What Does “Far Right” Mean?

Once upon a time, defining the far right was easy. Britain had fringe parties like the BNP and the National Front. Mainstream politicians kept their distance. Their ideas were toxic, and everyone knew it.

That boundary has now broken down.

The far right has been partially absorbed into mainstream politics. Just as Jeremy Corbyn opened Labour to parts of the far left, sections of the modern right have become more tolerant of ideas that would once have been beyond the pale. The difference is that Labour eventually pushed back. On the right, there is little sign of that happening.

So what does “far right” actually mean now?

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Left, Right… and the Gap Between Them

Before defining the far right, it helps to understand the broader divide.

At a high level:

• The left tends to favour a meritocratic, fluid society—people should be able to move up through education and effort.
• The right is more comfortable with hierarchy—status is more fixed, and social order matters.

The differences run deeper:

• Education vs experience: the left values formal learning; the right places more weight on lived experience.
• Diversity vs conformity: the left celebrates difference; the right tends to prioritise social cohesion and shared norms.
• Individual autonomy vs social control: the left leans toward personal freedom in areas like identity and bodily autonomy; the right is more willing to see the state enforce social norms.
• Openness vs protection: the left sees immigration as a potential strength; the right sees it as a risk to stability.

Even where both sides value the same things—like fairness—they define them differently:

• The left focuses on outcomes and support for the vulnerable
• The right focuses on rules, responsibility, and punishment for those who break them

And perhaps most fundamentally:

• The left tends to believe that society can improve over time
• The right tends to believe that something valuable has been lost—and should be restored

None of this is new. It’s the baseline.

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So What Makes Something “Far Right”?

The far right isn’t just “more right wing.” It’s a different category altogether.

It is defined by three core ideas:

1. 

Hierarchy as destiny

Not just accepting inequality, but believing it is natural and desirable:

• Men over women
• White over non-white
• Christian over Muslim

This isn’t conservatism. It’s a belief in a fixed social order.

2. 

Ethnic nationalism

The idea that:

• National identity is racial or ethnic
• Some people can never truly belong
• Diversity is a threat, not a strength

This often leads directly to calls for deportation or “reversal” of immigration.

3. 

Conspiracy thinking

A worldview built around hidden enemies:

• “Replacement” theories
• Claims of secret elite control
• Wild exaggerations about crime, migration, or demographics

These beliefs are not fringe within far-right spaces—they are central.

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What People Actually Believe

Last year I ran a survey on political attitudes, primarily focused on immigration but cross-referenced with broader social views and conspiracy beliefs. I also spent time engaging with people on the political right online.

Two things stood out.

First: most people are not extreme.

Across the political spectrum:

• A majority think immigration has been broadly positive, but needs better management
• Most people are socially tolerant

The differences between left and right are real—but they are not irreconcilable.

But then there’s the other group.

Roughly a third of respondents expressed views that were markedly different—more hostile, more conspiratorial, and more absolutist.

At the extreme end, that included beliefs such as:

• The world has a natural order; men above women, christian above muslim, white over non-white.  Countries that try and go against this natural order destroy themselves
• Being British or English is a matter of ethnicity.  You can only be truly British if you are white
• Britain should remove a significant part of it’s non-white population, particularly Muslims
• There is a conspiracy to replace white British people with non-white, Muslim immigrants who are easier for global elites to control
• Britain is being invaded by fighting age Muslim men who plan to take over the country, parts of England are already under Sharia Law
• There are millions more illegal immigrants in the UK than the Government is admitting to
• Most child abuse in the UK is committed by Muslims
• White people are an oppressed minority, there is more racism towards white people in the UK than non-white people
• Universities are dominated by cultural marxism  – a sinister force that indoctrinates young people in extreme leftist ideology.   Access University should be tightly controlled, and what is taught there should be policed by the state.  

This is not conventional conservatism. It is something else.

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Where Does This Sit Politically?

Some parties sit clearly in this space.

• Restore, Advance, Reclaim: openly draw on far-right traditions and rhetoric
• Their policies and language align directly with ideas that have circulated in extremist movements for decades

Others operate in a more ambiguous position.

• Reform UK adopts a more careful public tone
• But it consistently flirts with themes—immigration panic, cultural decline, anti-elite conspiracy—that overlap heavily with far-right narratives

The gap between leadership messaging and supporter rhetoric is particularly telling. What is implied at the top is often stated explicitly at the grassroots.

In my survey, support for Reform correlated more strongly than any other party with belief in far-right ideas.

That may partly reflect timing—newer parties are less represented—but the direction of travel is clear.

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Conclusion: The Line Has Moved

The real issue isn’t that the far right exists. It always has.

The issue is that the line separating it from mainstream politics has shifted.

Ideas that were once unthinkable are now:

• debated on television
• shared widely on social media
• echoed, in softer language, by mainstream politicians

And once that boundary moves, it rarely moves back on its own.

The danger isn’t just extremism. It’s normalisation.

Because when far-right ideas stop looking extreme, they stop being challenged—and start shaping the political agenda.

And by that point, the argument is already half lost.