Identitarian Populism in Britain

This chapter examines the role of 'identitarian populism' in 'othering' and hate incidents, with a focus on three 'populist groups' in Britain, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the British National Party (BNP) and the English Defence League (EDL). For the purpose of this chapter, fieldwork data from the RAGE project have been used, including interviews and ethnographic work with both the 'populist groups' along with a range of organisations who work with those who are presumed to be the victims of 'populist othering' and hate incidents or crime. Evidence suggest that the leadership of UKIP, BNP and EDL recognise the importance of a more popularised rhetoric, in order to attract the attention of the public. UKIP's approach against EU migration or the party’s homophobic sentiments and similarly, EDL's Islamophobic tactics, place the ‘other’ in the centre of their discourse. With the victim representatives agreeing on Gilroy’s (2012) point that it is mainstream culture and politics that have a greater impact on e.g. hate speech and hate crime in general the chapter concludes that the violent acts of the EDL, the rhetoric of UKIP and BNP and the inconsistent media coverage create a breeding environment for politics of fear.