Why are racist UK rioters denying they are far right?

In brief…

• Far-right riots across Britain have been attended by racist thugs, many of whom are part of online channels where anti-immigrant rhetoric is being spread.
• But because there is no distinct organisational structure, many of them deny being part of the far right.
• This is why we need to reconsider how we think and speak about people on this extreme wing of politics, Joe Mulhall of Hope Not Hate tells Lewis Goodall.

The streets of Britain have been a scary place over the last few weeks, particularly for immigrants, non-whites and other ethnic minorities.

Racist mobs have targeted mosques, chanted slurs at riots and scrawled profanities over asylum seeker hotels.

The thugs involved all appear to have something in common - a hatred of immigrants, particularly non-white ones.

It could be argued that their ultra-nationalist sentiment makes them part of the far right, whether they like it or not, and some of those who have attended anti-immigrant ‘protests’ have insisted this is not the case.

But according to Joe Mulhall, director of research at campaign group Hope Not Hate, some of those who deny being a part of the far right aren’t aware how far they’ve drifted – or been led.

‘We need to re-conceptualise the far right’

“More people are crossing the line into any normal or accepted definition of what is radical right or far-right,” Mulhall tells Lewis Goodall on an episode of The News Agents.

But these very same people - the ones who have stood outside a mosque, protesting, or trying to burn down asylum seeker accommodation - deny being involved in this kind of politics.

Mulhall says this is why we need to rethink how we speak about or understand people with extreme, racist, ultra-nationalist views.

“Part of the reason we need to reconceptualise what the far right is, is because people say, 'I'm not far-right. I'm not a member of anything,” Mulhall says.

These people think this, Mulhall says, because they are not technically a member of an official, structured organisation, such as the BNP, Britain First or the EDL.

How has the far right changed over time?

Traditional fascist and far right organisations of the past may have had a leader, a branch structure, a membership list, and maybe even a uniform.

You might also have had ideologues that were producing books and manifestos, Mulhall notes.

This is not to say these groups don’t exist today, with examples including small groups like Patriotic Alternative. But these groups are “tiny”, he adds.

“In the digital age, you can consume far-right material, propagate far-right material yourself, and engage in far-right activism without being part of any organisation, without having a badge or a membership number.”

Instead, the far-right is now made up of what Mulhall describes as “post-organisational networks”.

This is where thousands of individuals “are either creating far-right content or consuming far-right content outside of any formal structure”, Mulhall says.

Many recent riots stemmed from individuals moblising on Telegram, a fringe social media network where thugs were able to plot attacks.

He adds: “They're not a member of an organisation, they don't have a formal leader, but they're in these online spaces.”

But there are sometimes figureheads in those spaces, with Tommy Robinson being an example.

Mulhall says: “These individuals are like the weather-makers for these networks. What we've seen in the last 10 days is no central organisation, no single group has said, ‘let's have a demonstration in all of these places at the same time.'

“It is individuals who are primarily local to a certain area, who are part of these networks, are then going and creating their own event.

“It's much more decentralised than the British National Party, the National Front or the English Defence League.”

What does the modern far right want?

But while they are decentralised, there is a common thread.

Mulhall adds: “If you look at the chants at each of these demonstrations or riots, if you look at the posters, if you look at the kind of iconography, if you look at the banners, if you look at what everyone's saying, there's a commonality.

“That's because the people who are attending them and organising them are part of these online, far right networks.”

Mulhall argues there are a few main issues the contemporary far-right care about.

“That is anti Islam, anti Muslim, anti asylum seeker,” he says

“The really growing narrative amongst all of them is this idea that there has been a complete crisis or failure of multiculturalism. It's an ideology by opposition.

“They're not necessarily talking about what the world should look like, but they're all having a commonality between them about what the crisis is and what the problem is.

“And that is not too many non white people, white people being replaced. Islam being too strong, too many Muslims and multiculturalism not working.”

Listen in full on The News Agents.