Enoch Powell Created Farage. Here's How | Aaron Bastani Meets Tom McTague

Quick Overview

Tom McTague's book 'Between the Waves' argues that Brexit is not a historical spasm but the culmination of an 80-year intellectual and political evolution within British conservatism, tracing its roots from post-WWII figures like Enoch Powell and Jean Monnet to Nigel Farage's political ascent. McTague emphasizes how a persistent, long-term ideological campaign, often underestimated by the left, fundamentally reshaped British politics and led to the UK's exit from the EU, challenging notions of inevitability in political change.

Key Points: Nigel Farage's political trajectory is presented as a direct consequence of the long-term intellectual and political groundwork laid by figures like Enoch Powell, who championed euroskepticism and British nationalism over decades. The book 'Between the Waves' traces the history of Brexit back to the 1940s, highlighting the actions and ideas of figures such as Jean Monnet, Harold Macmillan, Charles de Gaulle, and Enoch Powell, who shaped post-war European and British policy. Enoch Powell's political journey is detailed, from his early imperialist ambitions in India and his disillusionment with its independence to his later role as a foundational figure for euroskepticism and British nationalism, often acting outside the mainstream conservative thought. Margaret Thatcher's rise to power in 1975 and her eventual embrace of euroskepticism are examined, showing how she, initially a moderate, was influenced by the intellectual currents championed by groups like the Conservative Philosophy Group, a movement aimed at shifting the country's post-1945 political groove. The Cold War's end in 1990 is identified as a crucial turning point that removed the overarching anti-Soviet foreign policy principle, creating the space for euroskepticism to become a dominant force in British politics. The book challenges the idea that Brexit was a sudden event, instead framing it as the result of an 80-year process involving intellectual campaigning, institutional influence, and a persistent ideological fight back, often misunderstood by progressives. McTague argues that centrists often dismiss the importance of ideas in politics, a stark contrast to the historical trajectory of both American conservatism and British euroskepticism, which demonstrate the power of long-term ideological campaigning.