‘Division is feeding fear and fury’

Our nation is on edge. We see it in far-right marches on our streets and painted flags on our roundabouts. Anger is rising, fear is spreading, all of it fuelled by widening divisions within our country. Radical voices on the right and left are exploiting these divisions, turning economic anxiety, online echo chambers, and social isolation into a toxic “us versus them” narrative. 

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But we can heal these divides by showing leadership that unites our nation into one ‘British Us’. That means setting out a political vision rooted in unity, decency, and determination — values that define our Britishness. And it means matching that vision with a policy platform that guarantees decent living standards and strengthens the bonds that tie us together.

People who cannot make ends meet, and do not see any way of being able to do so, are becoming more angry and fearful. The young (who can’t afford homes) and non-graduates (who struggle to find jobs) can’t afford to live. And while they struggle, they see the numbers of billionaires rising. 

Other divides are growing too. While young graduates move to major cities to chase good jobs, their peers stay where they’re born. All of us are living in different online echo chambers, which feed us increasingly extreme views. These trends are splitting society into fragmented groups, creating loneliness and resentment. It is this division that is making people feel their way of life – and that of their children – is under threat. 

This anger, fear, and division is infecting our politics and spilling out onto our streets. We saw it last month as over a hundred thousand people attended a far-right march in London. Here they were given an answer as to why life is so difficult for them. The answer was blaming and attacking immigrants. 

All of us seek safety in groups and find comfort in being part a larger whole. But today’s divides mean that rather than seeing Britain as one united nation, we are breaking down into sets of mutually antagonistic groups within our country. Radical politicians on the right and left feed on anger and fuel the division of our United Kingdom into ‘Us vs. Them’. While Farage blames all our problems on “migration”, Polanski blames “corporations”. 

These are not our Labour values. Our Labour values are of a nation where every person can live a decent life. A nation where we have a stake in each other’s well-being, sharing a common purpose, prosperity, and connection. Our values are built on standing together, not standing apart. 

It is for us to rise to this moment. To meet, understand, and then overcome these difficult times. We can do so by providing a political vision that builds on the greatest traditions of our nation and policies that ensure everyone can afford to live a decent life. I briefly set out what this looks below.

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Our political vision is one that draws upon our nation’s greatest moments, which have been defined by unity, decency, and determination. During the Second World War – we pulled together as one people – a broad British “us” to make the impossible seem only remarkable. We made intolerable sacrifices for each other during the pandemic. Beyond those great moments, the small everyday ones too, the pint, the cup of tea, taking the mick. A Britishness based on what we do rather than how we are born. A Britishness which reduces anger and fear, by promoting respect, decency, and unity. 

Our policies must ensure every person can live a decent life. That means ensuring everyone can afford to thrive, today and tomorrow. Creating good jobs in every part of the country, investing to get costs down, and redistributing to make life affordable. Getting living standards rising for every person and part of the country is the best way to heal the economic divides that are tearing us apart. On top of this, we must create ways for us to connect to one another in real life – down the pub, in our local sports club, at the park – to reduce the danger of online echo chambers. 

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Our nation is dangerously divided, but we are not destined to fall apart. To create a nation where we stand together takes leadership. Leadership which outlines a political vision of British values as unity, decency, and determination. Leadership that sets out policies which ensure rising living standards and connection for all. That is the United Kingdom we can, and must, create.

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