Nadel explained that Donald Trump’s presidency could impact the UK in a number of ways, creating “new norms of behaviour so that the window will shift further to the right”.
Commenting on Elon Musk’s recent interest in British politics, including branding Labour MP Jess Phillips a “rape genocide apologist”, which the MP claimed had caused threats to her safety, Nadel explained that similar influences could foster a “climate of fear” in the UK.
“It’s foreign interference in the affairs of a democratic nation and it could well influence how people vote in this country,” she explained.
“We already have MPs whose staff and themselves have been threatened and had to take on extra security measures as a result of that. And that, in its own turn, threatens democracy.
“If people are frightened to say what they think for fear of violence being acted against their families or themselves or their teams, then that’s very bad for democracy. It creates a climate of fear. It creates a climate of instability, and it creates a climate of ‘might is right’.”
Economic instability is the ‘soil in which extremism grows’
Jennifer Nadel praised a measure proposed in Wales which would ban lying in politics, which it has promised to bring forward before 2026. Nadel explained that in order to protect democracy, disinformation must be tackled, as well as voter trust, and the rise of the far-right.
“Westminster has got to follow Wales’ lead and take action to prevent unscrupulous politicians from fanning the flames of disinformation,” she explained.
“The second thing we’ve got to do is end the ludicrous fiction that social media companies aren’t publishers, because if we do that, they will become legally responsible for the lies and hate they peddle, and subject to the same rules as the rest of the media.
“And then we must cap political donations to prevent foreign interference.”
She explained that Donald Trump, mirroring the Reform party in the UK, rose in popularity because he “singled out voters whose needs weren’t met by the Democrats”.
“The other thing that Trump’s election highlights is the need to address economic instability, because that is the soil in which extremism grows,” she explained, adding that “we must learn from” Trump’s second term and that it “must spur us into action”.
“We can’t be complacent. We can’t think this is just America’s shame. What’s happened in America can happen here and could happen elsewhere in Europe. The right is on the rise, and if we want to protect democracy, we need to act,” she said.
Tom Brake, director of Unlock Democracy, added that while “we will have to wait for some actual decisions on trade and tariffs” from the Trump administration to see how the UK will be affected, it’s clear that marginalised communities will be hit by decisions made by “tech bros” in the wake of Trump’s re-election.
“There is no need to wait for further statements from the tech bro billionaires,” he said. “They have already made it crystal clear that existing safeguards to limit abusive speech on line are to be lifted. This will lead to more polarisation, bullying and worse.
“The UK must join forces with other countries keen on challenging their ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude.”
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