English Defence League filling vacuum left by mainstream politics, says report

Voter ‘disenfranchisement’ by out-of-touch politicians and fall of grassroots activism helping extremism grow, thinktank warns Mainstream political parties must tackle far-right groups through doorstep hearts and minds campaigns that tackle anti-Muslim sentiments at local level, according to two reports on challenging extremists. The rise of “career politicians” – and the fall of grassroots activists – has left a vacuum across Europe for populist anti-establishment organisations, warns Right Response , from international thinktank Chatham House . These now tap into the feeling of voters that they have been “disenfranchised” by out-of-touch politicians. Muslims are increasingly the focus of anti-immigration and anti-minority group activity, says the report, and that means growing public hostility to settled Muslim communities. EDL: Britain’s New Far Right Social Movement, in which Northampton University’s radicalism and new media research group details the rise of the English Defence League, says that the government’s Prevent strategy should no longer be seen as offering alternatives to those who might be tempted into terrorism by al-Qaida and like-minded groups, but should tackle rightwing extremism too. Matthew Goodwin, the author of Right Response, said mainstream parties had become increasingly professional and managerial, concentrating on political marketing techniques and relying on computer-generated canvas returns, tightly-scripted phone banks, focus groups and opinion polls, rather than on face-to-face contact, except at election time. Extreme parties often had more innovative websites too. “Politics is about winning the hearts and minds of voters, not seeking to win arguments on intellectual grounds,” said Goodwin, an associate fellow of Chatham House and lecturer in politics and international relations at Nottingham University. “To do this, mainstream parties should be part of the community, have an active and visible presence, and forge stronger links to local groups and forums. In practical terms, this means standing full slates of candidates at the local level, engaging with voters face-to-face and redirecting some resources to revitalising grassroots campaigns.” The rise of extreme parties was not only linked to anxiety over threats to jobs, social housing and the welfare state posed by immigrants, said Goodwin. Mainstream parties needed to challenge more forcefully claims national cultures were under attack and that meant going beyond making an economic case for immigration and arguing instead for cultural diversity. Politicians also needed to be more honest. “Existing responses … typically focus on plans to reduce the number of immigrants, or curtail overall levels of immigration. Yet at the same time, international treaties have greatly reduced the capacity of governments to deliver demonstrable outcomes in this policy area.” The result was “a disconnect” which could further fuel public dissatisfaction. The EDL report highlights the group’s use of central websites, carrying its “official” line, and sites and blogs targeted on local “single” issues such as “no more mosques”. This combined with the strategy of “march and grow” has given the EDL a sustained culture of grassroots activism, the report says. “Given its licence to violent extremism, tackling the EDL, and other ‘new far right’ groups, needs to become a core focus of the Prevent strategy,” says the report. “Generally speaking the nation’s wider economic success impacts on the fortunes of far-right movements. Yet this needs to be understood in relation to specific localities, not merely nationally. Without resolving underlying economic and social tensions within areas identified with EDL and ‘new far-right’ support, it is likely the movement will continue to find fertile conditions in more deprived pockets across the country … to combat this, a more relevant and empowering politics is crucial to tackling support for extreme nationalisms.” Michael Ellis, the Conservative MP for Northampton North, in a foreword to the report, said he had “every confidence” the coalition government’s planned revamp of the Labour-devised Prevent would help combat “the rise of the ‘new far-right’ and the potential for ‘lone wolf’ terrorism. “One must only look at the terrible atrocity this summer in Norway at the hands of a murderous terrorist – in the name of a crazed war against Islam – to see the relevancy and currency of this report.” The far right English Defence League Islam Global terrorism UK security and terrorism Terrorism policy Anders Behring Breivik Thinktanks Communities James Meikle guardian.co.uk

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