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@docrussjackson
Jan 31, 2021 • 41 tweets • 22 min read • Read on X
Following the widely unreported news that Boris Johnson is facing growing condemnation for an “appalling” Tory alliance with neo-Nazi & anti-Muslim parties across Europe, it reminded me how little traction Tory #antisemtism has got in the news since 2015.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…
I think most people are aware of Boris Johnson's book '72 Virgins', with its references to Jews controlling the media, Arabs with “hook noses” & “slanty eyes” & the mentions of “pikeys” & "coffee-coloured “half-castes”, so I won't dwell on it.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…
In October 2016, many pointed out the similarities between May's "If you believe you are a citizen of the world, you're a citizen of nowhere", & the language used by Hitler in Mein Kampf, & in Stalin's anti-"rootless cosmopolitan" campaign against Jews.

jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/vince-cable-co…
In January 2017, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson met with Jared Kushner & 'proud racist' & dodgy alt-right crank Steve Bannon, who was at the time Donald Trump's chief strategist, & who "enabled right wing antisemitism to seep into the mainstream".

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi…
Sajid Javid was accused of exploiting antisemitism after he attempted to link denying the Holocaust to Corbyn, by stating (we) should not be misled by Corbyn. Pathetically, Javid clarified: “Corbyn is not a Holocaust denier. I am happy to make that clear.”
independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…
Javid was also accused of using a similar antisemitism to that seen in Vichy France, where Jews had been separated into French or foreign born. Javid was criticised for separated Jews based on "decent Jews" & "Corbyn supporting Jews".

voxpoliticalonline.com/2018/09/08/the…
In July 2018, Channel 4 #FactCheck revealed that the @Conservatives Party rulebook did not even mention antisemitism, despite Theresa May stating that her party had adopted the #IHRA definition.

channel4.com/news/factcheck…
In April 2018, Boris Johnson was criticised for congratulating Viktor Orbán on his re-election as PM of Hungary, in part because of concern about the crystal clear "anti-Semitic undertones" to Orban's campaign.

news.sky.com/story/boris-jo…
Also in April 2018, Jewish organisations unsuccessfully called on the @Conservatives to confront European political parties that had fueled antisemitism, particularly those the Conservatives were affiliated in the European Conservatives & Reformists group.
ijv.org.uk/2018/04/18/joi…
In September 2018, British Jewish leaders again condemned the @Conservatives because, in a vote to remove Hungary's voting rights at the European Council, the party defended Hungary's far-right Orbán government despite its 'vivid antisemitism'.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…
The @Conservatives were accused of 'cosy[ing] up to an antisemitic & racist strong-man regime', 'pandering to Jew-hate'. They were seen, including by one of their own politicians, as defending Orbán 'in a bid for backing in #Brexit talks'.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…
According to The Jewish Chronicle, the vote 'was truly shameful & a dark day for the party led by Theresa May'.

Later in April 2018, Orbán wrote to the @Conservatives Party thanking them for their support in the vote.

thejc.com/news/uk/michae…
In February 2018, May's former aide Nick Timothy co-wrote a story for The Telegraph which described Jewish philanthropist George Soros's funding of the anti-Brexit campaign as a "secret plot". @UKLabour would have been crucified, but not the Tories.

thejc.com/news/uk/brexit…
In November 2018, the @Conservatives were condemned again, this time for appointing Roger Scruton as chair of a new Housing and Architecture Committee because he "pedall[ed] antisemitic conspiracy theories" regarding Soros, & had strong links with Orban.

thejc.com/news/uk/tories…
In 2019 Suella Braverman stupidly said her party was "engaged in a fight against Cultural Marxism" - the far-right antisemtic conspiracy theory which inspired Anders Breivik, but which Tories STILL KEEP amplifying to this day.

businessinsider.in/conservative-b…
In March 2019, Jacob Rees-Mogg RTd a speech by the leader of the far-right German political party AfD, who marched with neo-Nazis & were condemned as "racist & antisemitic", "no party for Jews", & a "danger to Jewish life in Germany". JRM didn't care.

thejc.com/news/uk/jacob-…
In 2018, three @Conservatives council candidates were revealed to have made antisemitic comments: one said he was "Sweating like a Jew in an attic", & another referred to the Jewish symbol of the Star of David as the "Mark of the Beast".

indy100.com/news/tory-elec…
In 2019, when on a London parliamentary candidate short list, Councillor Ben Seifert was told by a party member not to run because he is Jewish & "you can have too many Jews". Seifert left the @Conservatives party in September 2019.

thejc.com/news/uk/ex-tor…
In November 2017 @hopenothate reported that @Conservatives Party activists were members of a Facebook group called 'Young Right Society', which was 'awash with antisemitic, #Holocaust denying & racist material'.

theboar.org/2017/11/warwic…
In October 2018, 'Moralitis: A Cultural Virus', by Robert Oulds, director of the Bruges Group, were available at a Bruges Group meeting. It is full of rabid right-wing antisemitic conspiracy theories, including "Cultural Marxism" & the Great Replacement.

vice.com/en/article/7x3…
At Plymouth University @Conservatives party in October 2018, some society members were pictured wearing clothing with homemade slogans on them, such as "Jude" (German for Jew) with a Star of David, & wearing a Hitler-moustache.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
In December 2018 disgusting right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA, launched its British branch, TPUK. Candace Owens said some offensive crap about Hitler. Support for the organisation was given by Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel, & Steve Baker.

haaretz.com/us-news/.premi…
On 3rd September 2019, Jacob Rees-Mogg called two Jewish @Conservatives MPs 'members of the Illuminati', one of the "most poisonous antisemitic canards in all of history... frequently used as justification for violence".

ucleuropeblog.com/2019/09/05/jac…
JRM using "Illuminati" was "dog-whistle antisemitism & at the same time a chase for votes to shamelessly exploit Jewish fears". He also said Soros was 'the remoaner funder in chief' - seen by some as a perpetuation of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

blogs.timesofisrael.com/we-need-to-tal…
Jacob Rees-Mogg was condemned by Lord Alf Dubs (who called for Rees-Mogg to be sacked), describing his comment as being 'straight from the far right's antisemitic playbook'. Britain First hero Rees-Mogg didn't apologise - he never does.

jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/lord-alf-dubs-…
At the 2019 @Conservatives conference, Priti Patel disparaged the 'North London metropolitan liberal elite', seen as an antisemitic reference, & described as 'the language of the far-right... a worrying descent into dog-whistle antisemitic discourse'.

jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jlm-lambasts-p…
In 2019, Crispin Blunt accused the chief rabbi of Manchester of demanding "special status" for Britain's Jews. The Jewish Leadership Council stated he should "clarify if he supports the concept of freedom of religion, a cornerstone of liberal democracy".

thejc.com/news/uk/conser…
Michael Gove was urged to apologise for sharing an antisemitic tweet from a Twitter account falsely claiming it was run by a @UKLabour member - he was accused of "dog-whistle antisemitism" & "shamelessly exploit[ing] Jewish fears".

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…
James Cleverly was accused of "dog-whistle antisemitism". In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, he claimed Jewish "individuals & groups, including entrepreneurs & other business figures" would leave the country if @UKLabour won the 2019 election.

opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-…
The newly elected member for Hastings, Sally-Ann Hart, is under investigation by the @Conservatives party for antisemitism (and Islamophobia) after she "liked" a Nazi phrase on Facebook & "shared" an antisemitic slur.

theguardian.com/politics/2019/…
The newly elected MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, was reported to be under investigation by the @Conservatives party for antisemitism in December 2019. Anderson was an active member of a Facebook group in which George Soros conspiracies are promoted.

jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/two-tories-win…
In February 2020, the @Conservatives' Jewish former Speaker John Bercow, claimed that he had experienced 'subtle' antisemitism from members of his own Conservative Party, and had never experienced any antisemitism from @UKLabour MPs.

timesofisrael.com/uks-ex-parliam…
During the #GE2019, several @Conservatives MPs - including Boris Johnson - attended the unveiling of a statue of Nancy Astor, a "notorious anti-Semite" & "Nazi sympathiser who speculated that Hitler could be the solution to the 'world problem' of Jews".

metro.co.uk/2019/11/29/the…
In 2019 Ryan Houghton, standing for the #GE2019, was suspended for comments made 7 years ago on social media related to the #Holocaust, including saying there was "no credible evidence to suggest the Holocaust did not happen". His suspension was lifted.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla…
Amjad Bashir, who was standing in the Leeds North East constituency for the #GE2019, was suspended from the @Conservatives party after claiming that British Jews who visited Israel were returning as "brainwashed extremists". His suspension was lifted.

thejc.com/news/uk/tories…
Richard Short, candidate for St Helens South & Whiston, questioned on Twitter whether journalist Melanie Phillips, who appeared on #bbcqt was being more loyal to Israel or Britain. He still stood for parliament, but lost.

theguardian.com/politics/2019/…
In November 2020, 26 Tory MPs from the “Common Sense Group” wrote to the Telegraph accusing the National Trust of being “coloured by cultural Marxist dogma". They know the Board of Deputies have said it's wrong to use this phrase, but they just don't care.
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Ben Bradley MP often uses the phrases "cultural Marxism", & the "white working class" (popularised by the far-right BNP & NF in the 1980s). He's also called for the poor to be sterilised.

Tories generally get away with it because the UK print & broadcast news media leans Right. ImageImage
Britain sacrificed so many lives to help defeat #Hitler.

So why aren't voters HORRIFIED to hear @Conservatives & much of the UK press attack minorities, amplify far-right antisemitic tropes, & articulate THE EXACT SAME DANGEROUS POPULIST NATIONALIST RHETORIC used by the #Nazis? Image
The contrast between news reaction to the '@UKLabour antisemitism crisis', & the almost total absence of reaction to the @Conservatives' relentless mobilisation of far-right antisemitic conspiracy theories & populist nationalist discourse reminiscent of the Nazi era, is shocking.
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More from @docrussjackson

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Dec 12
🧵

Reform UK’s slick, stage-managed launch of a Christian Fellowship in St Michael’s Church is not some harmless Christmas-season publicity stunt. It is a clear and brazen step towards the Trumpification of UK politics, where religion is weaponised as a tool for cultural warfare and political mobilisation.

This is not organic Christian revival. It’s strategic political engineering.

Behind this development sit figures who have spent years trying to inject a US-style fusion of right-wing politics and religious identity into British political culture:

• Paul Marshall

A billionaire media financier with a clear ideological project: to build a hard-right cultural and religious counter-establishment. Through GB “News”, The |Spectator and UnHerd and other platforms he has amplified narratives about “woke attacks” on tradition, identity, and Christianity. The Islamophobic tweets he liked are disgusting. His network provides the media oxygen for precisely the kind of politicised Christianity on display at the Reform launch.

• James Orr

A Cambridge academic and prominent Anglican conservative intellectual, closely connected to the “post-liberal” movement and hard-right US conservative and Hungarian organisations. Orr openly promotes the idea of restoring Britain’s “Christian identity” through politics — a framing that sits uncomfortably close to the Christian-nationalist rhetoric of the US right. His advisory role to senior Reform figures is a clear sign of the ideological hardening underway.

• Danny Kruger

Long known for advocating a more “muscular” Christian politics, Kruger has repeatedly argued that the UK should explicitly root its laws and social policy in “Judeo-Christian values” - a dog whistle I explain in the next tweet.

This is the British echo of US culture-war evangelicalism: turning religion into a political badge, not a spiritual or moral tradition. His involvement in shaping Reform’s policy direction cements the party’s shift toward faith-infused populism.

• Calvin Robinson

Though no longer in the Church of England, disgraced former GBN presenter and political extremist Robinson remains one of the most prominent voices pushing an aggressive “anti-woke, anti-liberal” form of Christianity in the media — including endorsing narratives that paint inclusive or progressive churches as heretical. His alignment with Reform’s messaging shows how the party is deliberately courting polemical, grievance-driven Christian activism.

Together, these figures represent a new coalition: a British attempt to import the US religious-right model, with all its corrosive social consequences.

Using St Michael’s Cornhill — a church rooted in the conservative evangelical network — as the backdrop for this political spectacle is shocking in a UK context.

This is not merely a “religious event attended by politicians.” It was a political rally held in a church, wrapped in Anglican aesthetics.

The Church of England has historically avoided such political entanglement precisely because it knows how dangerous it is to let a religious institution become a vessel for partisan identity politics.

Britain is not America — but Reform UK wants to change that

What we are seeing is the deliberate construction of a political identity rooted in far-right themes lurching toward a contemporary form of Christofascism:

grievance Christianity
nostalgia for a mythic “Christian Britain”
hostility to minorities and multiculturalism
anti-LGBTQ+ theology rebranded as “family values”
anti-immigrant populism framed as moral duty
and a narrative of cultural siege identical to the US evangelical right

It is the Trump playbook, translated into British idiom.

This is disturbing, because once a political movement fuses religious identity with national identity, democratic debate changes: Opponents are no longer wrong — they are heretical. Policies are no longer argued — they are sanctified. Compromise becomes betrayal. And politics becomes a zero-sum culture war.

Britain has largely avoided this polarising poison. Reform UK is now trying to inject it directly into the bloodstream of national politics.

Reform UK’s “Christian Fellowship” is not about faith. It is the public unveiling of a British Christian-nationalist project — backed by wealthy ideologues, amplified by culture-war media, and borrowing heavily from the most divisive elements of the US right.

It is a serious warning sign of where Reform UK intends to take the country: toward a politics defined by religious grievance, cultural division, and the erosion of the pluralistic norms that have protected Britain from the worst excesses of American political extremism.
Concerning Paul Marshall:
Concerning James Orr:
Read 10 tweets
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Dec 9
🧵

How have populist UK politicians and Britain’s right-wing press and broadcasters got away with repeating — day after day, year after year — the brazenly false and wildly misleading claim that we live in a “high-welfare, high-tax” country? Image
Why the “High-Welfare, High-Tax” Myth Persists.

The claim that Britain is a “high-welfare, high-tax” country is a shameless lie—brazenly false—as OECD and OBR data consistently show: the UK's tax take is ~36% of GDP (mid-table globally, and well under the EU average of 40.5%). Image
The UK's total tax take of 36% is far under France's 45% or Denmark's 46%. Welfare benefits spending (including state pensions) is a modest ~11% of GDP—among the lowest in the OECD, well below the EU average of 17.5%, and just under half that of France (20.5%) and Italy (20%). Image
Read 31 tweets
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Dec 8
🧵

Not only has Nigel Farage shamelessly normalized far right discourse, but Reform UK have welcomed a new generation of young, radicalised, Andrew Tate fanboys who think it's acceptable to spread divisive bigoted lies and disinformation, and to make crass bigoted 'jokes'. Image
Joseph Boam is a radicalised 22-year-old Tate fanboy who started out as a Tory, running as a district councillor, then switching to Reform UK in 2024 and becoming a councillor in May 2025 representing the Whitwick division on Leicestershire County Council for the Reform UK party. Image
A former KFC worker, who has worked with his dad on sheds and property renovation, despite his total lack of any relevant experience or knowledge of the area, he was appointed Council deputy leader and cabinet member for adult social care—which ispatently absurd. Image
Read 14 tweets
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Dec 5
🧵

‘The Psychology of the New Far Right: Privilege, Fear, and Media Power in the Rise of Authoritarianism.’

Fear, belonging, and power are being manipulated into a frightening new age of populist outrage and algorithmic media, argues Dr Russell Jackson.

bylinesupplement.com/p/the-psycholo…
I've reproduced the article in 🧵 form, below, because its a subscriber only article from @BylineTimes.

You can subscribe here, and I would encourage you to - Bylines tells the stories and undertakes investigations many national news media fear to.

subscribe.bylinetimes.com
Across the West, figures such as Trump, JD Vance, Farage, Johnson, Tice, Kruger, and Lowe helped normalise far-right populist rhetoric within mainstream politics. Their appeal is anti-elite—yet they themselves embody the privilege they claim to challenge.

populismstudies.org
Read 91 tweets
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Nov 21
🧵

In May, Reform UK became the UK’s first party to accept crypto donations; experts warned of major money-laundering and foreign interference risks.

The NCA says Tether—backed by Reform’s £13.7M donor Christopher Harborne—has been used by Russia to fund its war in Ukraine. Image
A multibillion-dollar scheme that exchanges cash from drug and gun sales in the UK for crypto—digital tokens hiding users’ identities—has enabling “sanctions evasions and the highest levels of organised crime, including providing money-laundering services to the Russian state”.
theguardian.com/politics/2025/…Image
In 2023, the hedge fund co-founded by GB "News" owner Paul Marshall, who employs 60% of anti-Net Zero Reform UK's MPs, had £1.8 BILLION invested in fossil fuel firms.

Harborne (who has Thai citizenship under the name 'Chakrit Sakunkrit) also makes money from fossil fuels.

Read 17 tweets
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Nov 19
🧵

I and countless others are sick to death of the billionaire-funded Reform UK propaganda machine, GB “News”, and their decontextualised ‘facts’ that would make Goebbels blush.

Let’s examine the claim that “one quarter of foreign sex offenders come from just five countries”.
Yes, the raw data comes from a genuine Ministry of Justice (MoJ) prison census, but the way it’s being weaponised is deeply misleading.

The statistic sounds explosive, and deliberately so: a factoid engineered to sound like a revelation of hidden danger.
The right-wing information pipeline: a cherry-picked fragment of official data stripped of context, laundered through an opaquely funded “think tank” that isn't a think tank, amplified by billionaire-funded media, and weaponised by opportunistic politicians for electoral gain.
Read 38 tweets

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