Words and photos by Richie Hancox
With Brexit debates around the country beginning to reach their peak and the potential of a no-deal Brexit on the cards, attention has turned to the re-emergence of the Far Right within British politics.
The Leave campaign focused largely on sovereignty, immigration and taking control of our borders. Key members of the campaign warned of the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
using the chaos of the refugee crisis to send their ‘infiltrators’, as Nigel Farage wrote in the Telegraph in 2015.
This rhetoric, along with inflammatory imagery used during the Leave campaign, has been blamed for aiding the right wing to recruit new members. Adding to this is the mainstream media’s negative portrayal of refugees, along with the use of terms such as “take control of our borders” and the assumption that increased mass migration to Europe from 2015 onwards would result in a
relaxation of our own border controls due to EU rules.
With the European referendum won, Farage stepped down as leader of UKIP. Under his leadership the party had gained momentum, including its first MP.
But with Farage’s departure in 2016, the party began to fracture. After a number of leaders in quick succession, its only MP also left the party to stand as an independent. But a new UKIP is now
forming.
Gerrard Batten took over as leader in 2018, after an uncontested party election. Batten has been blamed for embracing the Far Right. His appearance at events deemed to be on the extreme right
wing by the press has only fuelled these accusations, along with comments he has made about Muslims, calling Islam a “death cult”.
Ash Sarkar, senior editor at Novara Media, puts some of the blame on the media itself. “The politics of the Far Right have been reaffirmed and validated by media coverage, particularly of Muslims,” she told the Brexit Bulletin yesterday.
“You’re most likely to see Muslims in the news, quite frankly, if we have raped someone or blown someone up. Those images that are incredibly negative have become one of the main ways in which people that live in very un-diverse neighbourhoods understand the presence of Muslims, and South Asians more generally in this country.”
With UKIP seeing a membership surge in the last 12 months, reportedly of mainly younger members, the party is becoming mainstream once more, and there is a real possibility this will
continue post Brexit.
Adam Jogee said that the Brexit referendum result has made it easier for racist views to be heard, “Brexit has created a place where people feel they can say what they want. People who had kept their mouth shut a very long time, now feel that they can talk and share their bigotry and nastiness all over again.” 
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