CanaryPod EP3: how toxic elites normalise right-wing extremism

In our latest CanaryPod joint podcast between the Canary’s Ed Sykes and Collective’s Sean Halsall – leader of Southport Community Independents (SCI) – we discuss how corporate elites have shifted the goalposts of what ‘normal politics’ is to the point where far-right extremists look likely to win the next general election.

CanaryPod: episode 3

This CanaryPod edition is all about how ‘what’s normal’ has shifted so far to the right in recent decades.

After World War Two, the British public expected politicians to focus on building and protecting a system that ensured their wellbeing. But as Margaret Thatcher‘s Tories took control in the late 1970s, that changed. An elitist offensive convinced the public it was ok to destroy communities, attack workers’ rights, and sell off public services. And Tony Blair proved this idea had gravely infected the Labour Party too.

Media and political rhetoric around the ‘War on Terror’ then divided people even more by dehumanising Muslim communities and further fostering hatred and distrust of ‘the other’. Meanwhile, the power and wealth of the super-rich kept increasing. And in the 2007/8 capitalist crash, politicians bailed out bankers who’d gambled with the whole global economy while forcing devastating cuts onto ordinary people, killing tens of thousands in the process. As Halsall said:

I don’t think people would have allowed it at any point in history if they understood what was happening.

But most didn’t.

The Overton Window theory says the public see some policies as acceptable, and some as unacceptable. That determines what ideas politicians can propose or get away with while still keeping hold of power. And by 2008, powerful elites had made bold pro-human projects like post-WW2 NHS-building seem unthinkable.

In situations like this, Halsall stressed:

people instinctively know that they’re being screwed over, but don’t quite have the language to verbalise how it is they’re being screwed over, or why, or by who.

People who can harness that anger and inspire resistance have the power to shift the Overton Window. And Jeremy Corbyn did that from 2015 to 2019, once again normalising centre-left proposals of actually funding public services properly and stopping corporations from bleeding them dry. But the super-rich lied and schemed to stop this and put establishment voices back in control of Labour. At the same time, their cynical weaponisation of antisemitism allegations combined with years of Islamophobic propaganda to prepare the ground for Britain openly backing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. We’re living through this reality because, as Halsall insisted:

what was on the fringes of the right before has now been pushed to the centre and become normalised in society.

Corrupt elites against ordinary people

What mainstream media and political voices say is normal, however, is not necessarily what ordinary people think is normal. The British public overwhelmingly wants nationalisation of key services, for example. Three quarters want higher taxes on the super-rich, like a wealth tax. 60% want a fairer voting system, with most people now opposing single-party rule in particular. Over half of the British public oppose Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. And perhaps because we rarely hear any of that from our establishment politicians or journalists, trust in politicians and governments is at a record low, while trust in the media is plummeting too.

On issues like nationalisation, Halsall stressed:

the mainstream media will just tell you it’s a terrible idea

And he lamented that:

there’s so many people… in politics who… will just change their principles and core values for the sake of making sure they’re personally okay… It’s depressing to see the political class filled with these people who should be nowhere near politics… it just devalues and undermines everything democracy’s meant to be about. And is it any wonder that people have just lost faith in politicians of all ilks?

Far from amplifying ordinary people’s views, however, the increasingly right-wing political and media establishment has normalised far-right figure Nigel Farage. The millionaire Thatcherite doesn’t represent the interests of his Brexit-voting supporters, whose areas austerity hit the hardest. But the mainstream media has helped to create an Overton Window where Farage and his racist scapegoating diversion tactics are the centre of gravity.

Change the media. Build community power.

Supporters of a new left party want democracy and decency, a focus on public services and tax justice, and investment in housing and future sustainability. Even supporters of the ruling Labour Party want a focus on the NHS and the economy. Very few of the above will want politicians and the media to keep limiting their narrow focus to hatred and division. But these establishment forces won’t back down without a fight.

If the left is to stand a chance of fighting back, Halsall asserted, we need to:

get better at working together, sharing ideas, and helping each other where we can. Because as soon as they’re done with refugees and immigrants, it will be everyone who believes in socialism and having an NHS and things like that.

He added that community-building is the key to challenging what establishment forces want us to see as ‘normal’, saying:

Building communities is the only way you combat fascism. Community, knowing each other, getting along together, that is the quickest way to dispel this idea that any of us have actual differences that mean anything…

If your neighbours are Muslim and come eat, they pop around, bring you some food and stuff, you’re probably not gonna hate those people. So as soon as people are humanised, we have interactions with people and communities back, and we can all operate together. Because we are so much more successful at looking after ourselves and supporting each other than the state will ever be….

Whether you’re Muslim, Christian, gay, straight, trans, you need a house, you need food, and good, secure work, or a benefit system that supports you… The people exploiting us are the ones telling us to hate each other. Maybe they’ve got something to gain from that.

He also stressed the importance of changing the media landscape too, insisting:

We need a different story. And it’s places like the Canary where we’re gonna get that story from. You’re certainly not gonna find it in the Murdoch press. So yeah, support all independent left-wing journalism in the UK. We need it more than ever!