Race to the far-right: inside the Tories' battle to out-Reform Farage's gang

The 1994 Simpsons classic 'Bart Gets an Elephant' pokes fun at both US parties. "We hate life and ourselves, we can't govern" proclaim the Democrats, a message that Keir Starmer and his party must have resonated with. The episode was presumably also playing in the Reform and Tory spin rooms this month, provoking hysterical cries of "write that down, write that down" when the Republican admission of "we're just plain evil" flashed up onscreen. Why, why, why, then, is British politics like this?

European political discourse has been on a slippery slope toward complete Americanisation since the Second World War, but never more transparently than in the last decade. Cameron and May were disasters - their austerity policies killed thousands, and made millions poorer - but today's right-wing are noticeably different.

Polite statesmanlike mannerisms have been gutted by US culture war jargon. Ask any pre-2015 MP what "woke" means, and you'd be met with bewilderment. No party symbolises this shift more than the Musk-backed cabal that is Reform UK. Surging to the forefront of all British reactionaries, their Trump-style attacks on trans people, migrants, and 'political correctness' are a far-cry from Theresa May's comparatively inclusive LGBTQ+ policy.

Reform's rise has sent Conservative Party HQ into a rapture state. Having already seen its grip on Westminster obliterated by the mild challenge of Labour's most spineless leadership in decades, it can't have been fun for new Tory top dog Kemi Badenoch to watch as Farage, Anderson, and Tice gobbled up their support.

The North West Essex MP's not-so-brilliant counter-strategy has been a desperate dive to the dark depths of the right-wing. Eager to follow Reform into the pits of hell, Badenoch's cabinet have spent their first six months firing off a mish-mash of 'anti-woke' sounding policy. 'Owning da libz' is now the official party line of one of the most successful organisations in the history of democracy.

Attacks on 'multiculturalism' from Tory talking heads in recent weeks are right out of Farage's UKIP handbook, as are the party's relentless attacks on Trans people and the nebulous spectre of 'wokeness'.

It is, admittedly, very easy to laugh when Lee Anderson attempts to dismiss feminism by seemingly claiming he went 'over the top' at The Somme. It's easy to look at Badenoch and chuckle at her desperate attempts to be liked by Musk and his Twitter incels. But behind this façade lies fascism, and the morally bankrupt husk of Labour is the only thing holding it back.

If the return of Trump to the White House teaches the left anything, it's that flip-flopping centrist campaigning does nothing in the face of the far-right. Kamala aimed to win over Republicans and fence-sitters, but platforming the likes of Liz Cheney and a refusal to even utter the word 'Palestine' killed any enthusiasm among a left-wing base that could have defeated Donald.

Only a refreshed left can defeat a resurgent right. Research has shown that the majority of UK residents support progressive policy such as wealth taxes, nationalisation and rent control. The right-wing have no issue charging ever-further into their extremes, so why are so-called 'left-wing' politicians so afraid of showing similar ambition?