Right-wing Europe: Analysis of the European Elections

The votes are now in, and the seats in European parliament have been officially announced.If you followed the BBC’s coverage of the elections, you will note how they divided the results graph into the political right and left. On first impression, it looks to be a 50/50 split between the right and the left, and to be completely honest, it sort of is. Upon further inspection however, you’ll notice that the graph leans more toward the right, especially when considering the difference between the far right and far left parties.

On the basis of this election result, it has become apparent that across Europe there has been a significant increase in votes supporting far-right groups. This author does not wish to question the allegiance of voters, nor does he wish to suggest that certain parties should not have representation; because he understands that to live in a democracy with freedom of speech means that each individual can have a say and that say must be considered equally as much as anyone else’s: The very fact that extremist groups (both right and left) are getting representation in Europe, means that the system of democracy is working. No, this author simply wishes to analyse why voters are finding solace in the right-wing, as opposed to the previously trusted left-wing; and this analysis can only come from the UK at the moment, for that is where the author resides.

In the UK, this election has seen two parlimentary seats awarded to the BNP (British National Party); a far-right party often considered racist by most Britons, due to their ‘white-only’ policy. Previously, the BNP had no representation in Europe.

The two areas in which the BNP managed to attain these seats were the North-West and Yorkshire (Mid-North-East). On a National level, the BNP took 6.7% of the votes, making them the 6th most popular party in the UK for Europe. Quite a feat when you consider that there were 34 parties/individuals standing from the UK in this election.

So, what is it that is making Britons vote for the far-right? And why are the voters predominantly from the North of England? Here is one theory:

The North of England has always been more of a working-class region. In the past, these were where the mining towns were located. As time went on, industry and factories came to the North, employing thousands of workers in manual-labour jobs. Car factories, power plants, mines etc… The North was the industrious backbone of Britain; and the workers, although not paid much, worked hard and kept industry going.

During the last Conservative (centre-right-wing British party) reign, especially during the late 1980’s, much of the previously government run industry was privatised and, as a result, a lot of the workers lost jobs making an already impoverished area even worse.

Despite a final Conservative push to repair the economy in the early-mid 90’s, it came as no surprise that in 1997 many Britons voted for the New Labour Party (centre-left-wing British party), resulting in the first left-wing run United Kingdom in nearly 20 years. Initially, Labour continued the Conservative effort to improve the economy, provide new jobs and attract businesses from abroad to invest in the UK bringing building contracts into the North-East thus reducing the unemployment rate.

Recently however, with the war in Iraq and numerous political scandals, trust in the Labour party has been severely reduced. On top of this, many blame the current government for driving the UK into the recession we now face - a recession that has caused many private companies to seek lower-cost workers from other countries to complete building contracts, resulting in one of the worst unemployments in the UK for a long-time, especially in the North of England.

Left redundant and without hope in the current government, residents in England look to a new solution. They dare not go back to the Conservative Party, and they see no promise in Labour. Then, along comes the British National Party. A party that promises to keep industry in England. For British companies to provide jobs for British people (when they say British, they mean British born and white). The North of England is already predominantly white, and have become very angry over the years. They see foreign people coming into the country, taking jobs they can’t get, and so they are left unemployed. The solution they see is to make Briton for the British, and it’s a completely valid solution when you consider what they have been through.

This appears to be a similar trend across Europe. When you consider that foreigners will work harder for less money, and then the current fear of terrorism rife across the Western world, is it any wonder that more and more people are turning to the far-right? A political viewpoint that would suggest closing the borders and keeping each country for itself seems to becoming more and more popular amongst voters. It’s still a long way off from becoming the majority point of view, but its supporters are increasing in size, and at a significant level.

This author will keep his political inclinations to himself, however, as a point of personal opinion, he feels it would be a shame to lose the kind of muli-culturality that makes places like London such a pleasure to live in. Perhaps governments in the UK have been neglecting areas like the North of England, and similarly so across Europe, causing these extreme right-wing views to surface. At the end of the day, survival is man’s most basic instinct, and if it’s a fight to survive between you and your neighbour, who will you want to win?

We need to stop people from seeing this as a fight for survival. Companies need to care more about workers than about money, and governments need to show equal care for all their people, not just those in large cities that generate more tax.

If the far-right is where Europe is headed, there’s nothing this author can do about it. But as one who is not a white British-born individual, he will sorely miss the opportunity to mix with and learn about people from other cultures. Consider the National cuisine of the UK: Curry. A dish especially enjoyed by those of the North of England. Only in a truly multi-cultural society can a dish such as curry be heralded as British. Food for thought perhaps.