The language of the far right is now in the mouths of our mainstream political leaders, from Labour to the Conservatives.
In 2025 we saw the biggest far right march in Britain's history, after a summer of flag-waving protest. The year before, racist mobs tried to attack mosques and hotels housing asylum-seekers.
Something incredibly dangerous has been unleashed and yet our political class seems at best indifferent and at worst to welcome it.
In this short, urgent and brilliantly illuminating book Daniel Trilling explains how we arrived at this extraordinary moment and what we can do to change course before it's too late.
Praise for Daniel Trilling:
'Racism and the rise of the far-right in Britain are often discussed but rarely understood. Daniel Trilling is an exception . . . his voice must be heard' – Owen Jones, author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class
'Combining forensic enquiry with moral passion, Daniel Trilling has emerged as one of our most intrepid and resourceful reporters' – Pankaj Mishra, Windham-Campbell Prize-winning author of The World After Gaza A short, illuminating book on the rise of the far-right in modern Britain, and what we can do to stop it. Daniel Trilling writes about nationalism, migration and human rights for publications including the London Review of Books, the Guardian and the New York Times. His work has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, the Political Book Awards and the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing. 'Racism and the rise of the far-right in Britain are often discussed but rarely understood. Daniel Trilling is an exception . . . his voice must be heard Brilliantly researched and written, Lights in the Distance is, above all, a book of witness 'Trilling brings human detail – individuality – into focus The author's mastery of the details of his subject shines through Such a powerful book Humane and illuminating 'Combining forensic enquiry with moral passion, Daniel Trilling has emerged as one of our most intrepid and resourceful reporters A book to read for anyone who takes the biggest moral question of our age seriously
