At a recent event on the ‘future of the Right’, former MP Steve Baker emphatically declared that ‘freedom’ was the core value the Right should champion. This statement was met with applause and cheers from everyone in attendance. Who doesn’t want freedom? It is the cornerstone of our liberal democracy, and only a few discontents within British society would argue that freedom is not a vital tenet of our way of life.
Liberalising planning laws and controlling immigration were also raised as key topics for the Conservative Party to address if it hopes to regain the trust of right-wing voters. However, the scale of the problems facing Britain is immense, and many feel that addressing housing and immigration alone will not reverse the country’s rapid decline.
Those on the Right feel this decline deeply; it pains us when we watch the news. It’s not just about our struggling economy; we see the social fabric of Britain fraying. We witness increasing violence on our streets, such as this weekend’s appalling far-right riots. In London, pro-Palestine marches have at times turned violent, and mass demonstrations for various causes are almost a weekly occurrence. We also saw significant BLM protests in 2020, which resulted in the defacement of the cenotaph and Churchill’s statue, and the toppling of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol by a mob.
This violence appears to have reached fever pitch. On both sides, people seem to have lost faith in the police and become more entrenched and polarised in their worldviews. Fake news fuels hatred and spreads lies. Britain feels like a powder keg next to a bonfire.
If freedom is the core value the Right should uphold, we must also consider the question: ‘freedom to what end?’ More needs to be said about how our conception of liberty and freedom has influenced our political and civic participation, leading to our current societal woes. English liberty has allowed for a pluralism of opinion, diversity, and freedom of thought. This has been the foundation of British patriotism, celebrating our different cultures, distinct identities, and belief systems. It is a patriotism built not on uniformity but on respectful coexistence, underpinned by the rule of law, democracy, and, of course, the Royal Family.
However, it seems that many on the British Right no longer desire this kind of patriotism, if they ever did. They want a French-style civic patriotism, combined with the Monarchy. This vision of the future of the Right seeks a single national identity based on assimilation into a set of established British cultural values. Its adherents want migrants to assimilate or ‘integrate’. This raises questions about the meaning of freedom and liberty in the UK, and whether the Conservative Party will continue to support multiculturalism or foster a new civic patriotism.
The surge in support for Reform UK cannot simply be attributed to anger over the numbers of illegal and legal immigrants to the UK. It also reflects anger at the impact of immigration on society, particularly regarding sectarianism. This sectarianism was evident in the election, where a new cohort of independent MPs were elected on pro-Palestine platforms. Gaza and pan-Arabism have gained a significant foothold in parts of the UK that were once Labour strongholds. The new MP for Blackburn illustrates the views held by voters in these constituencies. He said at a rally in 2014, in a reference to encouraging a boycott of Israel: ‘They let Gaza burn, they hate Gaza… Now let’s make Israel burn, let’s make Israel burn. We will stop their funding…’
Reform UK view multiculturalism as a failure for this reason, and this argument has resonated with millions of voters.
Reform have not only outflanked the Conservatives on immigration policy concerning numbers, but they have also tapped into a sentiment that multiculturalism is not working. This will be a difficult issue for the Conservatives to navigate if they wish to regain voters. Why?
Opposition to multiculturalism challenges not just longstanding policy, but longstanding conceptions of freedom, liberty, and Britishness held by many conservatives. The Conservatives will need to establish not only a coherent economic and immigration policy but also define in terms with wide appeal what it means to be British and what patriotism is in the UK – without losing touch with our liberal traditions.
David Cameron’s ‘muscular liberalism’ aimed to address this issue. It was seen as the solution to make multiculturalism work, by upholding key institutions and values to combat extremism and strengthen national identity. But clearly, it has not succeeded.
Perhaps the missing ingredient is secularism, to defeat sectarianism – yet this is another difficult choice that would disrupt centuries of British tradition. It would involve removing Bishops from the House of Lords, fully separating church and state, establishing secular public schools and ending public funding for religious events.
The question is whether the Conservative Party will allow Reform to lead the anti-multiculturalism charge at great electoral risk, or whether it can combine British liberty with the benefits of civic patriotism, underpinned by secular institutions, a common national identity, assimilation, and integration to eradicate sectarianism in the UK.
Muscular liberalism needs some enhancement, and an honest conversation about what it means to be a British citizen in the 21st century. Should the Conservative Party fail to rise to the challenge, the right will remain divided, and our social divisions will continue to widen.
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