Support for the far right is growing – and Labour is fomenting racism

Stand-Up-To-Racism-counter-demonstration-20250913 — Photo: Stand Up To Racism counter-demonstration on 13 September 2025

By Terry Williams

The huge rise of the far right in Britain

The far right has risen to become a central issue in British politics. Reform UK now has levels of support in opinion polls never previously achieved by the far right in Britain. And the size of far right demonstrations now is larger than any such mobilisations since the 1930s. The post 1970 rises of the National Front (NF), followed by the British National Party (BNP) and English Defence League (EDL), were all relatively small in comparison with the advance the far right has been recently making in Britain.

The far right has a history of rising in revolt against Labour governments, tapping into the underlying racism in British capitalist society to build support. But the NF, BNP and EDL were politically marginal compared with the situation today. Those organisations had no significant backing from within the capitalist class – a situation that has decisively changed. Powerful sections of the capitalist class are now putting significant resources behind the far right in the US and in Europe, to shift politics rightwards and protect their economic interests.

President Trump is pressing US allies to pursue more authoritarian, racist, demonise-the-left type agendas. Nigel Farage’s parties (Brexit Party and Reform UK) have been supported as a key instrument for Trump’s intervention in British politics. Elon Musk is directly assisting the ADF in Germany and the Tommy Robinson campaign in Britain – both of these far right networks are associated with organising violent attacks.

With huge US political backing and financial resources, Reform UK has now built up its support in opinion polls to become the leading party in Britain. It overtook both the Tories and Labour in opinion polls around January 2025 and since then has established a lead of about 10% over Labour and 14% over the Tories.

The movement around Tommy Robinson, again with huge resources, organised the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ demonstration on 13 September, which was reported to have mobilised around 100,000 people. The character of the type of street movement that is being built is evident from the attempts made by far right demonstrators to attack anti-racism protesters, and the violence they unleashed against the police who were trying to stop this. This scale of mobilisation, with its organised fascist violence, is posing an increasing threat to Black communities and the labour movement. Following this far right demonstration, Stand Up To Racism, which organised the counter-protest, has called for unity to ‘stop the far right on the streets and at the ballot box’ and Black Lives Matter UK has called for ‘anti-racist groups in every town and city’. These initiatives should be given full support.

The capitalist class requires this racism offensive

With the UK economy practically stagnant, the capitalist class’s pursuit of larger profits needs a government that will intensify austerity – step up the processes that transfer income and wealth from the majority of the population to big business and the very rich. Also considered necessary is an ideological campaign to ensure the capitalist class is not blamed for these policies.

The falling living standards caused by austerity have led to rising discontent amongst the mass of the population. To divert attention the capitalist class has stepped up its reactionary ideological offensive – to encourage this discontent to become focussed on issues to race. The aim of this racist offensive is to persuade as many people as possible that the root cause of their deteriorating situation lies with Black people, Muslims and migrants.

Labour’s role in the racist offensive

If this ideological offensive does not face a significant counter-offensive, it is able to advance relatively fast, because of the deep roots of racism that already exist in society. If it is challenged by a powerful opponent, such as government or the main party of opposition, then the offensive faces difficulties. For the capitalist class, it is important to have both the British government and its main opposition on its side, promoting this ideological offensive.

Corbyn’s leadership of Labour (2015-2020), in opposing austerity, war and climate inaction, confronted key capitalist class priorities. Plus, the support for anti-racism directly confronted the reactionary offensive. With Diane Abbott as Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, Tory policies, including on immigration and asylum, faced determined opposition.

With the election of Keir Starmer as Labour Leader in May 2020 a decisive shift took place in the Labour Party’s overall political framework. Corbyn’s agenda was overturned and step by step policies have been reorientated in line with the key demands of the capitalist class.

Under Starmer Labour’s framework on race issues assists the spread of racist myths throughout society. Labour demonises migrants, falsely links child sexual exploitation with Muslims and Black people with crime etc – aiding the spread of these ideas through the population.

How public opinion has shifted about immigration and asylum

Under Starmer, Labour has adopted the right-wing’s framework on migrants. Labour has been promoting a series of anti-immigration campaigns that step by step have been toughening up. Under pressure from Trump, it is likely Labour will make even further concessions to the racist agenda on migrants.

Since Starmer became Leader, through the period of Opposition Leader (May 2020-July 2024) and since Labour formed its government (July 2024 to now), there are indications that within the population reactionary views on race issues strengthened. For example, people’s views about migrants have been shifting since Starmer became Labour Leader. Steadily, more and more people have come to the view that the issue of immigration and asylum is the most important issue facing the country.

The YouGov regular survey of ‘the most important issues facing the country’, provides data on this¹. Below is a chart from YouGov of the percentage of responses which rank ‘Immigration and Asylum’ as one of the top three issues², for the period February 2011 to September 2025.³

YouGov’s data⁴ reveals the following trends:

From February 2011 to September 2015 (Labour Leader: Miliband) ‘Immigration and Asylum’ steadily rose as a ‘most important issue’ from 47% to 71%.
From September 2015 to April 2020 (Labour Leader: Corbyn) this figure steadily declined from 71% to 11%.
From April 2020 to September 2025 (Labour Leader: Starmer) this figure has steadily risen from 11% to 58%. The issue of Immigration and Asylum has now overtaken all other issues⁵ to become the top issue raised in this survey.

The Labour Party’s orientation under its different Leaders has shifted from: anti-immigration (symbolised by Labour’s ‘Controls on immigration’ pledge mugs produced for Labour’s 2015 election campaign); to anti-racism under Corbyn; and now to hard-line anti-immigration under Starmer. Labour’s propaganda plays a high-profile role in the public debate, including when it is the main opposition party, and even more so now that it is in government. Labour can facilitate or hinder the advance of the racist offensive. At present Labour has doubled down on boosting reaction and is pumping out material that strengthens the racist agenda across the media.

Labour’s agenda is crushing its electoral support

Following Starmer became its Leader, Labour step by step shifted from Corbyn’s social democratic agenda of progressive reforms to a framework reflecting the priorities of the capitalist class. Economic growth is unlikely to improve because – contrary to government propaganda, public investment is not being increased, as that would clash with the priority to increase private profits. Instead, more public assets and services are being privatised. Step by step, parts of government expenditure are being shifted from public services and welfare to warfare and the military – an austerity agenda that is intensifying the attack on living standards. Overseas aid spending is being slashed and Labour’s previous green promises are being abandoned. To divert attention from the policies and their source, and to also divide the masses, the reactionary ideological offensive on race and other social issues is being stepped up.⁶

The most determined proponents of such a pro-big business agenda are the far right – and they benefit from the government reinforcing their ideology. They demand that this government, that endorses the principal anti-immigrant assumptions, adopts their hostile anti-migrant policies. As the government concedes ground and adopts such right-wing policies, the far right simply come forward with even more extreme demands. It is a process that will continue till there is a government that is prepared to oppose this reactionary offensive.

The claim, widely promoted in the media, that Labour is ‘chasing Reform votes’ (i.e. this reactionary agenda has an electoral purpose), is a fiction. The demonstrable electoral effect is that this agenda is causing a disastrous collapse of Labour support. This is similar to the experience of other social democratic parties in Europe – when they embrace racism their support declines.

Additionally, when social democracy legitimises the far right’s racist myths, it helps strengthen the key ideological foundations on which the far right builds up its following.

The Labour government’s political agenda has caused its rapid collapse of support. This is confirmed in recent analysis by the British Election Study (BES)⁶. This reports the shifts of electoral support since the 2024 General Election. An analysis of the flows in support, from 2024 to now, is represented in the chart below.

Vote flows between vote in the 2024 UK General Election
and vote intention in May 2025
in the British Election Study Internet Panel

Labour has now lost over half of its 2024 voters and the analysis indicates where this loss has gone:

More than 20% of Labour’s 2024 vote has been lost to ‘indecision’ (voters who said they either would not vote or they didn’t know which party they would vote for);
Labour has lost 9% to the Liberal Democrats;
Labour has lost 8% to the Greens;
Labour has only lost 8% of its 2024 support to Reform UK.

In summary, most of Labour 2024 support that has been lost has gone to ‘indecision’. Where it has gone to a named political party it has been to a party to the left of the Tories, not to Reform UK, not the Tories.

The BES analysis also looked at the sources of the growth in Reform UK’s support – which is largely sources other than Labour:

42% of Reform UK’s growth has come from the Tories;
33% from 2024 non-voters;
only 16% from 2024 Labour voters.

Furthermore, the BES analysis indicates:

To hold on to its 2024 voters, Labour is mainly in competition for votes with the Liberal Democrats and Greens, not with Reform UK;
To win back 2024 Labour voters who have now deserted to ‘undecided’, Labour needs to note these voters are substantially more supportive of the Liberal Democrats and Greens than of Reform UK or the Tories. Labour’s current right-wing agenda is less attractive to most of the voters whose support it has lost since 2024.

Despite the disastrous electoral effects of Labour’s right-wing agenda, the Labour leadership remains wedded to this framework – its focus is to implement the priorities of the capitalist class.

Labour refuses to oppose the far right’s racism

Where a far right campaign gains any traction amongst a section of population, then the Tories rapidly adopt the campaign. The Labour government also is making one concession after another to these racist campaigns.

Labour’s right-wing is not only assisting the rise of Reform UK, but it also is attempting to assert a reactionary influence over the campaigns against Reform UK. Given Labour’s involvement in the racist offensive, it is logical it would oppose challenges to this offensive, as challenges could call into question Labour’s own role in this offensive.

The government’s own campaign against Reform UK is totally ineffective, as it does not challenge the racist content of Reform UK’s policies. Labour is willing to attack the content and purpose of some Reform UK economic policies. It is not willing to attack the racism of Reform UK’s proposals, so its criticism of Reform UK’s extreme immigration policies is confined to claiming they are unworkable, or impractical etc, but not that they are reactionary. The Labour right-wing also promotes this ineffective ‘strategy’ as the model that should be followed by the wider labour movement in its campaigning against Reform UK.

To effectively fight the far right – oppose its racism

A ‘strategy’ for fighting Reform UK that refuses to challenge the far right’s racism will not work. It avoids the most important core issues on which Reform UK’s advance is based. To build up its support, the far right’s main ideological weapon is racism, not anything else. They take advantage of the racism already deeply entrenched in British capitalist society, build on that, extend it, and recruit support on that basis. Reactionary myths about Black people, Muslims and migrants are formed into precise campaigns manufactured to draw in people looking for who to blame. The far right are not the source of the discontent – that is the policies that favour the capitalist class. The far right simply give people a reactionary explanation of the cause of their deteriorating situation – an explanation which the government’s propaganda confirms significant elements of. If the racism is not challenged, the far right will just continue to advance.

What is required is a thorough attack on each and every racist myth the far right promote. The claims that migration is responsible for reduced public services need to be rebutted. The false claims of links between Black people and crime need correcting. The Islamophobic agenda driving the current investigations into child sexual exploitation needs to be exposed. The truth about each issue needs to be explained to people. If people are not given the facts they will believe the myths on which the far right – both Reform UK and the fascist wing – are building their advance. It is vital all progressive currents in the labour movement oppose any so called ‘strategy’ to fight the far right that avoids attacking the latter’s racism.

Although the formation of the new Corbyn/Sultana party is currently experiencing some internal difficulties, it is its external challenges that need to be the focus of attention, as soon as possible. The growth of the far right, electorally and on the streets, will need to be a central focus of this new party. For Black communities and for the labour movement it is vital that a left-wing party places the fight against the racist offensive at the top of its agenda. The racist policies of the far right, Tories and Labour need to be opposed.

Notes
1. YouGov asks this question: ‘Which of the following do you think are the most important issues facing the country at this time? Please tick up to three.’
2. The data is for the YouGov category ‘All adults’.
3. The labelling of the periods covered by the three Labour Leaders has been added to the YouGov chart by the author.
4. Source: YouGov plc, 2025, © All rights reserved
5. The issues/options included in YouGov’s survey questionnaire are: Health; Immigration & Asylum; Crime; The economy; Tax; Pensions; Education; Family life & childcare; Housing; The environment; Britain leaving the EU; Transport; Welfare benefits; Defence and security; Afghanistan; Defence and Terrorism; and Don’t know / None of these.
6. The British Election Study (BES) collects large-scale, high-quality data on voting. Tens of thousands of respondents are surveyed repeatedly over time, tracking changes in individual opinions and behaviour. In addition, unlike most opinion polling companies, it collects and publishes data not just about respondents who indicate support for a party, but also for those that do not indicate support for any party.