White identity politics won’t save Britain

It fails to provide a vision for a good life and a realistic solution to the problems we face

Four years ago, I wrote for spiked about the troubling re-emergence of white identity politics. I wrote about the gradual erosion of universalist ideals in favour of victimhood and race-based identity politics, saying that it has consequently “provided a new social justification for racial thinking, which can gain traction by framing whiteness as an ‘oppressed’ identity”.” Today, this issue is even more pronounced or, at least, it has become much more mainstream, and its implications are significant.

It’s having real-world consequences too now. This week, a riot broke out in Southport over the sickening stabbings of children in the area the day before. Rioters gathered outside the local mosque and chants of “No surrender!” and “English till I die!” were heard from sections of the crowd. 

When recent violent protests broke out in Harehils in Leeds, many prominent figures were quick to blame Muslims when in fact it turned out to be largely Christian Roma gypsies. But, the tone of many of the reactions was telling. The riots were framed as an almost inevitable consequence of bringing supposedly “uncivilised” people into “white” societies and that certain racial and cultural groups were destined for separate existences.  

And this is very much a growing phenomenon across the West. 

Take the extreme Right American commentator Nick Fuentes who has questioned the credibility of Trump’s pick for Vice President, J.D. Vance, because he has an Indian wife. Fuentes states: 

“Do we really expect that the guy who has an Indian wife…is going to support white identity? There’s a white genocide going on in the world, white people are being systemically replaced in America and Europe through immigration and…intermarrying.” 

Now, you might reasonably think that this person is merely an internet provocateur and should be roundly ignored, and perhaps that’s true. But, he’s had a private dinner with President Donald Trump and his videos regularly get millions of views. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, in Britain, the disquiet online about the rise of Zia Yusuf in Reform UK because he’s a British Asian Muslim felt unusual and new. Even ex-GB News presenter Calvin Robinson, who happens to be of mixed-race origin, has effectively called for a ban on Muslims leading Reform. It is hard to imagine that back in 2020, Robinson was writing in mainstream national newspapers that “rather than focus on the things that divide us, we’d do better to teach our young people that British history belongs to all of us, and that is something that unites us, regardless of race, creed, or religion.” 

Popular British conservative YouTube channel New Culture Forum regularly posts content that describes the “ethnic cleansing” of native white Britons. 

The Overton window has shifted dramatically on corners of the Right over the last few years and it’s worth taking seriously.  

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter/X and liberalised free speech rules on the platform, there has been a marked increase in online racism. Musk, obviously, is not the cause of the rise in racial thinking. The re-emergence of racial thinking is part of the decades-long steady elite-driven institutionalisation of identity politics. Children are taught a race-based education. Great works of Western art are dismissed as “racist”. Staff are disciplined for not having the correct (but non-racist) views on race. Recently, Sean Corby, a white working-class man (who happens to be married to a black woman) was reprimanded in his public service job for promoting colour-blind anti-racism. We can’t escape the constant one-size-fits-all explanations for racial disparities too. The list goes on. But the message it sends is clear: RACIAL DIFFERENCE IS WHAT MATTERS.

In this context, it is hardly surprising that a white identitarian will come along and say: “Hey look! See? Race does matter. And our race is being attacked. These minorities are always complaining that they’re at the bottom of the social rung. Maybe it’s because they’re inferior? They seem to only succeed with a leg up! They’re taking positions from us because of DEI! We need to band together, we need to defend ourselves as white people.”

The attraction of white identity politics (and this might be a bitter pill to swallow for some), is not only that it feeds off the dominant ideology of our culture. But, it also plays on grains of truth about the problems of British society.

Advocates are right to point out the increasing degradation of British identity. We’re told by much of the cultural and political elite that Britain has no culture. If they do admit that a British culture exists, then it is something to be ashamed of or it is sanitised to a borderless, indistinct notion like “celebrating diversity”. 

Elite discourse suggests that just because someone turns up and works in the economy, that makes them as British as anyone else. This shallow sense of Britishness is posited as a way of cultivating belonging in ethnic minorities and historically marginalised groups, as it is believed that leaving Britishness as open as possible means being as “inclusive” as possible. 

In fact, the opposite is true. British identity construed too widely actually suggests to people that they need not make any effort to be part of a distinct, meaningful whole. It tells newcomers that you can still be British while completely ignoring or even resenting the thousands of years of history, traditions, art, culture and beauty of the past of these Isles. This is the ultimate untruth of the borderless elite; it is the antithesis of belonging.

There is a class dimension to it too. This elite discourse uses the perceived sensitivities of ethnic minorities to denounce white working-class people who find meaning in place, pride and patriotism. They are rejected as “gammons”.

White identitarians point to the social and economic decline of society and exploit the way in which mass immigration has come to represent the most poignant symbol of an anti-democratic disregard for British communities. Housing costs, public service pressure, foreign ethno-religious conflict and rising crime are all exacerbated by unchecked migration. Many ordinary people are demonised for even bringing it up.

Recently, journalist Charlotte Gill wrote on Twitter/X:

“Back to the UK tomorrow. I’ve never had such dread about Britain. Coming back to London and knowing how unpleasant it’ll be. The demographic changes and the feeling that Britain is against most Brits. The lack of functional media. The feeling that something big has to happen to restore order.”

Her tweet resonated with thousands and has been viewed millions of times. But rather than listen to her, she received dozens of smug and nasty replies from cultural elites telling her to leave London and accusing her of racism. Gill is not a white identitarian, she’s a successful professional journalist who has written extensively on the cruelty of London’s housing crisis, yet she is being chastised for speaking up about things she’s concerned about. 

The bitterness of the conversation and the dismissal of fair-minded concern about the direction of travel in our society is creating fertile soil for the emergence of old and new resentments. Even former prime minister Tony Blair, who opened the floodgates of mass immigration from 1997 has been open about the consequences of failing to listen to the public’s demand for reduced immigration.

But, retreating into ethnic and cultural identities, be that white or black or Muslim, will make an already depressing situation much worse. Yes, we all need familiarity and recognition but race is deceptive in how it gives the appearance of solidarity when in fact it distorts human relationships. It can make people feel part of a meaningfully distinct group, a historic peoples, but I can assure you the feeling will be fleeting. It is an extremely shallow coalition.

There are demographic realities that we should be frank about. It is a fact that white Britons are projected to be a minority within fifty years if birthrates and migration patterns remain unchanged.  Whilst I don’t think this has to be a problem, my empathy stretches wide enough to understand why some might think it is given how disastrously immigration and integration have been handled thus far.  

But, white identity politics fails to provide any answers to the place we find ourselves in as a society. It undermines the multiracial coalition crucial for countering the anti-democratic actions of the elites. Racism is wrong, and it’s an achievement of our society that we have mostly defeated it.

As obvious as it may sound, I would never get behind a racist movement, regardless of the guise it comes in. I also happen to believe that most white people today will never support racism en masse either. I know many white people who oppose mass immigration but will never support genuine racist politics. The truth is the historical contributions of ethnic minorities, particularly their role in campaigning against the slave trade, fighting in both world wars and much else, are integral to Britain’s history and story. Ignoring or denying these contributions not only misrepresents the past but also disrespects the rich tapestry of history, especially working-class history, which is marked by solidarity and collective struggle against oppression. By creating a dichotomy of a mythological perfect “white” past against a “dark” present, you warp history in very much the same way the authoritarian progressives do.

Fundamentally, white identity politics fails to provide a vision for a good life and a realistic solution to the problems we face. Like other forms of identity politics, it relies on rigid and exclusionary ideas, enforces purity tests, promotes a zero-sum mentality and provides apologia for dangerous thuggery. 

We need to get to the root cause of the alienation and disillusionment many of us feel today. As Kenan Malik writes:

“Social organisations that once gave working-class lives identity, solidarity and dignity have been sapped of vitality. Economic, social and political developments, from the imposition of austerity and the rise of the gig economy to the erosion of trade union power and the Labour party’s move away from its traditional constituencies, have coalesced to make working-class lives more precarious.”

In my view, it is here we must look to regain from the sense of loss we all feel. Succumbing to identity politics only serves to provide cover for a failed generation of political leaders who also have zero answers for the problems we face. It allows them to create a new boogeyman instead of dealing with the deep-seated structural problems of our society.