Description
This paper explores an emerging strategy by sections of the British radical right towards the LGBTQ+ community, who the radical right claim are existentially threatened by the alleged violent homophobia of Islam, and their ostensible betrayal by ‘the left’. Consequently, parts of the radical right present themselves as the ‘true’ protectors of LGBTQ+ (especially cisgender gay/bisexual people) individuals through what we term alter-progressivism. By analysing video communications of some radical right figures, we highlight three key themes. First, the broad radical right discourse of a ‘Great Replacement’, altered to appeal to perceived LGBTQ+ anxieties. Second, a narrative depicting the radical right as the defenders of (some) minorities; and (3) an emerging distinction between the far-right and radical right concerning LGBTQ+ rights. We conclude that these themes demonstrate the flexibility of radical right narratives in appealing to some minority communities. While it is difficult to gauge the success of these attempts (and we do not claim they will necessarily work), this emerging theme may have important consequences for how we understand radicalisation.
