In recent weeks, the U.K.’s far right has filled the streets with British flags and painted roundabouts with St. George’s Cross in a supposed show of national pride. To anyone paying attention, it’s a not-so-subtle anti-immigrant campaign driven by far-right extremists who despise Muslims.
Hostility toward asylum seekers and refugees in the U.K. has long been simmering. Some of it is fueled by fears over scarce resources that may go to “foreigners” over British nationals, some by political agendas, but much of it is driven by racism and Islamophobia. And the truth is, it’s not immigrants in general the far right loathes — it’s Muslims immigrants in particular.
This misplaced anger serves as a distraction from the real issues the country is facing and lets those responsible get away with it, all while conveniently using Muslims and immigrants as scapegoats.
An anti-Muslim campaign disguised as patriotism
The anti-racism charity ‘HOPE not hate’ revealed that the ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ campaign to place these flags across the country was organized by known far-right extremists. The founder of the campaign was Andy Saxon, a member of Britain First and the English Defence League — both fascist and racist groups. He is an ally of the notorious Islamophobe and criminal Tommy Robinson.
Britain First leader Paul Golding says the group has donated 75% of its flag stock for the operation. His X timeline is full of racist, Islamophobic and anti-immigrant posts.
And the sentiment seems to be widespread. A YouGov survey in June 2025 found that 41% of the British public think Muslim immigrants have a negative impact on the country. Only 15% said the same about Hindu immigrants, 14% about Sikh immigrants, 13% about Jewish immigrants and 7% about Christian immigrants.
Refugee double standards
When a British judge allowed one family from Gaza to seek refuge in the U.K. in February after they applied through a program designed for Ukrainians, there was uproar from the U.K.’s political leaders.
“That is not what the scheme was designed to do,” Tory party leader Kemi Badenoch declared. “This decision is completely wrong, and cannot be allowed to stand.” There was similar opposition when 30 to 50 children from Gaza were allowed into the U.K. to receive medical treatment.
There was no such resistance when 200,000 Ukrainians were allowed into the U.K. after Russia’s invasion in 2022. Neither was there any such antagonism when the Homes for Ukraine scheme was established that same year, wherein the government would pay Britons to host Ukrainians fleeing war.
It’s been two years since the war in Gaza started, and up to 100,000 have been killed, yet there is no such scheme for Palestinians fleeing genocide. The double standard is stark. Could it be any clearer that for some, the issue is Islamophobia and not immigration?
Muslim immigration as a scapegoat
The U.K. has invaded, bombed, helped destabilize or facilitated atrocities in numerous Muslim countries where these refugees flee from. It has been involved in the wars in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Gaza.
Rather than opposing Muslim immigrants, the far right would do better to oppose the unjust wars costing billions in taxpayer money, rather than the refugees it brings to our shores.
The issue isn’t immigration, or even the wrong kind. It’s the failed policies of successive governments. We have deteriorating living standards, while the perception of immigrants is that they receive everything for free and live lavishly, while the rest suffer and fend for themselves. This thinking is deeply misplaced.
Asylum seekers are not living in luxury. They survive on the bare minimum with less than £50 a week and are not allowed to work. Besides, most immigrants to the U.K. are here to work or study, not live off the state, as the far right would have you believe.
The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford found that levels of migration to the U.K. were generally similar to those of other high-income countries. Only 15% of the population was foreign-born in 2023, the same as the United States, and much less than Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Norway and Canada.
In fact, net migration to the U.K. fell by a huge 50% last year. So when the far right says we have an immigration problem, they’re lying.
Immigration is used as a scapegoat to distract from the reckless spending decisions of successive governments, including giving themselves pay rises. The basic salary of an MP increased to almost £100,000 in 2024, an increase of 5.5% from the previous year, which was above the rate of inflation at the time (2%). Compare that to the average U.K. salary of £37,600. The ire of the far right is misplaced towards immigrants, rather than the decision-makers of this country.
The U.K. has given £21.8 billion to Ukraine for its war efforts. The NHS, meanwhile, is underfunded and has a shortfall of almost £5 billion. Why does the far right never ask why some of that money earmarked for Ukraine isn’t routed to fund the rapid decline of public services in the country?
Muslim contributions to Britain
The U.K. needs foreign workers to fill its shortage of manpower. It’s down by 300,000 workers and also has a skills shortage. Immigrants make up 20% of the NHS workforce, including many Muslims.
Muslims are also Britain’s most charitable group, donating upwards of £2 billion every year. Some of the most prominent public servants in Britain are Muslims — look at lawyer and politician Baroness Warsi, the longest-standing London mayor Sadiq Khan, and former First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf.
The far right, meanwhile, is busy pretending to be patriotic by vandalizing sites across the country. The anti-immigrant riots last summer cost the police £31 million. They looted shops, attacked hotels, threatened asylum seekers and clashed with police. They painted a red cross of the St George’s flag on a war memorial in Cornwall, where the council condemned it as “disrespectful” and “mindless vandalism.”
If Muslims had committed these acts, there would be national uproar. Yet the far right hides behind the veneer of patriotism while it commits the most unpatriotic acts imaginable. It’s time to reclaim Britain’s flag — not as a symbol of hate, but as a symbol of the respect, freedom and multiculturalism it stands for.
