Flawed use of the word ‘populist’ to describe politics beyond the mainstream right is legitimising racism. Academics and journalists are ignoring the evidence staring us in the face.
Politicians, media and some academics have spent years peddling narratives that racism and Islamophobia are the ‘will of the people’, but the facts tell a very different story.
It is in the here and now that UK racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, far-right and mainstream, are situated, embedded, and do harm. It should be tackled, not displaced and denied.
It is essential to move beyond electoral politics to understand the way the far right is being mainstreamed. It involves asking, “ is there any such thing as public opinion” ?
The term 'alt-right' is appropriate for a loose movement able to mainstream white nationalism and fascism and make them part of popular culture, the media landscape and the national dialogue.
It is important that people are highlighting not only the racist profiling, double standard and demands placed on Muslims, but also correct perceptions about the identities of terrorist threats.
