Yesterday’s scenes in London — tens of thousands rallying behind Tommy Robinson, violent clashes with police, and chants straight from the darkest pages of European history — were not an aberration. They were a symptom of something far more dangerous: a political culture that has normalised far-right populism and is increasingly dancing to its tune.
What we saw on the streets wasn’t just a fringe protest. It was the culmination of years of dog-whistle politics, relentless fearmongering over immigration, and a steady erosion of the values Britain once prided itself on. It is tempting to dismiss Robinson’s mob as an isolated menace, but that would be a profound mistake. Britain’s far right is not operating in a vacuum: it is being energised and legitimised by political leaders, parties, and media outlets who have embraced rhetoric that once would have been unthinkable.
The Far Right Is No Longer Fringe
Let’s be blunt: Nigel Farage and Reform UK have moved from the margins to the centre of British politics. Once written off as cranks, they are now shaping the entire political conversation. Reform’s electoral gains, coupled with Farage’s decades-long talent for framing immigration as a threat, have forced both Labour and the Conservatives to tack sharply to the right. Instead of challenging Reform’s poisonous narrative, our mainstream parties are trying to neutralise it by co-opting it.
This is how populist movements win. Not necessarily by gaining power outright, but by shifting the political centre of gravity so far rightwards that cruelty becomes policy. When politicians start using the language of “invasion” to describe desperate people crossing the Channel or propose harsher detention regimes to “deter” migrants, they legitimise the worldview of the far right. They make Robinson’s bile sound like common sense.
Disinformation and Division: A Perfect Storm
We also cannot ignore the role of disinformation. UK intelligence services and independent watchdogs have repeatedly warned that Russian state-backed operations are actively amplifying divisive narratives in Britain. Russian troll farms have been caught spreading content designed to pit communities against each other, inflame anti-immigration sentiment, and undermine trust in democratic institutions.
There is less evidence of Chinese networks directly boosting Britain’s far right, but Beijing’s online influence campaigns are well-documented globally. And the influence of American conservative groups and individuals — particularly billionaire Elon Musk and those linked to the religious right — on British politics is growing. Investigations by outlets like openDemocracy have traced millions of dollars of funding into Europe to back anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-trans campaigns. These are not isolated fights. They are part of a well-coordinated, well-funded international culture war.
When these forces meet a British political climate already softened by years of austerity, inequality, and tabloid sensationalism, the outcome is explosive.
Targets of the Backlash
This slide to the right is not an abstract political phenomenon; it is already harming people.
People of Global Majority Heritage and recent immigrants are increasingly demonised, blamed for economic hardship, and treated as a threat rather than as neighbours, colleagues, and fellow citizens.
LGBTQ+ communities, especially trans people, have become convenient scapegoats in a manufactured culture war. The vitriol directed at trans people today mirrors the rhetoric used against gay men in the 1980s: dehumanising, fearmongering, and designed to roll back hard-won rights.
Asylum seekers and refugees are treated with systemic cruelty — warehoused in unsafe conditions, deported, or simply left destitute — all for the sake of “sending a message.”
This isn’t just unpleasant politics; it is a deliberate campaign to divide society into “us” and “them.” History teaches us where that path leads. The language of invasion and impurity is never far from violence.
Media Amplification: The Great Enabler
Mainstream media plays a key role in this. Tabloid headlines routinely cast migrants as criminals or scroungers; politicians like Farage are given endless airtime to repeat their talking points unchallenged. Even respected broadcasters have been criticised for giving disproportionate coverage to Reform UK compared with their actual representation in Parliament, reinforcing the illusion of an unstoppable far-right wave.
This isn’t just sloppy journalism. It’s complicity. When the media frames Farage as a “man of the people,” when they reduce complex issues like immigration to shouting matches, they are not neutral observers. They are helping to shape the narrative that fuels extremism.
Why This Moment Matters
Britain has long seen itself as a stable democracy, immune to the authoritarian politics of the 1930s. But stability is not a given. No country is immune to the forces of hate, fear, and division. And when those forces are amplified by foreign disinformation campaigns, funded by ideological movements abroad, and echoed by politicians at home, they become a serious threat to democratic life.
The Tommy Robinson rally is a wake-up call. When tens of thousands take to the streets to demand a Britain defined by exclusion and anger, when they attack police and journalists, when they march under the banner of a man convicted for contempt of court and inciting racial hatred, we must recognise that this is not a fringe problem. It is the direction in which our politics is heading unless we stop it.
A Call to Action
What can we do? More than we might think.
Challenge hate wherever we see it: Silence is complicity. When we hear people demonising migrants or mocking trans people, we cannot let it slide. These “harmless jokes” and “legitimate concerns” are the cultural soil in which fascism grows.
Hold the media accountable: Demand better coverage, refuse to reward sensationalism, and support independent journalism that tells the truth rather than pandering to fear.
Push our politicians to show courage: Labour and the Conservatives must stop chasing Farage’s agenda. We need leadership that inspires hope, not fear. Policies built on evidence and empathy, not on headlines and polls.
Support vulnerable communities. Whether it’s donating to refugee charities, volunteering with LGBTQ+ organisations, or simply standing up for neighbours, solidarity is our strongest weapon.
Defend democracy itself: We must not allow disinformation and authoritarian narratives to undermine trust in our institutions. That means supporting electoral reform, demanding transparency over political donations, and insisting on robust safeguards against foreign interference.
The Choice Before Us
We are not powerless. But we are at a crossroads. The Tommy Robinsons and Nigel Farages of this world thrive on fear and division. They will continue to weaponise immigration, race, gender, and sexuality to distract us from real problems — from economic inequality to crumbling public services.
If we do nothing, the politics of hate will become the politics of Britain. If we act — together, across communities and identities — we can reclaim our country from those who would drag it into darkness.
The brown shirts may not be here yet, but if we continue to look away, they soon will be.
C. E. Lord OBE 