This article was commissioned by GB News on 22 March 2024.
Far-left politics in the United Kingdom have existed since at least the 1840s, with at least one historian has identified the existence of a 'far left' in England as early as the 1640s. But is the far left on the rise in Britain?
No. The far left remains as irrelevant as they always have been, but what has changed is that they are becoming increasingly vocal and increasingly aggressive. It started with groups like Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and Black Lives Matter, who attempt to mask their more sinister intentions with a cloak of social justice, are becoming more vocal and more prolific. But they are still on the fringe of politics in Britain and show no signs of changing.
We have all seen the acts of these groups, XR activists have created all kinds of public disruption, including blocking road access for ambulances in the heart of London, and disrupting commuter journeys in the capital. Greenpeace have scaled the Prime Ministers house, and Just Stop Oil are obsessed with destroying art. The anti-democratic behaviour and disrespect for the rule of law, displayed by these groups has a huge part to play in undermining important social causes such as environmental protection.
But with the current situation in Gaza there is now a dangerous and volatile alliance between fringe far left and Islamist groups at pro-Palestine marches across the UK, creating a melting pot of extremism. The Government’s own independent adviser on political violence and disruption, Lord Walney, has called on ministers to tackle this growing threat because they truly do threaten our democracy.
And what is done at these protests to prevent the extremists? Nothing. While the debate went on in Parliament on the SNPs ceasefire motion, protesters gathered outside chanting From the River to the Sea and even projecting those words onto the walls of Parliament. Those words have been described by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism as “genocidal language” and while they chanted it unrepentantly, they were watched on by dozens of police officers who stood by and let it happen.
But what is also clear is that the far left has no real electoral ambitions. Yes, George Galloway has won election to Parliament under “shock” circumstances three times now, but the reality is that the man is not far left, he is an out and out populist, promising the voters what they want to hear and when he fails to deliver and gets voted out, he will drift off back into the ether. The real far left have no desire to maintain our democratic institutions, they are more than willing to break the law, intimidate MPs and hijack legitimate protests in order to get their way.
But do they really need to aim for elected office when the “soft left” Labour Party are more than willing to serve as their whipping boys? A number of their elected representatives seem perfectly
happy to condone or even endorse the actions of these groups emboldening them and giving them political cover to continue. You just have to look at Starmer’s decision to restore the whip to Andy McDonald to see that the party has not changed under his leadership. Time and time again they will side with the far left for fear of being accused of turning their backs on social justice, but that is simply not a sustainable position. These groups should be isolated, denied the chance to gain political respectability and prevented from infiltrating legitimate causes for their own ends. The Prime Minister made this clear in his speech on the steps of Downing Street, and it is only by keeping him in Downing Street that we will stop Starmer letting the far left take residence through the back door.
