> the British generally don't elect their charismatic fascists leader

Hold that thought. Current UK politics have taken a turn and the combination of major party incompetence and rising anger might change that.

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mikestorrent 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Sorry, is there anyone at all in British politics that an international observer would consider charismatic? Can't remember one in my lifetime.

	▲	FearNotDaniel 3 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		It’s a fundamental mistake that people make so often in politics, is to think that somebody they personally find repulsive or merely bland must be seen the same way by others. It can be a shock to recognise that figures like Boris Johnson and, yes, even Farage, have hordes of fawning admirers who don’t just agree with their policies and methods but also find them witty, charming and even attractive.
	▲	lostlogin 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Good point. I’d assumed that the rise of Farage was due to this - I don’t see him as charismatic, but can’t think of any other reason people listen to him.

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graemep 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think not.

The protests last Saturday got a boost from the murder of Charlie Kirk so the large turnout is misleading.

The only British political figure willing to accept Elon Musk's backing is Tommy Robinson, and he is not a major player, just someone good at getting into newspapers. Very different from the US or continental Europe - for example Germany where AfD (which took Musk's money) has seats in both the national and European parliaments.

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JetSetWilly 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Fortunately in Britain we have moved far from the values of former labour MP and noted Europhile Sir Oswald Mosley. I would see reform as a fairly traditional conservative party, though I appreciate that there are many that are keen to shift the overton window so far that they can be described as somehow “far right”.

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graemep 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

I do not think many people are aware of his post-war politics:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Mosley#Post-war_politic...

There are quite a few things there (e.g. that he wanted laws against marrying someone of another race, that he saw himself as left wing, etc.) that I did not know, although id did know of his involvement in the Union Movement.

He was also a Conservative MP (later joining Labour)

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lostlogin 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Would you describe the rally on Saturday as championing ‘conservative’ politics too? Or far right?

	▲	graemep 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		That was not Reform. It was Tommy Robinson, someone so politically toxic that Reform turned down a huge amount of money (a £80m donation) from Elon Musk because it came with the condition that they allowed him to join the party. The turnout was boosted by the murder of Charlie Kirk (yet another example of British people getting more involved in American causes than their own), and by some other things too I think, and although very big for a far right protest, it is far smaller than many causes have managed to organise over the years (anti-Iraq war, opposing to the fox hunting ban, both pro and anti Brexit, climate change...).