During the mid-nineteen-seventies Harold Wilson, succeeded by Jim Callaghan in 1976, tried to enforce such moderate socialist policies and was forced to retract them, satisfying nobody, least of all the trade unions, leading to the rise of the fascist National Front (NF) on the streets.
Today we are witnessing the rise both electorally and on the streets of the ‘Reform UK’ party and they appear to be winning in both theatres. ‘Reform UK’ are led by a very convincing Nigel Farage who, unlike his predecessors, does not come out, at least publicly, with language which could be equated with fascism. He does not use derogatory terms to describe ‘immigrants’ and people of different skin colour as those in the NF, and later the British National Party (BNP), did. In fact ‘Reform UK’ has among their ranks people of Asian origin who hold high office in their organisation at least as long as it serves the purpose of the party to be seen in such a multi-cultural light. Once this façade has served its purpose could this all change?
Farage has been clever and opportunist in taking advantage of Keir Starmer’s adoption of right-wing policies by stealing traditional labour socialistic clothing. Knowing the electorate have little if any idea of political ideology Farage can steal, without notice, traditional Labour Party policies such as nationalisation of certain industries like the Scunthorpe Steel Works and, on the surface, defending the Welfare State. A traditional Labour policy which comes to mind is the ’Reform UK’ support for the nationalisation of the water service providers and energy, Gas and Electric services. Farage is very vocal in his policies of nationalisation of these industries, and for a second confusion between an oration spoke by Farage in 2025 and Clement Attlee back in 1945 could be forgiven. The difference is when Attlee spoke of nationalising British industries he also aimed towards the ‘pluralist’ system of industrial relations involving regular talks between the trade unions and management with the understanding that ‘class conflict’ was probably inevitable but not insurmountable. The object was to minimise such conflicts certainly in the newly nationalised industries. This system of industrial relations was torn up by the far-right, in parliamentary terms, British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher who herself, I believe, privately held certain fascist views and who hated all aspects of the post-war political consensus in Britain including the ‘pluralist’ system of industrial relations.
Nigel Farage’s version of nationalisation is highly unlikely to include trade union participation in influencing decisions in these industries and certainly not an acceptance of ‘class conflict being inevitable but not insurmountable’. The existence of trade unions, certainly as we know them, under a ‘Reform UK’ Government would be questionable. Farage wants what he terms a “sensible” relationship with the unions to “prevent the need for strikes” and this very ambiguous description of policies could mean a multitude of things, perhaps having Reform people at the helm of union leadership?
Farage has been clever and opportunist in taking advantage of Keir Starmer’s adoption of right-wing policies by stealing traditional labour socialistic clothing. Knowing the electorate have little if any idea of political ideology Farage can steal, without notice, traditional Labour Party policies such as nationalisation of certain industries like the Scunthorpe Steel Works and, on the surface, defending the Welfare State. A traditional Labour policy which comes to mind is the ’Reform UK’ support for the nationalisation of the water service providers and energy, Gas and Electric services. Farage is very vocal in his policies of nationalisation of these industries, and for a second confusion between an oration spoke by Farage in 2025 and Clement Attlee back in 1945 could be forgiven. The difference is when Attlee spoke of nationalising British industries he also aimed towards the ‘pluralist’ system of industrial relations involving regular talks between the trade unions and management with the understanding that ‘class conflict’ was probably inevitable but not insurmountable. The object was to minimise such conflicts certainly in the newly nationalised industries. This system of industrial relations was torn up by the far-right, in parliamentary terms, British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher who herself, I believe, privately held certain fascist views and who hated all aspects of the post-war political consensus in Britain including the ‘pluralist’ system of industrial relations.
Nigel Farage’s version of nationalisation is highly unlikely to include trade union participation in influencing decisions in these industries and certainly not an acceptance of ‘class conflict being inevitable but not insurmountable’. The existence of trade unions, certainly as we know them, under a ‘Reform UK’ Government would be questionable. Farage wants what he terms a “sensible” relationship with the unions to “prevent the need for strikes” and this very ambiguous description of policies could mean a multitude of things, perhaps having Reform people at the helm of union leadership?
Adolf Hitler during his election campaigns pretended to court the working-class and once in power one of the first moves he made was to close down the trade unions, placing armed SA (Sturmabteilung) men outside their offices and making strikes illegal, punishable by a long spell in a concentration camp. He replaced the ‘free trade unions’ with the Nazi controlled ‘labour front’ which ‘dissuaded’ workers from taking traditional industrial action! In 1936 Oswald Mosley founder and leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF) visited Hitler in Germany. He married Dianna Mitford at the home of Nazi propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels, with Hitler as Guest of Honour. Mosley sought an alliance with Mussolini and Hitler and openly voiced support for the Nazis' anti-Semitism. Does Farage share some of Oswald Mosley’s political objectives? This is a question people should at least ponder before giving him and his party the vote!
It is all a façade by ‘Reform UK’ to entice Labour voters away from the Labour Party and Keir Starmer is playing right into their hands. Starmer’s abandonment of traditional Labour Party values has left a vacuum for Farage to temporarily occupy. The reality is ‘Reform UK’ do not wish to be a friend of the Welfare State and particularly the National Health Service (NHS) which, according to Labour, ‘Reform UK’ would “scrap the NHS” should they ever be in a position to do so. What is left of the British Labour Party’s left-wing should be rallying the government to turn course and begin re-enacting policies expected from a Labour Government. The problem Labour MPs face here is this; any of them who push in a left-wing direction, Starmer has the whip removed from them. Effectively this expels such MPs from the party with Rachel Maskel, MP for York, becoming the latest victim of Starmer’s right-wing approach. It is not only the Labour Party whose voters Farage is gunning for, the Conservatives are an equally open target for him to aim at. Nigel Farage, a former Tory Thatcherite, is finding it easy to entice the right-wing of the Conservative voters.
One aspect of fascist ideology which is pivotal and that is turning the country into a business on a maximise profits basis. One point Farage and ‘Reform UK’ often argue is there are not enough ‘business minded people in government’. One of their Asian leading members, Zia Yusuf, from Reform UK's ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, said; “not one of the Labour Cabinet has had a job of any significance in private business”, suggesting only business people should be in Cabinet! Perhaps, in their eyes, only business people should get the vote?! This form of corporatism is central to fascist thinking though Farage is careful to avoid the word ‘corporatism’. During the Nazi years in Germany the government consisted of such business giants as Krupps Armaments directors, Siemens board members, I.G Farben and many others alongside leading officers of the SS. Hitler turned Nazi Germany into a huge profit-making machine using slave labour who were worked to death usually in the armaments industries and the huge theft of Jewish property, especially Art. Like all businesses, opposition like trade unions are not wanted and, in the case of fascism, must go! If you are a trade unionist and thinking of voting ‘Reform UK’ think very, very, very hard.
The idea of business people holding office was reinforced by ‘Reform UK’ MP for Runcorn and Helsby, Sarah Pochin, who supports the idea of business people running the country. The party won the by-election in May overturning Labours 14,700 majority in Runcorn and Helsby which should sound the alarm bells for Starmer. Another aim of ‘Reform UK’ is to reform the prison system stating; “we should involve the army in opening new prisons”. The Runcorn and Helsby MP continued; “old MoD property should be used as prisons with soldiers as guards”. Such set ups would be more like the early Concentration Camps in the Third Reich than the prisons of a liberal democracy! When in 2016 the far-right candidate, Donald Trump, was elected as President of the United States Nigel Farage was the first politician to board an airplane to the US to congratulate him. In 2020 Trump was voted out of office to be replaced by Joe Biden something which Trump refused to accept. The former President orchestrated an attempted coup using his fledgling private army, the ‘Proud Boys,’ to overturn the election result. This attempted coup by Trump was not too far removed from Hitlers failed Putsch of 1923 in Munich! The similarities between Mosley’s visit to Hitler and Farage’s trip to congratulate Trump are plain to see. Perhaps Farage shares some of Mosley’s ideological aims?
A typical fascist tactic is to whip up racial hatred on the streets then retreat to the safety of the elected chambers and condemn such violence they themselves have largely orchestrated. Such an incident occurred in Essex on Thursday 17th July after an asylum seeker was arrested and charged with sexual assault. He was taken into police custody and at this point a ‘Reform UK’ councillor reportedly addressed a crowd inciting racial hatred in their innuendos hiding behind the lines of ‘common sense’ sounding arguments. These innuendos were easily dissected by ‘Reform UKs’ own agents within the crowd to then transmit to the less intelligent thugs who made up the numbers. Such a twin track strategy of preaching law and order in the chambers and orchestrating violence on the streets was used by both Mussolini and Hitler with devastating results. Are ‘Reform UK’ trying to emulate such strategies of nineteen twenties and thirties Italy and Germany?
‘Reform UK’ have had many successes in local elections as well as the last British General Election. According to YouGov “Reform would win most seats in a general election” if that election in Britian were to happen now. Fortunately such an election is not due until 2029, though Keir Starmer is doing his best to make a mess of things despite his huge majority which could force a national poll earlier! ‘Reform UK’ have four MPs, Lee Anderson, Nigel Farage, Richard Tice, and Sarah Pochin, and two - Rupert Lowe and James McMurdock - who were elected and are now under suspension. Not a great deal it could be argued but the frightening point is the last local elections in May they won council seats from both Labour and the Conservatives with Sarah Pochin winning Runcorn and Helsby in a by-election overturning Labour's relatively large 14,700 majority. Nigel Farage described the 1st May elections as a “great day” for his party. What perhaps the British electorate should ask themselves is this. If the ‘Reform UK’ party were to be elected to government, would the electorate after five years have the opportunity to vote them out? A very, very relevant question given the nature of their policies.
It is all a façade by ‘Reform UK’ to entice Labour voters away from the Labour Party and Keir Starmer is playing right into their hands. Starmer’s abandonment of traditional Labour Party values has left a vacuum for Farage to temporarily occupy. The reality is ‘Reform UK’ do not wish to be a friend of the Welfare State and particularly the National Health Service (NHS) which, according to Labour, ‘Reform UK’ would “scrap the NHS” should they ever be in a position to do so. What is left of the British Labour Party’s left-wing should be rallying the government to turn course and begin re-enacting policies expected from a Labour Government. The problem Labour MPs face here is this; any of them who push in a left-wing direction, Starmer has the whip removed from them. Effectively this expels such MPs from the party with Rachel Maskel, MP for York, becoming the latest victim of Starmer’s right-wing approach. It is not only the Labour Party whose voters Farage is gunning for, the Conservatives are an equally open target for him to aim at. Nigel Farage, a former Tory Thatcherite, is finding it easy to entice the right-wing of the Conservative voters.
One aspect of fascist ideology which is pivotal and that is turning the country into a business on a maximise profits basis. One point Farage and ‘Reform UK’ often argue is there are not enough ‘business minded people in government’. One of their Asian leading members, Zia Yusuf, from Reform UK's ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, said; “not one of the Labour Cabinet has had a job of any significance in private business”, suggesting only business people should be in Cabinet! Perhaps, in their eyes, only business people should get the vote?! This form of corporatism is central to fascist thinking though Farage is careful to avoid the word ‘corporatism’. During the Nazi years in Germany the government consisted of such business giants as Krupps Armaments directors, Siemens board members, I.G Farben and many others alongside leading officers of the SS. Hitler turned Nazi Germany into a huge profit-making machine using slave labour who were worked to death usually in the armaments industries and the huge theft of Jewish property, especially Art. Like all businesses, opposition like trade unions are not wanted and, in the case of fascism, must go! If you are a trade unionist and thinking of voting ‘Reform UK’ think very, very, very hard.
The idea of business people holding office was reinforced by ‘Reform UK’ MP for Runcorn and Helsby, Sarah Pochin, who supports the idea of business people running the country. The party won the by-election in May overturning Labours 14,700 majority in Runcorn and Helsby which should sound the alarm bells for Starmer. Another aim of ‘Reform UK’ is to reform the prison system stating; “we should involve the army in opening new prisons”. The Runcorn and Helsby MP continued; “old MoD property should be used as prisons with soldiers as guards”. Such set ups would be more like the early Concentration Camps in the Third Reich than the prisons of a liberal democracy! When in 2016 the far-right candidate, Donald Trump, was elected as President of the United States Nigel Farage was the first politician to board an airplane to the US to congratulate him. In 2020 Trump was voted out of office to be replaced by Joe Biden something which Trump refused to accept. The former President orchestrated an attempted coup using his fledgling private army, the ‘Proud Boys,’ to overturn the election result. This attempted coup by Trump was not too far removed from Hitlers failed Putsch of 1923 in Munich! The similarities between Mosley’s visit to Hitler and Farage’s trip to congratulate Trump are plain to see. Perhaps Farage shares some of Mosley’s ideological aims?
A typical fascist tactic is to whip up racial hatred on the streets then retreat to the safety of the elected chambers and condemn such violence they themselves have largely orchestrated. Such an incident occurred in Essex on Thursday 17th July after an asylum seeker was arrested and charged with sexual assault. He was taken into police custody and at this point a ‘Reform UK’ councillor reportedly addressed a crowd inciting racial hatred in their innuendos hiding behind the lines of ‘common sense’ sounding arguments. These innuendos were easily dissected by ‘Reform UKs’ own agents within the crowd to then transmit to the less intelligent thugs who made up the numbers. Such a twin track strategy of preaching law and order in the chambers and orchestrating violence on the streets was used by both Mussolini and Hitler with devastating results. Are ‘Reform UK’ trying to emulate such strategies of nineteen twenties and thirties Italy and Germany?
‘Reform UK’ have had many successes in local elections as well as the last British General Election. According to YouGov “Reform would win most seats in a general election” if that election in Britian were to happen now. Fortunately such an election is not due until 2029, though Keir Starmer is doing his best to make a mess of things despite his huge majority which could force a national poll earlier! ‘Reform UK’ have four MPs, Lee Anderson, Nigel Farage, Richard Tice, and Sarah Pochin, and two - Rupert Lowe and James McMurdock - who were elected and are now under suspension. Not a great deal it could be argued but the frightening point is the last local elections in May they won council seats from both Labour and the Conservatives with Sarah Pochin winning Runcorn and Helsby in a by-election overturning Labour's relatively large 14,700 majority. Nigel Farage described the 1st May elections as a “great day” for his party. What perhaps the British electorate should ask themselves is this. If the ‘Reform UK’ party were to be elected to government, would the electorate after five years have the opportunity to vote them out? A very, very relevant question given the nature of their policies.
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| Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist. |
They have 4 seats out of 650 in the House of Commons, NONE in the House of Lords, Zero in Scotland, 1 in Wales, 2 mayors in England, 857 councilors out of a possible 18,645, lead 12 councils out of 370...
ReplyDeleteI only mention this to note on the piece and see what gains they get after next May's UK General election Caoimhin. Let's check back in on this next year.