Why are people in Britain turning to the far-right? Is it about money? Or maybe employment opportunities or urban decay? Cruz, 15, from Hertfordshire, has a different theory.
Why do people in Britain turn to the far-right? Many say it’s about economics — lost jobs, stagnant wages, crumbling high streets. But let’s be honest: if money were the driving force, the disillusioned would turn to the far-left, demanding redistribution and better welfare.
They don’t though. What we see instead is people flocking to the far-right. That tells us something crucial: this is about ideas — about identity, culture, and belonging.
Look at Brexit. The arguments that resonated were not about trade forecasts or growth rates. They were about control, sovereignty, borders.
The cry was “take back control,” not “raise my wages”. People who feel unsettled by rapid cultural change – by immigration, by globalisation, by a sense of lost traditions — are not persuaded by economic graphs. They are persuaded by stories: who belongs, who threatens us, who we are. And the far-right delivers those stories in a few short words: “Stop the boats,” or “Britain first”.
Simple. Emotional. Potent.
Yes, inequality and austerity create anger. But anger alone does not explain why it turns people against migrants or multiculturalism. That transformation happens because far-right ideas shape the narrative.
And here is the uncomfortable truth: the far-right appeals not just to the poor but to the comfortable middle classes too. People who are not starving still fear cultural loss.
So let us stop pretending this is about empty wallets. It is about contested identity. The battleground in Britain today is not economics — it is ideas. And unless we challenge these ideas head-on, the far-right will keep winning hearts, even if it never improves lives.
My message is this: take action and fight to make society more equal.
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