There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES

LAST YEAR was a significant year for anti-racists worldwide. Far-right populist parties came to the fore in most European nations, were re-elected in India, elected in South America and of course having taken over the US Republican Party saw their candidate elected in Donald Trump.
All these trends have a common theme. Free-market capitalism, anti-worker and anti-democracy. That’s not to say there won’t be major disagreements as shown by the current trade disputes, but the trends remain there.
Last year should not have been a surprise. Far-right parties and candidates had been building support electorally and via a myriad of influencers. Channels such as GB News — most recently rightly called out for an anti-semitic broadcast — and blogs regularly spin narratives scapegoating migrants. Influencers like the Tates have millions of followers.

TONY CONWAY assesses the lessons of the 1930s and looks at what is similar, and what is different, about the rise of the far right today


