Is It Far-Right? (English Edition) pdf

When did asking a question become more controversial than answering it?

Britain is arguing with itself.

About immigration. Free speech. Crime. Tax. Welfare. Identity. Family. Defence. Net Zero. The NHS. The monarchy. The Union. The flag. Even about what it means to be British.

And somewhere along the way, one accusation seems to have acquired the power to end almost any argument:

“That's far-right.”

But what does far-right actually mean?

Journalist Arthur Finch decides to find out.

Compiled from Finch's notebooks, Is It Far-Right? brings together two very different voices.

Trey Lyons is an ordinary northern bloke: husband, father, taxpayer and football supporter. He has opinions, frustrations and questions about the country around him — many of which millions of other people might recognise.

Lord Donald Keyes represents another Britain entirely: Eton, Oxford, the Foreign Office, Parliament and the House of Lords. A lifetime spent among the institutions, politicians and experts responsible for running the country.

Together, they confront a collection of increasingly difficult questions.

Is it far-right to want lower taxes?

To believe criminals should fear the consequences of committing crime?

To question government spending?

To worry about immigration?

To fly the national flag?

To believe a country should be capable of defending itself?

And if ordinary opinions can become unacceptable opinions, who gets to decide where the line is?

Moving from the individual and the household to the state, the nation and Britain's future, the questions begin with everyday concerns before becoming progressively more uncomfortable, provocative and absurd.

The answers are sometimes serious, sometimes ridiculous and sometimes rather more revealing than the people giving them might intend.

Is It Far-Right? is not a manifesto.

It isn't an instruction manual telling readers what to think.

And Arthur Finch isn't particularly interested in telling you which side is right.

Instead, this satirical examination of modern Britain asks what happens when political labels begin replacing arguments; when experts disagree with experts; when facts themselves become contested; and when people become increasingly nervous about asking perfectly ordinary questions.

Because perhaps the most interesting question isn't whether something is left-wing or right-wing.

Perhaps it's when a mainstream opinion becomes a forbidden opinion.

They don't want you to ask these questions.

But someone has to.

Is It Far-Right? is Book One of The Arthur Finch Files.