Listen to Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch. You'll hear Nigel Farage

The National

3 days ago

The meaning was clear. Thatcher had shifted the conversation in UK politics to such an extent that the left-wing Labour Party of Clement Atlee and Nye Bevan simply could not exist in the mainstream of the 21st century.
The Conservatives' 'opponents' under Blair reflected Thatcher's own politics more than they did their own predecessors.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon predicts that UK will 'no longer exist' in 20 years
This was proven true when Jeremy Corbyn won leadership of the party – only to find that the same socialist policies that MPs like Wes Streeting gloat about as Labour achievements are now utterly unpalatable to them.
But while that shift is now baked in stone, another is happening before our eyes. The entirety of UK politics is being dragged ever further to the right, with Nigel Farage steering the tow.
We could look at the now-commonplace far-right-backed protests against immigration south of the Border. Or we could look at a media all too willing to excuse them.
Take the BBC, for example, who opened their report on the growing pattern with a quote saying: "We fear for our children. If that makes me far-right then so be it." Or take Sky News, who used a picture of a Reform councillor holding a sign saying: 'I'm not far right. I'm worried about my kids.'
(Image: Sussex News and Pictures) This nebulous 'fear for children' appears again and again – without any mention of children barricaded inside hotels due to violent anti-immigration protests outside, of course, let alone those radicalised into actually joining the protests.
As excuses are made for the rhetoric, it continues to worsen. And as it worsens, it spreads.
Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, has posted on Twitter three times in the last 24 hours. Every post includes some variation on the words: 'If you're an immigrant, I will deport you.' Some go further, and appear to threaten tourists as well.
If you come to this country illegally, you will face detention and return.
If you come to this country and commit a crime, we will deport you as soon as possible. — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 11, 2025
Before that, Starmer was threatening delivery riders 'working illegally" with arrest. Before that, it was people arriving on small boats. Before that, he wrote: 'No gimmicks, just results. If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back.'
These messages aren't for the people actually coming to the UK. They are meant to be read by the far-right activists that populate Twitter.
And Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is going even further. Not content with deportations, she has said she would consider placing people into camps so that they do not bring 'hassle into communities'.
These are the extremist mutterings of a far-right activist, not the serious policy proposals of a Conservative leader. And they are normalised to the point that no one is even really batting an eye.
The UK is not heading into a rabbit hole, we are already so far down it that the world of 2007 seems like a foreign land.
If you can remember back then, Tory candidate Nigel Hastilow was reprimanded by his own party leadership for writing that Enoch Powell 'was right'.
In 2025, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is dropping not-very-subtle references to Powell apparently of his own (speechwriter's) volition.
In the not-too-distant future, if you hear Nigel Farage asked to name his greatest achievement, don't be surprised if the reply comes: 'Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch.'