Once, anti-establishment youth disillusioned with mainstream politics headed left. Now increasing numbers are tilting right. Why?Josh is 24 years old and works as a carer. It’s not easy work, but he prefers it to his old job in a supermarket: most of his clients are elderly and “just want someone there with them, because they’re lonely”. In his spare time Josh used to be into boxing. But lately he’s got into politics instead.Like many of his gen Z contemporaries, he’s thoroughly disillusioned with the mainstream kind. “The two parties that have been in power for 100-plus years have done nothing. The economy’s a mess,” he scoffs. But if he sounds like the kind of anti-establishment young person who once rallied to the radical left, Josh’s frustration has taken him in another direction. An ardent leaver in his teens, who backed Boris Johnson in 2019, he now belongs to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Continue reading...
An article in The Guardian examines why young British men are drawn to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. Driven by anti-establishment sentiments and a desire to uphold perceived British values, these young men are attracted to Reform's populist rhetoric against immigration, "woke" ideology, and perceived failures of mainstream parties. Reform’s popularity is fueled by lively rallies and Farage's relatable persona, however, this demographic remains volatile, and Reform still lags behind other parties in youth support.
