The struggle for our souls

S Khan says today in the Observer:

We are in the middle of a battle for Britain’s soul. On one side are those who want our country to continue to be forward looking, open to the world, tolerant, inclusive and progressive. On the other, those who want to pit our communities against each other, undo the social progress painstakingly made over decades, and who advocate a politics of division.

 Across the globe, the far right is on the rise...Picking on minority communities and the marginalised in order to manufacture an enemy. Fabricating lies in order to stoke up fear. And promoting hatred of immigrants, sympathy for white nationalism, attacks on women’s reproductive rights and rolling back the progress made on LGBT rights...Take Donald Trump...Viktor Orbán...Matteo Salvini,...Marine Le Pen.

Then:

Think about Boris Johnson describing Muslim women as “letterboxes”, Sajid Javid singling out “Asian” child-grooming gangs, Zac Goldsmith’s campaign in the last London mayoral election – widely condemned as Islamophobic... Nigel Farage embodies a strain of destructive far-right politics – masquerading as anti-establishment populism – which has poisoned our national discourse and unleashed a torrent of lies, division and hatred within our society. He promises impossibly simple solutions to incredibly complex problems and, rather than addressing people’s concerns, he preys on their fears...Voting for the Brexit party will not heal our divisions, it will only widen them. We must stand united in our opposition to the far right and reject their dystopian vision of our future.  

More parochial now: 

Labour is the only party that can beat them. ..Only Labour is capable of ...sending the uncompromising message that we are a tolerant, inclusive and forward-looking nation, which rejects the politics of fear, hatred and division.  

Racism among Brexit voters resurfaces with this:

Tone down speeches to avoid hate crime, MEP candidates told 

 

[A senior copper says] “Tensions are being stoked on a national level around our relationship with Europe, about cultural identity and about immigration more broadly. In any scenario like this it’s incumbent on people with a public voice to think carefully about how they express views so they don’t incite hatred....“Regular regurgitation of populist racist tropes in mainstream media and political speech are significantly more likely to impact on society than the rantings in an extremist’s chat room,” he added.

 But oddly normal business in this edition sees N Cohen, scourge of Brexiteers and anti-semites,using his column on the eve of European elections to write about ...Game of Thrones:

Without George RR Martin, the last seasons of the TV spectacular lost their way, says the Observer columnist and GoT enthusiast  

The Observer/Guardin adds, in a puff at the bottom of the Khan column:

The UK might be leaving Europe…but The Guardian definitely isn’t. In the current climate of uncertainty and tension, we remain deeply committed to our European coverage. In the coming weeks and months, we will continue our mission to look outwards rather than inwards, to stay connected and inclusive.
As the EU elections approach, we will hear daily from our correspondents across Europe, explore and investigate the themes that divide and unite the continent, with all its imperfections, challenges and strengths. The Guardian aims to offer its readers a global perspective on these important events. More people are reading and supporting our independent, investigative reporting than ever before.