Is Rory Stewart’s recent success in campaigning for the Tory leadership a flickering light of hope for the return of a centre right presence in UK politics?
For the past 3 years, since that referendum on 23 June 2016, Brexit has been the focus of all political discussion. Deep differences of opinion that have been fermenting in the UK seemed to have gone unnoticed. Suddenly it is as if a rock was lifted and the thriving and complex life underneath was revealed, as the media attempted to understand how the leave campaign won. The existence and characteristics of these deep divisions entered the media and public consciousness. Why hadn't we noticed it before?
The Brexit referendum did not cause these divisions in public attitudes, it just served to expose them. The media was suddenly aware of the seemingly intractable view-points between people in metropolitan and rural locations, blue collar and white collar workers, those supporting internationalism and those who favour nationalism. This reality burst into the consciousness in the lead up to the vote, when Thomas Mair, a self-radicalised white supremacist, shot and killed the Labour MP Jo Cox. Ms Cox had campaigned for remaining in the EU and lobbied for a more generous refugee policy. As Mair stood over his victim’s body, he shouted: “Britain first. Keep Britain independent. This is for Britain.”
Commentators declared the return of the sort of extreme views that were once popular across Europe. There suddenly seemed to be no shortage of individuals and political parties holding right wing and ultra-nationalist views. These people say they want to maintain or protect their heritage and that of their people. Refugees, Muslims, empowered women and the EU will, or have already, changed our societies. That change is seen as a bad thing, which they want to reverse. The term right-wing generally refers to the conservative or reactionary section of a political party or system. These groups hold views that favour a return to the status quo or the previous political state of society, which they believe possessed characteristics that are negatively absent from the contemporary society. Right-wing political views often include the ideas that certain social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics or tradition. Hierarchy and inequality may be viewed as natural results of traditional social differences or the competition in market economies. The term extreme right-wing has also been applied to movements like fascism, Nazism and racial supremacy.
A variety of fascism favouring governments were formed during the 1930s, in Greece, Lithuania, Poland, and Yugoslavia. The fascist Iron Guard movement in Romania soared in political support during the 1930s. There were riots in France involving the fascists and multiple far-right suppporters in 1934. France had two major movements in the Action française and the Jeunesses patriotes (founded by the champagne magnate Pierre Taittinger in 1924 as a direct-action squad of students and youths). Romania had its National-Christian movement devoted to strikebreaking, disrupting liberal professor’s classes, and campaigning to restrict the number of Jews in universities and the professions. In Britain, Oswald Mosley’s fascist movement was significant in the late 1920s and 1930s. Spain of course had the Franco government from 1939 to 1947 and Portugal had Salazar, who was Prime Minister from 1932 to 1945; and Mussolini’s dictatorship in Italy lasted from 1925 to 1945. In Germany the Nazi party was formed in 1920 and its popularity and hold over government lasted until the end of WWII.
The political debates surrounding Brexit have served to show that these sort of ideas are popular again with some, in the UK. A drift to the extreme right has also been observed in European countries. Ahead of the European Parliament elections in May 2019, far-right parties throughout Europe were joining forces, forming a new alliance, known as the European Alliance of Peoples and Nations (EAPN). Initiated by Italy’s Interior Minister, EAPN is intended to gather a broad nationalist front in the EU Parliament. This alliance includes the Netherland's Party for Freedom, Alternative for Germany party, the right-wing populist Danish People’s Party to the Finns Party. The parties that have joined The Movement are often called “conservative”, “extreme-right”, “nationalist”, “anti-European” or “anti-immigrant”. These right-wing and nationalist parties have gained a sizeable number of seats in the 2019 European Parliament elections. In the UK, the Brexit Party won the most seats and similar successes for like-minded parties were seen in Italy, France, Poland and Hungary. Previously, these political parties were forced into some level of cooperation with moderates, while they sat in other parliamentary groups. Now that they have formed a new alliance, the fear must be that in unity they will become more influential, and more dangerous. Some of their leaders have already been openly flirting with Nazi-style rhetoric. The language used by our politicians matters. It can give hope and create solidarity; it can also do the opposite.
What is so wrong with the popularity of these political parties? It is because at the heart of their beliefs is the intrinsic hate for and fear of "the other". They have an open hatred for the EU. They pose a huge danger to Europe’s future peace and stability. If there has been one thing that the EU has achieved it is a period of 70 years without a major war like WWII. The same fear of the other has driven the UK into Brexit. While many may think choosing to leave the EU was mainly driven by the wish for sovereignty, in fact it has more to do with being able to close the borders to immigrants, thereby "protecting" the UK from these others.
In amongst all this darkness, over the last few weeks, there came a flickering of something positive, balancing out the political debate. During the battle for the Conservative leadership, and the Prime Minister’s job, in the UK, a centrist candidate captured the public’s heart. He’s an unknown, a dark horse, and he is a master communicator. In a surprise move, the International Development Secretary, Rory Stewart, put himself forward for the top job. His performance in the campaign has sparked talk of parallels with the remarkable triumph of Emmanuel Macron in France.
Macron is an independent centrist who has stared down the far-right National Front's Marine le Pen and has continued to defend liberal European values in Europe. But being called a centrist might not sit comfortably with the French President, as he has maintained that the left and right in politics are irrelevant and out of fashion. His ideas are definitely in line with the centre. He would not accept stigmatising people for their religion, or religious-based bigotry, within France and is an ardent supporter of the EU. He has called for an "international roadmap" to combat militant Islamism, and described Africa as a region with risks and all opportunities for France. Recent developments have reassured commentators that the centrist movement is also alive and well in Europe. Macron hosted a meeting with other centrist European political parties in the European Parliament. These include Spain's Ciudadanos, the Dutch VVD and D66, and Belgium's Open VLD and the Reformist Movement, Germany's Free Democrats, Hungary's Momentum and Austria's New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS). This gathering is just a first step, in the view of Macron’s officials.
In the UK, Rory Stewart's profile and popularity surged, in response to traditional Tory messages of fiscal conservatism with modernising ambitions on the environment and investing in the North. His message and style of communication have caught the imagination of the media and public. But is Britain ready for its Macron moment? Apparently not. Such generational changes are usually reserved for the wilderness years of opposition, not at a time when a party and a nation is going through its most challenging moment. Rory was eliminated from the race for the top job, but his impressive performance and growing popularity have placed him in a position of high visibility on the political landscape. Today his colleagues deride him for enjoying support beyond the Tory base and brand him with the ultimate insult of “remainer”. It hasn't gone unnoticed that he shares almost nothing of their values or creed. In short, he was prepared to ask critical questions and to tell the truth.
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