Julia Ebner on how the UK riots has impacted the far right movement

In an exclusive interview with Prospect, ISD’s Senior Resident Research Fellow Julia Ebner spoke about the potential backlash of harsh punishments for far-right rioters in England following the mass stabbing in Southport.

Following the series of riots in response to the stabbing, hundreds who participated have since been arrested and charged with violent disorder. Some members have already been sentenced to several years in prison.

Due to the “strong bonding experiences” of such escalations with the security services, Julia notes the “strong group dynamics” emerging within the far-right. This could potentially lead to “identity fusion,” where personal and group identities are merged, especially when an individual undergoes a “deeply emotional or transformative” experience within a group.

More widely, the riots served to bring together far-right factions in the UK, which previously was more fractured, ranging from university-educated Patriotic Alternative members to “the older generation of anti-Islam activists and Tommy Robinson sympathisers” of the former English Defence League.

“We see violence directly against migrants, whether they are Muslims, whether they are Christian—it doesn’t really matter to [the far right], as long as their skin colour is different,” Julia told Prospect. Regarding this shift towards a more general ethnically driven hatred, she notes it “used to not be as acceptable, even in far-right circles, as it is now.”

Julia also speaks to the “effective communication channels” built up by the far right on messaging platforms such as Telegram, and social media platforms, most notably X, which enabled groups to plan protests. Regarding X, she notes how the platform’s impact went “beyond its lax attitudes” towards the spread of disinformation.

“For the first time, they feel like they see their ideologies and their activities being normalised and legitimised.”

You can read the Prospect story here.