Here's how we stand up to far-right billionaires threatening our democracy
5 min read
To defeat far-right figures like Elon Musk, the left must provide solutions to the concerns that they exploit.
Who decides how our country is run – or who runs it? We all know our democracy isn’t perfect, and we all have different ideas about how we should choose our leaders, and how decisions are made. But very few people would say that one foreign billionaire should be the one deciding who runs the UK, and how they run it.
I’m sure I’m not alone in watching with horror as Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), has turned his attention to British politics. First, it was his proposed $100m donation to the Reform party; then his posts in support of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (otherwise known as Tommy Robinson). Now, he has turned his fickle attention to the issue of grooming gangs.
This is not a new story. In 2022, a report into child sexual abuse in England and Wales found that the scale of the problem was ‘epidemic’, and that victims had been failed horribly by authorities. Frustratingly, the previous Conservative government failed to fully implement a single one of the report’s recommendations – and I’m glad to see this Government taking steps to change that.
Figures on the far-right have long used the issue of so-called ‘Muslim grooming gangs’ as a dog-whistle tactic to whip up hatred, twisting the awful truth of what happened to girls across the country to suit their own aims. Now Musk is amplifying their dangerous claims.
We know all too well that what begins as words on a screen rarely stays there. It’s been less than a decade since MP Jo Cox was murdered by a far-right extremist, something that should give pause for thought to all those bolstering Musk’s dangerous, defamatory and misogynistic claims about my fellow MP Jess Phillips – and those sharing the outrageous smears against our own Green Party Councillor, Mothin Ali.
The risks of fuelling online hate were brought home to us, too, by the racist violence we saw flare across the UK last summer, stirred up by false claims circulated online. But what makes Musk’s interventions uniquely disturbing is that he’s not just another individual trying to push his agenda among a clamour of online views. He owns a social media platform with over 20m users in the UK alone – and is actively shaping the content that users see to advance his agenda.
Musk’s attempts to influence our politics are already having an impact on the national conversation. The question is, how should the rest of us defend the values of truth, respect and integrity that underpin a strong democracy?
First, we should be clear about what Musk and Nigel Farage are, and what they – and those in the Tory party jumping on their bandwagon – want. They don’t have ordinary people’s interests at heart. We’re talking about a toxic double-act of a millionaire and billionaire trying to secure their financial interests, pointing the finger at Muslims and migrants to distract us from their own dangerous, divisive and anti-democratic agenda.
All of us who value our freedoms must set ourselves firmly against all that Musk and Farage stand for. That means supporting those who come to the UK seeking safety; standing up for trans people; and rejecting lies about our Muslim friends and neighbours, loudly and clearly. Those people who want to see our communities divided and afraid are a tiny, extreme minority – let’s not let them forget it.
But crucially, it’s also up to politicians – not least Keir Starmer’s Government – to stop the hard right from exploiting the dissatisfaction and sense of abandonment felt in many of our communities, to undermine our democracy and warp the truth. This starts with addressing the real issues people face. When ordinary people are struggling with low wages, exploitative working conditions, poor housing and crumbling public services, those concerns are ripe for exploitation by the far right, who offer simple scapegoats and easy answers. We need to show that the left has better answers – ones that will genuinely transform people’s lives.
That means rebalancing our economy away from the interests of big businesses and in favour of ordinary people. Fixing the housing market so that homes are first and foremost a place to live, not an investment asset. Strengthening workers’ rights to stop exploitation. Investing in making our public services world-class and accessible to all.
We also need to listen more carefully when people say they don’t feel represented by our political system. Our archaic voting system isn’t fair, and people know it. At the most recent election, 8.7m voters – around 30 per cent of all votes cast – didn’t vote for Labour, Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats – but only elected 45 MPs. No wonder people feel like the system is rigged against them. Proportional representation – so that people actually get what they vote for – would be the first step to restoring people’s faith in our system.
It’s become a cliche to say that we are living in unprecedented times.
But even when I was elected as an MP in July, I couldn’t have foreseen the events of recent weeks. I have to admit, I’m incredibly scared about the impact that Musk might have on not just our politics, but the real lives of people in our communities. But it’s crucial to remember that Musk, Farage and their followers are far outnumbered by those of us who value kindness, justice and democracy. It’s time for us to make our voices heard.
Carla Denyer is co-leader of the Green Party and MP for Bristol Central.
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