conservative politicians and media. What was once completely unacceptable is now being defended and advocated. This is the reality of right-wing politics in the UK today: authoritarian, nationalist and more than open to xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism.
This is not a sudden shift that has emerged from nowhere. The adoption of Nationalism as the central pillar of the UK right has been building up over years. Conservative leaders have repeatedly failed to challenge europhobia, an ideology that has grown and taken over multiple right-wing media outlets as well as a significant part of the Conservative Party. Europhobia has consequently provided a legitimate (in the UK context) cover for xenophobia and even racism. Since the victory of Brexit in the 2016 referendum, these forces have felt emboldened, openly advocating nationalist politics, taking over almost the entirety of the Conservative Party. They've attacked the independent judiciary. They've denounced democratic opposition and dissent as "treason", even publishing lists of names of these supposed traitors. This Nationalist ideology is now moving into its next phase, seen in nationalist movements across the world: hostile conspiracy theory. The attacks against Soros are not simply criticisms of one man, they are part of a long history of anti-Semitic euphemism and demonstrate a hostility towards civil society.
Nationalism is becoming mainstream in the UK and conservative media and politicians are responsible. Our democracy is under threat. By their own words we can determine that these Anglo-Nationalists want:
- Power concentrated in a nationalist, pro-Brexit government
- Parliament to be nothing but an instrument of the government's will
- A politicised judiciary that won't challenge the government
- A "patriotic" media that won't challenge the government
- To shut down civil society groups that are critical of the government
This is the politics of the far-right. This is the politics of Nationalism. This is the politics of authoritaranism.
This is a threat to our liberal democracy and it must be called out for what it is, using these words. Public figures must use their platforms to say this. Ordinary citizens must explain this to their friends and family.
This politics must be punished at the ballot box and attacked wherever it is found - the health and future of our democracy and liberty depend on it.
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