Searchlight poll finds huge support for far right 'if they gave up violence'

[oldironside]

"Huge numbers of Britons would support an anti-immigration English nationalist party if it was not associated with violence and fascist imagery, according to the largest survey into identity and extremism conducted in the UK.

A Populus poll found that 48% of the population would consider supporting a new anti-immigration party committed to challenging Islamist extremism, and would support policies to make it statutory for all public buildings to fly the flag of St George or the union flag."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/27/support-poll-support-far-right

Food for thought indeed, although the outright rejection of violence is cheering.

[non sociopath skin]

1. There is a massive job of education to be done here.

Unfortunately, those who hold the educational purse strings still find playing the immigrant card a respectable election strategy.

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

2. As I just said on GD, this is scary but not surprising

This isn't new. Enoch Powell was whipping up anti-immigrant and frankly racist sentiment in Britain over 40 years ago. Polls about three years ago showed that 50% of Brits supported the 'voluntary' repatriation of immigrants, and 60% said that we had too many immigrants. And this was before the economic crisis.

There are, I think, two main causes of such sentiments.

One is economic, and as such likely to get worse. All of the three main parties have moved to the economic right over the years, as both result and cause of a decline in the influence of the unions, and an increase in the role of the banking and financial industries. The current government is frighteningly`right-wing on economic issues, with an obsession with cuts. Economic desperation, and a sense of being unrepresented, can lead people into the arms of RW 'populist' parties that promise easy solutions.

The second is a long-term tendency of the tabloid press to whip up xenophobic sentiments, and to scapegoat immigrants (as well as those who don't fit 1950s social norms, and most of all at the moment, benefit claimants) as the source of all the country's evils.

[LeftishBrit]

3. Here's a link to the executive summary of the report

http://www.fearandhope.org.uk/executive-summary/

[T_i_B]

4. That sounds about right

There are a lot of people out there who have some sympathy with the far right's agenda, but don't consider giving any support to the BNP or the EDL.

And yes, the two biggest reasons are that the far right's continued defense of Hitler, Moseley et al and their fondness for a bit of aggro. Both of which are very offputting to the sort of person who sits at home reading the Daily Fail, proud of Britain winning WWII and wanting the quiet life without any yobbos going round putting bricks through windows etc.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. And yet, as someone else has pointed out, UKIP seems to fit the bill

but they don't get significant votes in Westminster election. Their manifesto says:

"· End uncontrolled mass immigration
· Introduce an immediate five-year freeze on immigration for permanent settlement
· Regain control of Britain’s borders to stop foreign criminals from entering our country
· End abuse of the UK asylum system and expel Islamic extremists
· Introduce a strict new points-based visa system and time-limited work permits
· Triple the number of UK Borders Agency staff engaged in controlling immigration (to 30,000)"

I suppose you could say they all vote Tory instead, because they know the Tories might win seats. But, in that case, this probably isn't particularly notable until some form of proportional representation comes in.

[T_i_B]

6. I think the issue for UKIP...

...is that they are viewed by many as primarily an anti-EU party, enticing for many at European elections but less so the rest of the time.

The anti-immigrant gumph has increased over time with UKIP, to the point where at the last election their candidate in my constituency was claiming that the main reason why they wanted to leave the EU was so they could impose a draconian immigration policy.

To be honest then UKIP platform at the last election was more then a little bit loopy.

[LeftishBrit]

7. A lot of UKIP members are ex-Tories who think the current party isn't RW enough for them

Many of these are anti-immigrant in general and anti-Muslim in particular. Others are just plain old RW nuts. Lord Monckton, one of the last politically active hereditary peers, and a former advisor to Maggie Thatcher is perhaps the example. He is best known for climate change denialism, but also is generally a 'British teabagger' type, who actually has addressed Tea Party meetings in America, and has said of his aims for British politics: "leave the European Union, close down 90 per cent of government services and shift power away from the atheistic, humanistic government and into the hands of families and individuals". He is also a quack, who claims on the UKIP website to have developed a broad-spectrum cure for infectious diseases, including 'Graves’ Disease, multiple sclerosis, influenza, and herpes simplex VI'.

Compared to him, Farage seems almost sane; but he is still a virulent anti-immigrant bigot and generally far-RW; at one point he said that all three of the main parties are 'social democratic'.

[T_i_B]

8. The global warming denialism is a big thing with UKIP at present

It's got to the point where I don't think that you could support UKIP if you did believe in proper proven science.

UKIP has always been to the right of the Tories but it's been getting even more extreme in recent times. It's always been anti-immigrant but that gumph has become more central to UKIP over the years.