Dear John,
Right before our eyes, the UK is becoming a place where dissent is not permitted. We’ve been warning of this creeping trend for years now, as various new laws (the Policing Act, the Public Order Act, the Online Safety Bill, etc) have broadened the government’s crackdown on democratic debate and increased the state’s power to spy and censor. Ideological adversaries of the government – those who voice dissent on everything from public sector pay to climate action to foreign policy to social issues – are being silenced by draconian laws and authoritarian decrees.
The latest row over the definition of “extremism” appears to be yet another example. While it’s obviously right to tackle genuine extremism and target real threats to national security, Communities Secretary Michael Gove is weaponising the definition to silence some well-intentioned and well-known civil society organisations. And, ironically, his announcement may well define his own government as radical extremists.
Gove’s new definition refers to extremism as the “promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to:
negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; or
undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights; or
intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in (1) or (2).”
At first, that might sound perfectly reasonable. But two problems quickly emerge.
Firstly, the list of condemned organisations that fall under that definition published today is a hodge-podge of different groups that do not belong in the same category. White supremacist Neo-Nazi groups like Patriotic Alternative and the British National Socialist Movement – which quite literally endorse ethnic cleansing – were placed alongside advocacy organisations like MEND (a civic engagement NGO focused on tackling islamophobia) and CAGE (which campaigns against the illegal incarceration and torture of terror suspects). This announcement was more political than practical.
Secondly, by its own definition, this government is itself extremist. Was Boris Johnson not “undermining liberal Parliamentary democracy” when he illegally prorogued Parliament in 2019? What about when Dominic Raab tried to take away fundamental human rights in 2022 by ditching the HRA – or when Conservatives routinely slag off the ECHR? All of the exclusionary and anti-democratic policies blocking certain voters from the polls and neutering the Electoral Commission? What about former Conservative PMs endorsing Donald Trump, who just three years ago tried to illegally overturn an election when he didn’t win it? I could go on.
When extremists gain power, they force their radical minority beliefs on everyone else, cracking down on anyone who dares voice opposition. They resort to cruel and oppressive measures to ensure that no one else gets to have their voice heard. Michael Gove isn’t protecting us from extremism – he is showing us what happens when extremism gets the upper hand.
Despite all of us in the democracy and civil liberties sectors raising the alarm, the British public continues to sleepwalk into a terrifying Orwellian future. We’re running out of time to stop it. This country needs democratic renewal right now, and we’ve got a plan to get it done. Please help us fight back before it’s too late.
