Reject the Politics of Fear

The United Kingdom is far from united. English nationalism is rampant in the mainstream media and among right wing politicians.

This nationalism is rooted in fear, not in a love for England. Those with the loudest voices on this issue are those that don’t pay their taxes and aggressively seek to impoverish the poorest and most vulnerable in our country.

The campaign of fear that was decisive in the Scottish independence referendum last year opened the door to even more extreme xenophobia and fear mongering from those who are looking to preserve their wealth and status.

Boris Johnson compared SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon to King Herod; The Conservative party began a campaign to delegitimise Scottish Nationalist influence in Westminster as soon as the ‘No’ to independence was secured; The Sun has produced a mock-up of Sturgeon as Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball; and listen to the laughter in this clip at the mention of the name McSporran in the Commons.

The right are looking to secure a Tory-UKIP-DUP alliance for the next half a decade. They want to silence the voices of reason and progression coming from the Greens, Plaid Cymru, The SNP and Labour. To this end, they claim to be the saviours of the UK, but in fact they are tearing it apart. Inequality, zero hour contracts, anti-immigrant propaganda, economic decline, unaffordable housing and unaffordable education characterise a UK led by David Cameron. 

This situation is built on the lie of reducing the deficit via a punitive policy called ‘austerity’ – the right wing code word for ‘impoverishment’.

This takes place while a supposedly serious media devote themselves to the birth of a ‘royal’ baby – we are in serious trouble. Scratch the surface and you see an establishment racked with fear. They fear their own population. If there was equivalent of the SNP in the North of England they would clean up there too, on the back of an anti-establishment, anti-poverty policy.

Ambivalence towards the Scots from our privileged rulers and elites easily extends to Wales, Northern Ireland, the North, inner London etc. But it is progressive politics that still represents the majority. Despite five years of unquestioning right wing propaganda and tepid opposition politics, the Tories are still incapable of winning an election (they haven’t won one since 1992); on Thursday let’s do what we have to do to stop them and their allies denigrating our country further. 

Tom Charles is a freelance editor and writer in North Kensington. He blogs at urbandandylondon.wordpress.com