We use the terms “right leaning”, “right wing”, “far right”, and “extreme far right” to describe clusters of people politically, but what do they mean in the contemporary UK context?
In the contemporary UK context, these four terms describe positions on a political spectrum that runs from moderate conservatism to authoritarian nationalism. Each reflects not only ideology but also tone, rhetoric, and relationship to democracy and rights.
Right-leaning
This describes people or groups with broadly conservative values, often focused on individual responsibility, traditional institutions, and limited state intervention in the economy. They might support the Conservative Party but criticise its more radical factions. Right-leaning voters tend to favour stability and incremental change rather than upheaval. They often hold mixed social views — conservative on immigration or policing, but moderate on healthcare or education.
Right-wing
This term usually refers to those who embrace a clearer ideological agenda of economic liberalism, nationalism, and social conservatism. In the UK, this often means strong support for Brexit, low taxation, reduced welfare spending, and stricter immigration control. It includes much of the current Conservative Party, the Reform UK movement, and elements of the right-wing press. Right-wing politics tends to frame inequality as natural or merit-based and sees national identity and law-and-order as core values.
Far right
The far right represents a distinct shift towards exclusionary nationalism, authoritarianism, and anti-liberal sentiment. It includes groups and individuals hostile to multiculturalism, immigration, and the perceived “woke” agenda. The far right often attacks institutions like the BBC, universities, and the judiciary as “elites” betraying the “real people”. It overlaps with populism and conspiracy thinking – for example, claims that Britain’s culture or sovereignty is under threat. Examples include Britain First, Patriotic Alternative, and the remnants of the English Defence League. While still small electorally, these groups exert cultural pressure on mainstream conservatives.
Extreme far right
This term applies to movements that move beyond rhetoric into openly racist, antisemitic, or fascist ideology. They reject democratic norms, glorify violence, and advocate ethnonationalism or white supremacy. Groups of this kind, such as National Action (a proscribed terrorist organisation), operate largely underground. Their narratives borrow from global extremist networks and online hate cultures. They often exploit social unrest, migration crises, or economic fear to radicalise followers.
To summarise the clusters:
- Right-leaning: mild conservatism, pragmatic, mainstream.
- Right-wing: ideological conservatism, nationalist, anti-regulation.
- Far right: populist, exclusionary, anti-liberal, conspiratorial.
- Extreme far right: openly racist, anti-democratic, sometimes violent.
The shifting sand…
Defining the clusters is one thing, but how is the scale of them changing and what is facilitating this?
Reasonably contemporary research (e.g., Eatwell & Goodwin, 2018; Ford & Jennings, 2020) suggests these categories blur at the edges, with social media amplifying crossover between them. The main divide now lies not between economic left and right, but between liberalism and authoritarian nationalism.
Moving away from core beliefs
When asked in the past, I have suggested that “right leaning” voters have a genuine belief that the whole of society would be better off if their values shaped government and civic life. Beyond that these groups are more interested in themselves and the kind of world that they want to live in than in the conditions for all. Is that a reasonable distinction?
Many people who identify as right-leaning in the UK do indeed hold what might be called a benevolent conservatism. They believe that if society embraced values such as personal responsibility, hard work, family stability, patriotism, and limited government, the result would benefit everyone. Their politics is shaped by a sense of moral order rather than hostility. They often see themselves as realists, defending what works rather than pursuing ideological purity.
Beyond this, however, the focus tends to shift. As politics moves from right-leaning to right-wing, far right, and extreme far right, the moral concern for the whole becomes narrower and more self-referential. The guiding question changes from “What kind of society would work best for everyone?” to “What kind of world would I feel most at home in?” This shift prioritises the preservation of a familiar cultural identity, the defence of status, or the pursuit of power over collective welfare.
The difference is partly psychological. Research in political psychology suggests that conservative orientations often arise from a stronger sensitivity to threat, order, and tradition, while progressive ones arise from openness and empathy (Jost et al., 2003). When these needs for security or identity are moderate, they underpin stable civic values. When they harden into resentment or fear, they produce exclusion and hierarchy.
In the UK today, right-leaning politics remains a legitimate moral vision, even if it emphasises discipline over compassion. Right-wing and far-right politics, by contrast, often reflect a loss of confidence in pluralism itself. The further the movement drifts from the centre, the less it speaks of shared good and the more it speaks of “us versus them.”
References
Eatwell, R., & Goodwin, M. (2018). National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy. Penguin.
Ford, R., & Jennings, W. (2020). Brexit and British Politics. Polity Press.
Jost, J. T., Glaser, J., Kruglanski, A. W., & Sulloway, F. (2003). Political conservatism as motivated social cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 129(3), 339–375. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.339
Pilkington, H. (2021). Loud and Proud: Youth and the Politics of the Far Right in Britain. Routledge.