In a column before Christmas, I praised Church of England leaders for repudiating far-right, born-again Anglicans, and vowed to attend a service in gratitude. Last Saturday I joined worshippers at a lovely local church. At the end I felt tearful. Though good people and acts are all around us, in that moment, I got caught up in spasms of hopelessness.
Turns out, I’m not alone. A major survey on the state of global public opinion this week found citizens across the advanced economies are, apparently, also feeling bleak and desperate. The report by corporate advisory firm FGS Global based on polling of nearly 20,000 people warns of a “pervasive” mood of pessimism across the UK, US, Canada, Japan and EU. Mistrust, they say, is rising; fewer voters believe the best years lie ahead for their nations.
Such studies have influenced public opinion, politics and social policy for many decades. Some are technically impeccable, others less so. The most reliable are regularly replicated – like the British Social Attitudes Survey. These enable us to make reasonable judgements about changes and emerging issues. One-off studies are useful too but need to be treated with caution. They are a snapshot of society or societies at a particular time, yet too often are presented as the whole truth or “reality”.
This substantive survey usefully provides nuance and complexity. As reported in this paper, 61 per cent of UK voters fear democracy is being weakened by the rise of populist movements. And 52 per cent of Reform voters agree. Furthermore, 65 per cent think voting makes a difference. Even in these fervid times, Britons believe in their democracy. Migration is not the top concern; the cost of living and health are. And welfare reform is almost at the bottom of the priorities. For me these findings are heartening.
But bad news gets the attention, rouses emotions, leads to political and media fatalism which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. All we hear these days is about the rise and rise of Reform and its guaranteed victories this May and in the next election. That may happen, may not. But Labour and Conservative bigwigs are already capitulating to Nigel Farage and his disrupters.
Polls indicating disenchantment and disengagement with established parties should raise the blood of politicians and other movers and shakers who believe Britain is greatest when it is energetic, ambitious, heterogenous, creative, inclusive and fair. Instead of abjectly chasing after crabby populists, they need to speak up and stand up for what is best about us. What is truly depressing is that Keir Starmer’s Labour and the Tories with Kemi Badenoch and attention-seeking Robert Jenrick lack the guts, imagination or resolution to do what is necessary.
The young mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, was elected because he eschewed gloom and doom and had a raft of policies designed to change the lives of struggling, ordinary New Yorkers. In 2021, he even went on hunger strike with yellow cab drivers who had built up huge debts because of excessive tariffs on owner drivers imposed by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. One of those drivers drove the new mayor to his inauguration.
By providing credible counter-narratives and polices to redress inequalities, the courageous and idealistic Mamdani enthused millions. He proudly embraces his American-Muslim identity, believes in socialism – a dirty word in the USA – and is a born winner. Even Trump sees that. Potus has not tipped nasty insults and threats on the young mayor since his inauguration.
Zack Polanski is no Mamdani. But I think he appeals to young voters in particular because he, too, keeps himself outside the tent of cynicism and despair. UK Greens are building up momentum because many voters have abandoned the main parties. This remarkable shift gets lost in Farage fervour.
In some European countries, assertive, well-organised and ethical resistance to neo-fascists is getting results. Support for right-wing populists and the far right declined in Sweden and Denmark in the last European elections, with a surge in support for Greens and left-leaning parties. Norway’s socialist government beat an anti-immigration right-wing party last year. Spain and Portugal remain liberal democracies.
As I write this, a new YouGov poll is published. Yes, once again, Reform on top, the Tories now second and Labour third. Prepare for yet more abject surrender to Farageism by Labour, and right-wing rhetoric about the “real” people of this nation feeling “their” country is full of strangers and has been taken over by woke upstarts.
It really doesn’t have to be this way.
Such surveys should be triggers for renewed action. Parties need to take on Reform by exposing its ugly underbelly and vigorously promoting progressive, modern values, equality and justice, international laws and institutions. Like in New York, these voters are there for the taking. Unspeakable authoritarianism is shattering the US. A damp surrender to Farage, will, I believe, take us in that direction too. Is that what you want?
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