The west must face up to a century-defining battle against a resurgent far right that is on the march across the developed world, Sadiq Khan warns today, as he calls on ministers to take on extremism ahead of Donald Trump’s second inauguration as US president.
In the most strident rallying call of any senior British politician against the march of the right in the US, France and Germany, the London mayor warns of a “resurgent fascism” online and says that stricter laws on harmful content will be needed to stem the tide.
His intervention comes with hard-right figures from across Europe gathering for Trump’s inauguration on Monday. They include Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and Éric Zemmour, a one-time French presidential candidate known for his xenophobia.
Writing for the Observer, Khan also takes aim at Elon Musk and the major social media bosses who have been accused of enabling hard right material to spread. He calls out “their financial backers who selfishly choose to put the profits of their companies over the interests of our democracies”.
“Progressives across the Western world face a century-defining challenge – and the stakes for liberal democracy couldn’t be higher,” he writes. “The hard-right and far-right are on the march. These are deeply worrying times, especially if you’re a member of a minority community. As historians and commentators increasingly find echoes of the 1920s and 30s in the present day, we cannot afford to throw in the towel.
“We should be in no doubt, this is a perilous moment. The spectre of a resurgent fascism haunts the West … To ward off the far-right, we must be unflinching in defence of our democracy and values, and in our determination to enhance the welfare and material conditions of our communities.”
In a thinly-veiled attempt to pressure Starmer and his ministers to go further in calling out Trump over extreme comments, he states that ministers and liberals must make themselves heard when the incoming US president makes the kind of extreme interventions that have characterised his political ascent.
“I agree with the government that we need to be pragmatic on the international stage,” Khan writes. “But progressives around the world should never yield ground to the far-right, nor be afraid to speak truth to power when required.”
It comes after foreign secretary David Lammy said he was “not in the business of condemning our closest ally” when confronted over Trump’s threat to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal. While Lammy once described Trump as “a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”, he now refers to dealing with Trump as part of his strategy of “progressive realism”.
Khan was targeted by Trump in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, during his first presidency, being accused of “destroying the city of London” and failing to deal with terrorism.
Khan calls on ministers to “ratchet up” pressure on social media companies to tackle hate and misinformation, blaming Musk for reinstating the accounts of far-right figures, including Tommy Robinson.
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“A billionaire bully shouldn’t be able to use his social media platform as a propaganda tool to amplify lies and advance the cause of the far right,” he states. “Nor should social media companies be able to evade responsibility for algorithms that maximise – and monetise – hate.”
Ministers are said to be looking closely at Meta’s recent announcement that it was ending fact checking and reducing restrictions on topics such as immigration and gender on its platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
However, it remains unclear just what impact the Online Safety Act will have, as judgments will have to be made about what amounts to illegal hate speech that platforms such as X and others are obliged to remove. While the government is desperate for investment from the tech giants as part of its search for growth, Peter Kyle, the science and technology secretary, has said online safety will not be sacrificed.
A government spokesperson said: “Extremist content has no place in our society. That’s why we work closely with law enforcement, local communities, and our international partners to tackle those who sow division and hatred.
“From March the Online Safety Act will require social media platforms to remove illegal disinformation and content harmful to children. We remain in regular contact with all major platforms to ensure they are prepared for these laws and urge them to counter the spread of misinformation and disinformation on their sites. Our message is clear – there is no need to wait; they should take action now to protect their users.”
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