How does a British far-right politician win election to the European Parliament? By playing to white, working-class anger and by cultivating a narrative of brave resistance against the establishment. That, at least, is the campaign strategy of Tommy Robinson, a populist candidate running in the European parliamentary elections on May 23.
Robinson, who previously led and then abandoned the far-right English Defence League, has been a familiar face on the British far-right circuit for a decade. He also has a number of criminal convictions.
But this weekend, Robinson again showed why he remains a political force to be reckoned with. Attending a campaign rally in Oldham, Greater Manchester, Robinson and his supporters were confronted by a large gang of British Asian protesters. Mixing video from those protesters and from his own supporters, Robinson’s campaign team released a YouTube video which cultivates two beliefs: that Robinson is a valiant politician standing against an extreme wing of British Muslims who oppose cultural integration, and that the government is failing to protect Robinson’s democratic rights and the safety of his supporters.
Any editing aside, the video makes clear that Greater Manchester Police failed to separate the two protest groups and that at least some of the anti-Robinson protesters did engage in rioting against his supporters. As of Monday afternoon, British time, Robinson’s video has nearly 149,000 views on YouTube.
Here we see what makes Robinson different from most politicians of his ilk: his political instincts. I strongly oppose most of what Robinson says, but I understand why he has the support he does. He credibly presents himself as a victim of state oppression and undemocratic anti-British elements. Robinson also benefits from his natural working-class charisma. He knows how to glad-hand with prospective voters and their families, and he bends their ears with his working-class accent.
Robinson also benefits from a media bias that leads supporters to believe he is the victim. Most of the mainstream reporting on the Oldham incident, for example, unduly ignores the role that the protesters played in attacking Robinson’s supporters. This allows Robinson to mobilize the resentment of white, working-class communities. He seems to suffer their same ignominies and will speak up for them in turn. This allows Robinson to run a campaign that offers very few policy specifics but a lot of emotion.
Again, I don’t believe Robinson’s is ultimately a just narrative: White, working-class communities in Britain need to look in the mirror before blaming others for their plight. Cultures of welfare dependence and alcoholism are the primary sources of their suffering, not immigrants. But it is also clear that Britain has failed — far more than America — to adequately integrate Muslim communities with white, working-class communities. It is also clear that the establishment too often embraces political correctness in preference to confronting important issues.
Don’t be surprised if Robinson does better than expected in the European elections.
