I’ve written at length about the need for political parties of the right to establish an intellectual foundation and a policy platform. I put a lot of energy into making that case. I failed, and it was a complete waste of energy. It’s not going to happen. As such, I no longer think there is any merit in investing energy into any political party of the right. I think the right will lose in 2029, and it’ll be much deserved.
This is as much because of the fragmentation of the right. Restore is a peripheral party but can still cause Reform to lose out on around twenty or more seats, while a heated contest between Reform and the Tories will likely cancel each other out.
Calls to unite the right, meanwhile, are futile. They are too ideologically diverse, divided as much by generational attitudes, and there are too many wounded egos in the mix.
I also don’t think there is a party political solution at least until Farage is out of the picture. He is the barrier to progress on a number of fronts. For as long as he is in the mix Reform will continue to be a rudderless populist movement - too right wing for the mainstream and too non-committal for the right. Nobody is quite sure what a Reform government would actually do, and the right does not trust Farage at all.
That begs the question as to what we do in the meantime. I actually think Danny Tommo had the right idea. The right must develop a protest movement. The problem with that, mind you, is that Tommo’s Patriot Platform model it it is inherently tied to the small boats crisis, and as such it will wane in relevance over the winter months when the seas are too rough. Any protest movement must be a sustained effort towards a specific set of objectives.
This is where I’ve been less than impressed with the Tommy Robinson “Unite the Kingdom” rallies, in that they’re not saying very much and they aren’t demanding anything. While they do attract very large numbers, there is no lasting effect, and no real message is sent to the powers that be. It may also evaporate completely if Tommy Robinson is sent to prison.
On that score, though I bear no ill feeling towards Tommy Robinson, and wish him the best of luck in his legal woes, it might be as well to have him out of the way in order to start from scratch. What’s needed is a movement with a codified agenda. The right is not going to unite, but it should not be beyond our abilities to agree on six to ten basic demands we can all agree on.
Over on X, I suggested the list should look something like the following:
1. Stop the boats
2. Deport all illegals
3. Abolish ILR
4. Stop Islamic sectarianism
5. End two tier justice
6. End benefits for foreigners
7. End multiculturalism
8. End mass immigration
9. Homes for British people only
10. Pass a free speech bill
While there are other demands on the right, it has to be a core set of achievable demands that requires no explanation, with no room for the usual quibbling.
I still think that policy development is a worthwhile thought exercise, which is why I’m steeling myself for another round of updates and revisions to manifestoproject.org, but any demands of a street movement have to be concise, self-explanatory, and immediately actionable.
This is not about presenting a manifesto. It’s about a core set of demands we all agree on. Again, I point out that there is little point in advancing a full manifesto for the whole of the right because the British right is only really defined by what it opposes. There are several factions that disagree on fundamentals such as the NHS and housing, and we do not have the time or ability to resolve these philosophical disagreements.
Ideally such a charter would be publicly endorsed by key figures on the right, preferably with some Westminster endorsement. It should form the basis of a cross party campaign in conjunction with the street movement. Ideally, it needs an ambassador in Westminster, preferably standing as an independent who is there exclusively to press this agenda.
I’ve already alluded to this in the past, suggesting that it could provide a purpose for Restore Britain, but my sources are telling me that Rupert Lowe is still detached from the inner workings of his party, and his lieutenants are still consorting with the far right. Any association with the hardline ethnonationalist antisemitic faction is the kiss of death for any movement or party. Consequently, this would have to be an independent initiative.
For the moment, the right is fixated with the 2029 election, and many believe it is our last chance to save the country, but I don’t think we can afford such fatalism. We’re not beaten yet. It just seems very likely that we could face another seven years of Labour misrule, in which time the right is not going to resolve its party political differences. I also think things need to get a lot worse before we start seeing the kind of popular mobilisation necessary to achieve change.
With that in mind, we now need to be thinking about strategy and tactics for the interim. We need to build a network of serious people who recognise the deficiencies of right wing party politics, and promote an agenda that everyone can get behind. We’ve run out of time for the narcissism of small differences.