If We Tolerate This: How the British Establishment Made the Far Right Respectable

by Daniel Trilling

The language of the far right is now in the mouths of our mainstream political leaders, from Labour to the Conservatives.

In 2025 we saw the biggest far right march in Britain's history, after a summer of flag-waving protest. The year before, racist mobs tried to attack mosques and hotels housing asylum-seekers.

Something incredibly dangerous has been unleashed and yet our political class seems at best indifferent and at worst to welcome it.

In this short, urgent and brilliantly illuminating book Daniel Trilling explains how we arrived at this extraordinary moment and what we can do to change course before it's too late.

Praise for Daniel

'Racism and the rise of the far-right in Britain are often discussed but rarely understood. Daniel Trilling is an exception . . . his voice must be heard' – Owen Jones, author of The Demonization of the Working Class

'Combining forensic enquiry with moral passion, Daniel Trilling has emerged as one of our most intrepid and resourceful reporters' – Pankaj Mishra, Windham-Campbell Prize-winning author of The World After Gaza

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, Current Affairs, Economics

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2026

About the author

Daniel Trilling is the Editor of New Humanist magazine and has reported extensively on refugees in Europe. His work has been published in the London Review of Books, Guardian, New York Times and others, and won a 2017 Migration Media Award. His first book, Bloody Nasty People: The Rise of Britian’s Far Right, was longlisted for the 2013 Orwell Prize. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important reading to understand the current space of the UK, it’s politics, and how we got here. On the surface it is all information already in the public domain, but it is the workings, the detail and the consequences which are very well laid out here.

[Differengenera · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this guys journalism, particularly the story on the BBC internal struggles viz Gaza, so I was expecting something a bit more institutional or investigative, but it's more of a guardian longread via a few recent commentaries on the subject e.g. Davies, Seymour. There's nothing wrong with them, or this book, but it just didn't have anything I didn't already know.

It also goes with a faction of the NLR editorial board side of the 'is this fascism?' argument, which argues that it's not, because you don't have world war I, a revolutionary left and mass organisations contesting civil society. I understand the appeal of this, trying to find a means of theorising the relative thinness of these organisations' membership and the sort of movements which might wrap them up, but it reads to me as the usual shortcomings of a faction of the NLR editorial board which prefers a hydraulic analytic to history. More Kershaw less Arendt. Against better instincts gets mealy-mouthed on Corbyn and Anti-Semitism

[Gabrielė Bužinskaitė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since the 2016 Brexit vote, UK politics has been a mess, to say the least.

In the span of ten years, Brits have seen their prime ministers change six times: from David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss (she stayed for fifty days only), Rishi Sunak, to finally, now deeply unpopular, Keir Starmer.

Such chaos in the prime minister’s position reflects the chaos in the country itself: stagnant economy, exploding cost of living, broken healthcare system, migration crisis, and utterly low public trust in institutions.

If you, like me, haven’t been following UK politics daily, seeing the current situation may leave you flabbergasted. What’s going on? Seriously? How? Why?!

I found this book helpful in answering the questions that, before, left me confused. Now I have a better understanding of the changes that led UK to where it is today.

The book itself was written in April 2026, so it’s very up-to-date. Had the author hidden his political biases better, the book would have been excellent.

[Amy Drozdowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish David Cameron and George Osborne a very perish

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read and share if only for the section linking the current state of uk immigration problems directly to the austerity inflicted on the UK by the George Osbourne. Get out and vote. Division is not the answer. Also, if a party is not receptive to one group of people then they’ll do it again to another. There’s always another scapegoat

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
An insightful, informative, and well written look into the current UK political climate and how far right ideologies are seeping into the mainstream.

[Ash Bebbington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb analysis of how the media, technology, and the Conservative Party (and to a lesser but still significant extent Labour) have nudged Britain's political conversation towards modern-day fascism since the Tories were elected in 2010.

Perhaps most stunning is the examination of how the Tory party radicalised itself during 14 years in power, a process turbocharged by the Brexit vote in 2016. The 'compassionate conservatism' rhetoric of David Cameron feels a very, very long way away in 2026.

If you're a political anorak, none of this will be especially new to you. But it's brilliantly researched and argued, and shows just how toxic politics in Britain has become.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful and informative book.

[Isaac Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read. A new genre that I’m enjoying of non-fiction books that kind of just remember the last 10ish years (for instance: Injury Time: A Telegraph Best Book of 2026). Bonus points for being able to aptly point to neoliberalism as a root cause of some of these problems but only willing to go so far in its critiques (it is published by Pan Macmillan After all) and the call to action, unsurprisingly, is just to go out and Vote.

The book is deliberately short but could have had some deeper analysis, especially for the subheading “How the British Establishment Made the Far Right Respectable”, which is covered but a bit light touch. I really feel everything could have benefited from being twice as long.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Starting by defining the Far Right - racist authoritarians obsessed with birth (more white babies!), sex (stop the gays, control women’s bodies), and death (prepare to die for the homeland, folks) - journalist Daniel Trilling gives a pretty thorough account of how Reform became so popular. He explains how governments since Blair drove a neoliberal hollowing-out of British communities, then exacerbated that with austerity policies following the 2008 bank bailout. Even so-called progressives like Labour demonise immigrants to distract from their inability to make meaningful change. Meanwhile, Far Right media stooges like Melanie Phillips and Douglas Murray stoke the fires of burning migrant hotels and shout down anything even vaguely left wing. The solutions proposed are to organise and protest, though given the Labour government’s response to Gaza genocide protests, I’m not optimistic.

[Leon · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thoroughly readable, but ultimately desperately flawed polemic on the rise of the 'far right' in British and global politics.

The author works in such broad brush strokes that he spends most of the book proclaiming Conservatives to be effectively 'far right' (or at least enabling the far right) and Labour to be effectively Tory, whilst at the end urging 'coalition-building' to combat the threat of a Reform UK Government. It is, of course, impossible to build coalitions when you vehemently disagree and condemn those you seek to build coalitions with, it is why our political system is so fractured.

[Wainepat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An important book that covers how some of the arguments of what was/ is the far right is now semi mainstream and adopted by both Labour and Conservative MPs. The book is very good at outlining the process of how this came about and again is short on solutions. There is a need to inspire hope into the challenges of the fascist movement. Working people need to see confidence being injected into left arguments against the far right. We need to mobilise to defeat the fascists as we did in the past or a dark future is before us.The book fails in that area. I remember Tony Benn used say that socialists needed to keep two flames burning. The flames of Anger and hope. Anger against injustice and the flame of hope that we can build a better world.

[Andy Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent book that exposes the British establishment and its role in creating the conditions that have led to the rise of the far right. Trilling expertly unpicks the craven actions of mainstream politicians who have pandered to racism and xenophobia to make it all the more easier for right-wing parties like Reform to gain support.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst austerity measures obviously directly affect me (and still do) I didn't fully understand what was going on (or why) in the early 2010s as I was more focused on being an angry teen.

I am now an enraged adult.

David Cameron and George Osborne have a lot to answer for.

Everything goes back to Thatcher, who can rest in piss.

[Clive Lillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very, well put-together account how how the far right emerged and strengthened . Helps you appreciate what needs to happen to reduce its impact also.
Well written, and Andy Burnham could do worse than pay him as an advisor

[Natalie Maltby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well written and easily understood making it accessible to even the most politically shy reader. I think it’s an important topic to educate oneself on and I’m really looking forward to hearing the author speak tonight at a book event in Nottingham

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched, literate and readable. What political discourse needs is more books like this arguing against far right disinformation and giving people examples of how to stand against it. Good book, worth reading.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct, easy to understand, important book.

[Fleur Currie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important well researched book presented in such an engaging way.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good recap or primer on how we got to the current political moment in the UK

[Richard Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for all. Charts the rise of the far right, how politics is broken, and what can be done to avoid us falling into the Reform trap.

[Helen Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading

[HumanitySucks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enlightening read as a young person who is genuinely appalled by the rise of the far-right at the moment.

[Hasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will have a huge profound on my life! Learnt so much

[Stephanie Meadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying very hard to convince myself we aren't a completely unsalvageable island full of racists

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summary of how we got to where we are. Necessary but depressing.

[Rosan Ter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goeie uitleg maar het heeft me in een flinke reading slump gegooid zeg

[Eirik Bergesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare political analysis that manages to combine suspenseful journalism with academic depth. Detailed about Britain, still applicable to everywhere else. A must-read!

[Joe Baird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good if a little brief

[Jane Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this, then lend your copy to someone else.

Recently, I've been reading more widely about the rising far right, trying to understand how they are mobilising in the UK and what I can do to stop it. I've found many books helpful in terms of understanding theory and strategy used by fascists to win support, however, many of them involve looking back at historical examples and don't have too much detail on the specific challenges of today (e.g social media, increasing surveillance capitalism, climate change). This book helped me clarify my thoughts on today's form of far right and where there are weaknesses which may be used as intervention points. It's a succinct and accessible read and I will be recommending it alongside "How Fascism Works" by Jason Stanley for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of the times we live in, protect democracy and be a force for good.