It’s been reported that the English Defence League are planning on running in the upcoming local elections, after EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka ‘Tommy Robinson’, signed a pact with the British Freedom Party to field candidates.
Presumably an alliance would capitalise on the EDL’s street-level popularity while using the British Freedom Party’s political apparatus – the BFP contains several who’ve previously fought elections on behalf of other parties, including its leader, Paul Weston.
Potential sectarian squabbling aside, it sounds like a fairly shrewd move on the part of both groups. Back in February, a Searchlight poll showed a potentially high level of support for the far-Right – if, and it’s obviously a big if, they gave up violence. Straying into the realms of speculation a bit, what might a far-Right Government do in its first year of power?
Isolationism
Recent wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya are often simplified into a Left/Right question – if you’re Left-wing you were against them, if you’re Right-wing you supported them. This is crude and misleading. In the tradition of isolationism, the British far-Right is concerned with foreigners only when they directly threaten British national interests. This includes foreigners dying at the hands of barbaric regimes. The far-Right believes barbarism to be a product of uncivilised peoples or cultures that cannot exist in this country unless imported from outside. A far-Right Government would see its role only as the protector of the British people from this threat.
The first year in power would most likely see a withdrawal from NATO, an exit from the European Union and an end to all overseas aid spending. Foreign massacres would be dismissed as ‘savagery’. Military spending, however, would be doubled. Which leads me neatly on to…
The worship of monarchy and the armed forces
One of the problems a Government of this sort would inevitably face is that although the British people like pomp and ceremony, they don’t go in much for compulsory pomp and ceremony. People of the Left recoil at widespread enthusiasm for the Royal Family, while forgetting that a good deal of it is based on little more than a detestation of the political class. The Royals are quite obviously establishment figures – they are the establishment – but when set against politicians there is a widespread belief that they are somehow less a part of the ruling class than Parliament is. Such a dynamic only works, however, as long as the monarchy is not viewed as a part of the Government.
With regard to the military, huge hostility would be whipped-up, with the aid of the media, toward any figure who dared criticise military spending or the increasing deployment of troops to quell protest and industrial disputes at home. Such people would be branded ‘unpatriotic’, and regularly denounced as Communists. Several military figures would probably enter the Cabinet within the first year of Government. St George’s day would be declared a public holiday and talk of foreign casualties in the recent Afghan and Iraq wars banned on the basis of ‘offending non-Muslims’.
The economy
Initial nationalisations see elements of the far-Left align themselves with the new Government in the manner of previous alliances with ‘anti-imperialist’ movements abroad. A former member of the Respect party is perhaps the most prominent Left-spokesperson for the new regime, playing up the Government’s anti-American credentials while ignoring Government suppression of minority rights.
During unrest the army is drafted in. This is incredibly popular until the children of the middle classes start protesting about the decline in living standards due to UN sanctions imposed on Britain for its treatment of religious minorities. Great fanfare is then made in the press about the ‘great British tradition of protest’.
The minimum wage is abolished along with the right to strike. State intervention in the economy increases albeit unaccompanied by any understanding, let alone indictment, of capitalism as a system. The living standard of workers falls while foreign investment is scared away.
Immigration
All immigration from ‘culturally foreign’ countries is brought to an end. Large numbers of people leave the country, including thousands of white Britains with non-white spouses. Discrimination against non-whites is not enshrined in law but institutional racism is ignored; racial theorists are regularly given a voice in the media and an atmosphere of general hostility is whipped-up toward non-whites, Muslims in particular.
A distinction is created in the press between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ minorities on an arbitrary basis; wealthy non-white businessmen line-up alongside the Government to denounce recent immigrants, who they describe as feckless and lazy.
Failed asylum seekers are deported back to their country of origin on the guarantee they will be tortured on their return. The Government imposes quotas for white players on English Premier League football teams.
Culture
The BBC is told to impose a strict limit on the number of non-whites in its soap operas. LGBT characters are categorically banned. There is a new trend toward jingoist documentary making and revisionism about the British Empire. Most BBC programming harks back to a world that no longer exists and probably never did. The most popular TV entertainment show is Top Gear.
Widespread rioting and looting of Muslim areas breaks out when England are knocked out of the football World Cup by Iran. The Government, backed by a formerly prominent member of Ukip, labels all Arabs ‘cheats,’ not realising Iran is not in fact an Arab country.
An attempt to severely limit abortion causes a split in the Cabinet as some members see it as an effective way of controlling the poor. Homosexuality is outlawed and an attempt is made to spread so-called ‘Christian values’. Pornography is banned but a roaring underground trade is done in sadomasochistic productions.
In London, Saturday mornings see uniformed Right-wing militias parading in Hyde Park. The militias are regularly purged due to widespread homosexual activity. Animal rights charities report an increase in donations and the most recent census indicates a rise in the number of vegetarians.
Mr. Bloodworth,
My first quick read of Your Blog article gave the impression of satire, or possibly a synopsis for a TV series. A second reading makes me realize You are probably writing in earnest on this topic, lugubrious as it may be. But – and this is rather a large but – You are not taking this possible (if not right now probable) development seriously enough. Here are a few brief reasons:
1. So far the right-wing parties in Europe have by and large been content in staying outside governments – as long as they have an influence on the political agenda. (E.g.: The Danish Peoples’ Party, which for 10 years managed to turn mainstream Danish politics on immigration, law-and-order, culture and school issues etc. very far to to the right.) Thus, these parties can be an active player in government policy – and remain outside as “The voice of popular dissent”.
2. As seen above, the question of creating alliances are crucial for this brand of politicians.
They know jolly well that a thumping majority at the polls is not likely. Personally, as far as Britain is concerned, I would imagine some sort of (tacit) understanding with the hard-core Thatcherite Tory flank (which is already quite grumpy over Mssrs Cameron, Osborne and Clegg). So, if the Lib-Dems fall flat on their faces in the 2015 election – then is the time to worry. Provided, of course, that the UK fascists get their act together learning how to knot a tie and handle cutlery in a proper fashion…
3. We should bear in mind the pretty shrewd tactics deployed by NSDAP in the German elections 1930 and, more notably 1932. They managed to forge an alliance with the small right-wing parties of von Papen and Hugenberg -in spite of a setback to 31% compared to 40% 1930. Thus, the SDP and KPD were outnumbered in the Reicshtag. The rest is history…
4. How did this come about? “The economy, stupid!” – as Mr Clinton stated 1992. And Sir, we are there again; the possibility of a decade of IMF Chock-Treatment-austerity all over Europe and the United States might very well end up with a great variation of more or less Fascist- influenced governments across Euorope – and even an evangelist Bible-thumping teocracy in USA.
Conclusion: Well-being as You may have been Sir, I restate: You are not taking this seriously enough. In my opinion, The European Union is approaching the last years of the Weimar Republic in a dangerously fast pace. Well, how to handle this economical, political and social quagmire – and keep democracy (Demos Kratein) alive? That is the question we all face.
Cordially Yours,
Hans M Gabrielson, Bourdeaux
An interesting—and more than a little frightening—look at a possible future. The reference to “Top Gear” did give me a quick smirk, but I’m not sure what your point is re: vegetarianism in the last paragraph. Is it based on the popular canard that “Hitler was a vegetarian” or am I missing something?