It has been a politically charged summer in the UK, with protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country, thousands of national flags hoisted on bridges or hung from poles, the latest polls showing a radical shift to the right and, most recently, a recent anti-immigrant march in central London, attended by up to 150.000 people.
The scale of these events, and especially the most recent protest led by controversial far-right activist Tommy Robinson, has reignited the debate over whether the far right is gaining ground in the United Kingdom.
The far right has seemingly become a permanent fixture of the European political landscape in recent years – with parties under that label leading governments in Italy and Hungary, forming coalitions in Austria, Sweden and Finland, and growing in popularity in opposition in France, Germany, Portugal and Belgium.
Do all these recent events suggest that the UK could become the next Western democracy to be swept up in a wave of populist right-wing politics?
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A show of force
The September 13 rally, held under the name Unite the Kingdom, was one of the largest far-right protests of all time in the UK, according to the anti-racism charity Hope, not hate.
It was marked by chants of "send them home" and a sea of national flags.
Some protesters carried pictures of Charlie Kirk, an American conservative activist killed earlier this month.
There were clashes with the police and speeches by controversial figures, such as American billionaire Elon Musk, who called for the dissolution of the British parliament and the removal of the current Labour government.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence and rhetoric.
"We will never surrender our flag to those who use it as a symbol of division," he declared.
Julia Ebner, an expert on radicalisation at the University of Oxford's Institute for Strategic Dialogue, told the BBC that it now appears as if far-right ideas have become part of the mainstream in the UK.
“Tommy Robinson was a marginal figure a decade ago,” she said.
"And now he has transformed into a powerful and influential figure whose audience reaches far beyond the traditional far right."
The fact that Robinson has shown he can mobilize up to 150.000 people and attract influential figures like Musk has turned this latest march into a demonstration of the power of the far right, she said.
There were 180 far-right and anti-immigrant rallies in the UK last year, according to ACLED, an independent conflict monitor that provides data on and analyses protests around the world.
Anti-immigrant sentiment has been particularly strong since the riots in Southport in northwest England last summer, when the fatal stabbings of three children at a dance class sparked protests, fueled by misinformation on social media that the suspect was an illegal migrant.
Ebner highlights the role of social media in amplifying far-right narratives, as she points to the tendency of algorithms to promote radical content, allowing misinformation and conspiracy theories to spread faster than fact-based journalism.
"Social media has replaced traditional news sources for many," says Ebner.
"Algorithms provide us with a highly biased information environment, where the most radical sources of information and the most radical messages are amplified the most."
Concerns about immigration
Experts agree that the rise of far-right sentiment is being fueled by a complex mix of factors, such as disillusionment with the major parties, a hardening of public discourse on immigration and concerns about economic factors.
The increase in the number of small ships arriving in the UK has also played a significant role in this debate.
"People see that there has been a rise in inequality and in some places a decline in the quality of public services. They fear that they will be worse off in ten years," says Stijn van Kessel, professor of comparative politics at Queen Mary University of London.
"There is an economic pessimism that has taken hold, and people often associate it with the issue of immigration. The message from the far right is that to protect jobs and the welfare state, we need to stop immigration," he told the BBC.
Recently, a dispute over hotels providing accommodation for asylum seekers has made headlines in the UK, with local authorities fighting legal battles challenging their use, and with protests from local communities concerned about their own safety and costs.
In June 2025, a total of 111.000 people sought asylum in the United Kingdom, a 14 percent increase on the previous year, according to government statistics.
"Politicians might say, 'We need to deal with immigration or asylum in a better way, but we also need immigrants to staff the health sector.'
"But the latter argument is no longer being made at all," says Professor Van Kessel.
Ebner adds that the increase in far-right rhetoric was not just due to the immigration debate.
"There are also topics of gender and LGBT rights, climate change action, and freedom of speech and expression."
“There’s a whole portfolio of different topics on which the far right always takes a contrary stance to the status quo and what they would call the establishment,” she says.
The rise of the Reform Party
The rise of Nigel Farage's UK Reform Party adds a new layer to the debate over whether the radical right is gaining influence in the country.
Although Farage distances himself from Tommy Robinson and the far-right label, the Reform Party also takes a hardline approach to immigration.
The party has managed to maintain a comfortable lead in public opinion polls – an Ipsos poll conducted in May-June this year showed it enjoying 34 percent support from the electorate and a nine-point lead over the ruling Labor Party.
The Reform Party's electoral success, which includes recent victories in by-elections and large gains in English local elections, suggests a growing public appetite for alternatives to the mainstream.
“Immigration stimulated the rise of the Reform Party more than anything else,” says Travers, adding that people’s disillusionment with established political parties was also a factor.
"I think the polls show that many people who vote for the Reform Party are fed up with the Conservative Party and the Labour Party - the two dominant parties in British politics for about a century," he says.
"So it's a way to teach them a lesson. A kind of 'rage against the machine,' where people feel they have to do something to be heard."
Normalization of the far right
Professor Van Kessel points out that the current climate is leading to the normalization of far-right politics, as mainstream parties increasingly adopt far-right positions and messages in a bid to win back voters.
But he warns that this strategy often backfires.
"Attempts to compete on the far-right's turf, attempts to sound like they are tough on immigration, will only keep the topic of immigration at the top of the political agenda, and in the end only the radical right will benefit from that," he says.
"Mainstream politicians, those in power, can try to improve immigration policy without necessarily repeating the harsh rhetoric of the radical right," he adds.
Ebner agrees that resisting the far right requires more than strong rhetoric, as well as a multi-layered understanding of the discontent that generates support.
“Individuals who support the far right come from different worlds,” she says.
"We need to address their concerns without repeating radical views."
She also calls for reform of the digital ecosystem.
“It’s really important to call for transparency and accountability from technology platforms,” she says.
"The government can do a lot to educate people to be good digital citizens. I think it's important to be aware of the psychology of online channels to think deeply about what it does to our identities, group dynamics, and society in general."
Lack of economic growth
But what if the rise of the far right continues in the UK?
Will the core give way?
Ebner points to two major risks: political violence and the erosion of democratic institutions.
Professor Travers suggests that economic growth could be the most effective antidote to the rise of the radical right.
"One real problem is that there is very little or no economic growth in the UK. The government can't borrow much more money, it can't tax people any more, and people feel their disposable income is falling," he says.
"That's where the real solution lies. All politics is actually local," he says.
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