Article - the Rise of Right-Wing
'They may go on about free speech but as soon as you want to record or document what they're doing they'll use every tactic possible to stop you.'
Fascism is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as 'an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.'
It's also a word that once seemed on the fringes or society, or something from the history books. But lately the word seemed to have entered the discourse with a much greater frequency. How is modern fascism seeping into life in our own city of Nottingham?
It's a virus, spreading from the older generations to young people, affecting not only individuals but whole communities in our country. Recent years have become reminiscent of tragedies in history as we seem to be repeating ourselves - yet never learning from it. There has been a 2% increase in general hate crime from 2024 to 2025 as well as a 19% increase in Islamophobic hate crime over the same period.
What happened to the efforts of those who fought so selflessly for a better future? We have had recurring incidents of fascist and far right wing attacks in Nottingham - perhaps most notably, the violent assault on radical Hockley booksellers 'Mushroom Books' in 1994. We talked to Ross (The owner of the shop) about that event, and the changing face of fascism in Nottingham.
According to Ross, the 'fairly inefficient' attack led to 32 fascists being arrested yet only 13 received jail time for their actions. Despite this, the attack actually had some unintended positive effects for the bookshop: they gained worldwide publicity due to the novelty of the attack. Coincidentally, a freelance photographer happened to be walking by during the incident and the next day immediately Ross saw 25% increase in turnover as the shop packed with customers showing their support. He believes that incidents like this 'come and go' and that 'Robert Jenrick and people in reform have come out with appalling right-wing statements but they're democratic people. They're standing for election. I wouldn't agree with a single thing probably they ever said but they're not a direct threat But they create an atmosphere which makes it perhaps easier for people to think refugees, LGBT people,
people of colour, people who are different to themselves it creates the circumstances in which hate will develop.'
Just a few weeks after the attack there was a demonstration in Old Market Square involving around 3 to 4 thousand people protesting against the far-right wing movement. However, these days, things seem more polarised. Animosity between the right and left has always existed and always will, but it is a question of how the far-right infiltrating our local politics affects us.
As it stands today, Nottinghamshire County Council is Reform, a party that focuses particularly on preventing immigration and protecting specifically British interests. Whilst this may sound like an attractive outcome to some people, the negative consequences it would have on others would be inimical. Should people born into or stuck in war-torn countries not be allowed to seek out a safe life elsewhere? Who are we, as British people, those who have been colonising and stealing from other countries for centuries upon centuries, to deny innocent people access to our resources?
Furthermore, if Nigel Farage (a man who makes an additional income from selling immature videos on Cameo) were to be elected as our Prime Minister, he would have the UK leave the European Convention on Human Rights along with Belarus and Russia. The potential impact this could have on our lives is detrimental. Without these laws, what will stop him from stripping us of our rights?
Yet more and more people are beginning to support him and a worrying amount of young people have started to show their support, perhaps without understanding the harm he could cause, or they are simply united by their hatred for anyone who isn't British.
The increase in right wing support is more dangerous than people realise. Women have the potential to once again be considered second-class citizens as he believes the gender pay gap is not a form of discrimination but fair as 'female workers are worth less'. Not only this but the extent to which he focuses solely on immigration as the selling point of his party seems to be blatant racism rather than a care for British citizen's needs.
Specifically in Nottingham, there have been cases of other alternative shops being targeted by right-wing hate. Void clothing, a longstanding alternative clothing shop based in the Hockley district of Nottingham, was recently made victim after a staff member defended a minor who threw a can of beans onto anti-transgender protestors. They have been blinded for their hatred of anything different or that goes against the norms, Void received several negative online reviews in an attempt to close down the shop, and they apparently 'don't deserve to be in business'.
Nottingham has always been a city with a great variety of people, areas like Hockley are renowned for having alternative establishments. The rise of ultra-conservatism is stripping us of our uniqueness and personality. Younger generations will grow up thinking hate and violence against minorities is a normal thing, which we cannot allow.
We talked to Chris Tregenza- a protest photographer based in Nottingham who told us about the backlash people receive while trying to raise awareness. He has been abused verbally and physically just for being photographer who specialises in documenting protest in Nottingham- not even a politician himself. The abuse extended to him being followed miles home from demonstrations. According to Chris 'the nature of the far right is that they don't like to be held accountable, they may go on about free speech but as soon as you want to record or document what they're doing they'll use every tactic possible to stop you.'
As a man with first-hand experience and expertise on this subject he indeed confirms that right wingers are becoming more prevalent, there is a 'feedback loop' and our 'biggest problem is media ownership, they are nearly exclusively supporting far right views and amplifying their voices.'
Online, and on the streets, we seem to becoming more polarised by the day. Far-right talking points seem to be moving into the mainstream, and attempts to divide us increase at pace. As humans we can never seem to all agree on anything but one thing is certain, we need to focus on the politics that unite us; as a divided country is a weak country.
Comments