Political violence is returning to the UK, erupting from the morass of online conspiracy and extremism. There is sometimes a Blairite elusiveness to the way Khan talks – the radio-ready soundbites, the return to clichés, the genial caution in the phrasing of his answers. But when we talk about the loss of the rational center, he leans in and interrupts. “Look, Joe Cox and I are friends,” he said. “She’s one of my best friends.”
In 2016, Cox – the Labor MP for Batley and Spone North – was murdered by a white supremacist who subscribed to the Great Replacement theory. In 2021, Conservative MP David Amess was murdered by an Islamic fundamentalist who became radicalized online. “I have a protection group. I live with the consequences of this violence every day,” Khan said. “I’m not allowed to be intimidated by these threats because that’s what they want. They want to scare me.”
Khan insists he is Optimist. Despite the “hysteria” and culture wars, he believes there is a middle ground where people can be convinced with facts and conflicts can be resolved through discussion. He noted that Biden defeated Trump in 2020; moderate Emmanuel Macron defeated a far-right challenge from France’s Marine Le Pen.
On the other hand, Islamophobic politician Geert Wilders is on the verge of taking power in the Netherlands after winning the most votes in November’s election and running on a nativist, anti-immigration, climate-sceptic platform. Trump is on the rise again in the United States, and the British government has made it clear that it plans to redouble its far-right policies in response to the 2024 election.
In fact, the UK government seems to have taken inspiration from the ULEZ spin cycle. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announces a raft of “common sense” policies including scrapping the fictitious “meat tax” and ruling out forcing households to separate recycling into seven bins – this It was never seriously considered.In September, Sunak announced that he “The war on motorists slams on the brakes,” Speed limits and traffic reduction measures are in place before scrapping the net zero emissions target, including delaying a planned phase-out of the sale of new diesel and petrol cars in the UK. in January, protector Government ministers have cited the 15-minute urban conspiracy around freedom of movement when setting transport policy.
Fearing a backlash, Khan’s Labor Party, which is likely to defeat the Conservatives at this year’s general election, shelved climate spending targets after distancing itself from ultra-low emission zone policy. “All political parties except the Greens have embraced misinformation so it becomes normalized,” Khan said. “My concern about tackling climate change or air pollution or green issues like these is that politicians might get sidelined because they’ve learned the wrong lessons.”
It’s hard not to read this as a victory for bullshit. Populist politicians have adopted the language of conspiracy theories – the old Etonians and Oxbridge graduates who make up the bulk of Britain’s ruling class are now complaining about elite control. In February, former cabinet minister and Tory figure Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg gave a speech denouncing “the international cabal and the Kuangos telling hundreds of millions of people how to live”. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss joins Steve Bannon to attack the “deep state” she claims allowed her disastrous 44 days in office Post-fall. Lee Anderson, a prominent Conservative MP who served as the party’s deputy chairman until January, said in a television interview that Islamists had “taken control of Khan and taken control of London”. Anderson was eventually suspended from the party.