At London’s now-infamous ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally in September, Tommy Robinson stood triumphant in front of a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters.
‘Today is the spark of a cultural revolution in Great Britain,’ he declared. ‘This is our moment.’
He was greeted by a chorus of cheers from the audience, many of whom hung onto his every word with visible fervour. Among them, a sea of St. George’s flags flew alongside derogatory chants aimed at Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Later, he would claim that the march was the largest demonstration in British history, although this was later disputed by the Met Police’s estimates that the attendees numbered around 150,000. Whatever the true figures are, the scale of the rally was striking- and it raises important questions about why so many are turning their backs on traditional politics in favour of a far-right activist.
At first glance, Robinson is far from a typical political figure. His rise to fame has been anything but linear, and the beginnings of his career markedly unglamourous. In fact, he has spent much of the last two decades in and out of court rooms, on charges including assault, contempt of court, and fraud. He has even previously admitted to misusing funds entrusted to him by his supporters, as well as subsequently stalking the journalist who brought this fact to light.
In every regard, his ability to command mass loyalty should be baffling. Many have questioned how a man with an extensive criminal record has captured not just the attention of thousands of disillusioned Britons, but also hugely powerful figures like the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. While his influence is easy to dismiss as being confined to the fringes of right-wing British politics, the real picture is much more intricate.
Born Stephen Yaxley (later changed to Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) in the ethnically diverse town of Luton in 1982, Robinson grew up conscious of the cultural tensions simmering beneath Britain’s surface. In interviews, he has described growing up “aware of the influence of Islamist ideology and what it can do to freedom”, claiming that he witnessed segregation and abuse from the Muslim community. This set the stage for the man who would later center his brand around anti-Islam sentiment.
Robinson had his first brush with the law in 2005, when he was convicted of assaulting an off-duty police officer who intervened during a drunken argument with his girlfriend on the street. He subsequently lost his prestigious aircraft engineering apprenticeship and spent twelve months in prison. Post-release, his attention turned to politics. He quickly went on to form the English Defence League (EDL) with his cousin, Kevin Carroll, after the now-banned Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun protested a parade held by the Royal Anglian Regiment in Luton to mark its return from Afghanistan. They asserted that “radical Islam” was a pertinent threat to British values and culture, and that if immigration was left unchecked, Muslims would soon outnumber “Europeans”. While many have branded the organisation as violent and xenophobic, the EDL gave Robinson his first major platform. As its support base grew, he took on a pseudonym based on the name of a fellow Luton Town FC supporter- and thus the brand of ‘Tommy Robinson’ was born.
Over the next few years, the EDL would continue to expand, and so would Robinson’s list of legal troubles. In 2011, he was once again convicted of assault after headbutting a man during a rally in Blackburn, and in 2013 given a custodial sentence for illegally using somebody else’s passport to enter the USA. This pattern continued even after his eventual split from the EDL; just last year, he was charged with- although eventually acquitted of- offences under the Terrorism Act after failing to comply with police when he was stopped at the entrance to the channel tunnel.
Robinson’s legal issues have done little to dissuade his supporters. In many ways, they have paradoxically increased his appeal. Robinson’s position has broadened far past that of just a far-right activist. His repeated arrests and prison sentences have solidified him as something of a martyr figure to his supporters- a freedom fighter, persecuted for daring to speak up against the government elites. Each new court case serves as “evidence” of attempts to silence him, and his willingness to risk prison time underscores his authenticity in the eyes of his supporters. Robinson is more than happy to lean into this narrative, even titling his 2016 autobiography “Enemy of the State”. In recent years he has become a self-described journalist, frequently posting videos containing unfounded claims about grooming gangs and government cover-ups. Much of this content is published on right-wing alternative news outlets such as Urban Scoop, due to what Robinson claims is targeted censorship on mainstream platforms.
Trust in the government has fallen in recent years, particularly since the 2008 financial crash and ensuing decade of austerity. This is particularly significant in post-industrial towns where economic decline has eroded faith in politicians. With many white working-class men in particular feeling disaffected, Robinson has stepped in to fill the void. He represents an alternative type of activism; one that takes place far away from the gilded halls and sharp-cut suits of Westminster that alienate much of his fan base from mainstream politics. With his casual dress sense and colloquial style of delivering speeches, his popularity among this demographic can be partially attributed to a sense of legitimacy that they do not feel from elected politicians.
His polarising views also reflect real anxieties about immigration and multiculturalism held by many portions of the British public who feel that their concerns are ignored by the government. Robinson is not afraid to use real-life scandals to further his agenda- in particular, fears about so-called “grooming gangs” have been at the forefront of British media for over a decade. In 2022, he decided to capitalise on this through the production of a documentary series titled ‘The Rape of Britain,’ following the story of the Telford grooming scandal, in which hundreds of young women were trafficked and sexually exploited. In the documentary, he portrays himself as the sole crusader willing to confront the issue, and repeatedly asserts that the government have long ignored the sexual abuse of British women and girls by “Muslim grooming gangs”.
Similarly, following the murder of three young girls in Southport in July 2024 and subsequent false claims spread online that the attacker was an asylum seeker of Muslim faith, Robinson took to X to call for action. Critics accused him of stoking far-right riots in the wake of the attack after he posted a series of tweets branding Islam a mental illness and praising the disorder.
Robinson has seen huge success in using social media to stir up publicity. Since his X account was reinstated by Elon Musk in 2023 (he was previously banned for “hateful conduct”) he has amassed over 1.7 million followers. He is a prolific user of the platform, sending out over 130,000 posts over the past decade and a half. Many of these posts are provocative and inflammatory, containing messages such as: “Revolution is coming, nothing can stop it, the silent majority will be silent no longer, join us in our stand against tyranny”. This tactic has often succeeded in mobilising huge numbers of his supporters. During violent demonstrations after the Southport attack, rioters could be heard chanting Robinson’s name and shouting, “Who the f*** is Allah?’. His social media presence has also commanded the support of wealthy backers such as Elon Musk and the US-based think tank Middle East Forum, the latter of whom helped fund the legal case that saw Robinson released early from prison on a contempt of court charge.
It is tempting to view Robinson as just a caricature of the British right-wing. In reality, however, his rise to power does not exist in a vacuum. His continued influence is not just a quirk of British fringe politics - it is symptomatic of deeper political discontent. For decades, much of the British population have felt that successive governments- and indeed democracy as a whole - have failed to hear their concerns or even meet their basic needs. With today’s rising costs of living, increasing tensions surrounding immigration and the voices of other right-wing figures such as Nigel Farage growing louder, Robinson’s movement seems unlikely to fade away any time soon.
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