Nigel Farage is attempting to turn Reform UK into a mass movement (Pic: @Nigel_Farage on X)
The world’s richest man—X owner Elon Musk—is boosting the forces of the far right in Britain ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Musk, a billionaire who will be in the Trump administration, has weaponised the horrors of child sexual exploitation (CSE) scandals (see right). He is pushing racist lies about migrants running “grooming gangs” and has called on Labour prime minister Keir Starmer to be imprisoned for a cover-up.
Labour, desperate to please the Trump administration, was desperately slow to hit back.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick—a man who almost led the Tory party, the official opposition—adopted the language of fascists. The CSE scandals saw authorities fail victims due to sexism, but he claimed the problem was “alien cultures”.
“The rule of law was abandoned to sustain the myth that diversity is our strength,” he said. “The scandal started with the onset of mass migration. Importing hundreds of thousands of people from alien cultures, who possess medieval attitudes towards women, brought us here. The foreign nationals responsible must be deported.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has defended Jenrick’s remarks. Badenoch and Co want to win back supporters from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party—the main beneficiary of Musk’s interventions.
Racist scapegoating of migrants and refugees is at the centre of Reform UK’s rise. This was on full display at the party’s regional conference in Leicester last week.
Farage railed against the “37,000 young men who crossed the English Channel last year” and painted a picture of migrants overwhelming Britain’s borders.
In reality, Britain has a below average number of asylum applicants compared to other European countries. But attacking refugees was just the thin end of the wedge for Farage. He continued, “The population explosion of ten million—more than ten million—over the past 20 years is the biggest contributor to our diminishing quality of life. We cannot get access to health care, our children and grandchildren cannot get onto the housing ladder, the traffic is impossible—nothing works anymore.”
In reality, it’s former stockbroker Farage’s mates in big business who are to blame. The rich amassed vast wealth and backed politicians who slashed and privatised the NHS, allowed landlords to jack up rents and left services to crumble.
Farage seized on Musk weaponising CSE cases to attack Labour and the Tories and stoke racism.
But there are tensions between Musk and Farage. Musk posted on X to his 210 million followers, “Vote Reform. It’s the only hope.” And he took to sharing posts from Reform UK MPs such as Richard Tice and Rupert Lowe—but also Nazi Tommy Robinson.
Farage was careful to distance himself from Robinson, who is trying to build a fascist street movement. “We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election. He’s not what we need,” he said.
Musk has criticised Farage for this decision, going as far as saying on Sunday, “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.” He wants to boost both Reform UK, an electoral far right party, and Robinson’s fascists on the streets.
The anti-racist movement, which has repeatedly pushed back Robinson, has made it harder for Farage to embrace fascists. On Monday Farage reiterated his position on Robinson. But he added, “Tommy Robinson campaigns against Islam. Much of what he says is right and, despite repeatedly breaking the law, he should not be held in solitary confinement.”
Labour’s own torrent of racist scapegoating of migrants and refugees has laid the ground for a growing far right. Starmer and home secretary Yvette Cooper’s language of crackdowns and secure borders plays up the lie that immigration is a problem. And then Reform UK can present itself as the only organisation that will do anything about it.
To push them back requires taking on the scapegoating of migrants and refugees. It means waging an argument in the trade union movement.
Anti-racists have to win the argument that, if we buy into the idea that immigration is a “problem”, it undermines the possibility of improving all working class people’s lives. First they come for “illegal” refugees in small boats. Then they come for your migrant or Muslim colleague. Giving an inch only plays to their divide and rule strategy.
Anti-racists have to build a broad-based campaign against Reform UK in the local elections and beyond.
Anti-racists across Britain must have Saturday 1 February in their calendar—the day supporters of fascist Tommy Robinson are mobilising in central London.
Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) has called a counter-protest. Samira Ali, national organiser for SUTR, told Socialist Worker, “The events of the new year show the far right threat is only accelerating.
“Tommy Robinson now has one of the most influential far right figures globally, Elon Musk, leading his defence. They are once again spreading the Islamophobic lies and moral panic about so-called ‘Pakistani grooming gangs’.
“The far right can use this to coalesce themselves. And Starmer’s inaction in standing up to the racism is making the situation more dangerous.”
Samira added, “The 1 February, just weeks after Trump’s inauguration, has to be another massive protest for the anti-racist movement in Britain to assert ourselves and stop the far right in their tracks.”
It is vital to take to the streets to confront the far right—we can’t let them roam around unopposed. To do so would boost their confidence and allow their numbers to grow. And mobilisations by fascists are happening as Labour ramps up state racism.
Last week a Labour MP said new counter-terror powers for border security will “be part of what makes a difference”. The statement by Mike Tapp, Labour MP for Dover and Deal, came only a day after three people died while trying to cross the Channel.
The powers will be granted as part of the government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. The bill is aimed at enabling more repressive measures, including “fast-tracking” deportations.
Labour is enabling the growth of racist ideas. But that doesn’t mean racists or fascists on the streets are destined to win.
As we saw last summer, the working class has the power to smash the fascists. Let’s aim to do that again on 1 February.
Activists protested a proposed burqa ban in the Welsh parliament
The neoliberal centre has created the political space for the RN to grow
Reform UK is dogged in scandal, but if its support declines, where do those voters go?
Eight unity demos across England
