There are various explanations for the far-right unrest. Alex Snowdon separates the wheat from the chaff

In the wake of fascist agitation and racist riots, numerous discussions have arisen about their causes and their interrelationship with other phenomena. I would like to address some of these discussions.

In recent weeks, there has been far more focus on blaming the racist riots on external forces than there has ever been on far-right riots. For some, it’s Russia, for others, Israel (those who blame Russia tend to be liberal centrists, while those who blame Israel loosely identify with the left and/or the Palestine movement). In each case, the idea is that far-right and racist rioters are being manipulated by foreign powers.

It is an irrational idea because its proponents never explain the mechanisms behind it: how this manipulation is practically linked to what is happening on the ground. It is one thing to highlight facts about how a foreign state has financial or other links to elements of the far right. It is quite another to explain how this is linked to the riots in Southport, Sunderland or Rotherham.

It is also a very conservative and apolitical explanation. It ignores the domestic forces that are influencing these events: the politicians, the media and the far-right groups. As a result, it is also paralysing. There is little we can do about foreign powers, but we can do something about our own politicians and the threat posed by the domestic far right.

This type of narrative is comforting to those who believe it. It is much easier to believe a very simplistic story than to grapple with nuance and complexity. It also fits with a sense of powerlessness when distant forces are identified as the culprits.

It’s true – as Lowkey’s video for Double Down News – that Tommy Robinson has links to the Israeli far right, has met with pro-Israel lobby groups, and receives funding from supporters of Israel. There are both practical and ideological links. However, the conclusion drawn by some that Robinson is a tool of Israel, doing what Israel or its lobby groups want, is unfounded. He and the movement around him have a political capacity that is independent of Israel or other external forces.

Lowkey’s method is to gather facts about the links between Robinson and the far right, and on the other hand, Israel and its supporters. But simply piling up facts is not enough. You have to have a sense of proportion: you have to consider how far all this contributes to explaining the phenomenon. There are other factors that are left out of this account because the far right is viewed exclusively through the prism of Israel.

Israel, racism and the extreme right

Support for Israel is indeed part of current far-right ideology. There are two main reasons for this. First, fascists and radical racists see Israel (rightly) as an ethnocratic state in which one ethnic group is explicitly favored over another. They admire Israel for this and would ideally emulate it.

The other reason is their virulent Islamophobia. They hate Muslims and feel that Israel is at war with Muslims. The Palestinian cause is a rallying point for Muslims and those who march alongside them. The fascists have been infuriated by the mass demonstrations against the genocide in Gaza.

However, support for Israel is far from the main element of far-right ideology. Islamophobia in particular and racism in general are central elements of the current street movement, whose core is committed to fascist ideas. Islamophobia has been the most prominent (and respectable) form of racism in British politics since at least 2001.

The far right here does have international connections, but it was largely born domestically. Even its international connections are not primarily with Israel, but with well-funded US operations and with European fascist parties and networks. It would be as easy to gather material for a video on the far right’s connections to American supporters of Donald Trump as it is to highlight connections to Israel.

Operating in a country with its own history of imperialism, war and state-sponsored racism, the British far-right feeds on the Islamophobia that has accompanied successive wars and invasions of Muslim-majority countries since 2001. This is exacerbated by mainstream politics supporting Israel’s genocide, coupled with the dehumanisation of Palestinians, fearmongering about “Islamists” and efforts to delegitimise the mass movement of solidarity with Palestine.

The far right was emboldened by the backlash against the Palestine movement. This backlash came from the highest levels in Britain. It was the then Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, who encouraged the fascists to riot on Armistice Day with her “hate marches” rhetoric.

We also have our own far-right “influencers” like Douglas Murray, Darren Grimes, Lawrence Fox and Katie Hopkins spreading disinformation online. Nigel Farage and Reform UK won over four million votes in the general election. These political forces are all very open and public; one does not have to look for shadowy, secret forces to explain the fascists and racists.

An obvious problem with accounts that emphasise foreign influences is that they ignore the history of fascist organisation and racist violence in this country. The far right grew in the 1930s (Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists), in the 1970s (National Front) and in the last three decades with waves of growth of the British National Party and later the English Defence League. All of these far-right movements were predominantly domestically sprung and fuelled by the kind of racism fed by British imperialism, the state and politicians.

Social conditions and politics

The far right also arises from social conditions – and this is another point of discussion. Some have focused exclusively on poverty and other economic factors in explaining the unrest, which risks obscuring the specific role of racism.

Conversely, there are those who do not talk at all about poor housing, the lack of good jobs, poverty, austerity or the erosion of communities. The riots therefore appear to be an irrational outbreak of crime, stupidity or prejudice, or some combination of the three. This is often accompanied by crude stereotypes of the working class. It also feeds the idea that the riots should be treated merely as a matter of ‘law and order’ (with harsh punishments) rather than as a political problem that requires both an anti-racist response and attempts to practically address the dire economic and social conditions suffered by millions of people.

Poor social conditions are a major factor underlying recent racial unrest and the spread of racist ideas in many poorer communities. However, recognition of social conditions alone is never enough. These conditions only become fuel for attacks on Muslims, asylum seekers, etc. when there is racist agitation, whether from the government, the media or fascist groups.

I interviewed Heather Wood for Counterfire, who has spent her whole life in an area of ​​County Durham where the Reform Party won 30% of the vote in the July general election. She gives a detailed account of the social and economic forces that have led to this situation.

The erosion of communities she describes leads to alienation and hopelessness, providing a breeding ground for racist ideas. It is also a key backdrop to the unrest in similar areas.

The extreme right has had the greatest success in causing unrest in England’s big cities. By and large, it is not the big multi-ethnic cities where racist riots have occurred. It is mainly big cities with a lot of poverty that have proved to be fertile ground.

Heather pointed out in our interview that the left is predominantly urban-based, with very little presence in small towns and villages. This is a symptom of the long-term decline of all strands of the left, as it has become more narrow in its demographics and more geographically concentrated.

We can’t overcome this immediately, but we need to think about how we can take root in the communities the media likes to label as ‘left behind.’ That means confronting racist ideas head-on and offering positive alternatives to the economic and social problems that affect people’s lives.

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