Currently, Elon Musk is attempting to disrupt the political landscape in the UK.
Currently, Elon Musk is attempting to disrupt the political landscape in the UK.
Elon Musk seems to have launched an attack on Britain, albeit digitally through tweets. This week, the influential billionaire from the United States stirred controversy by launching a series of tweets targeting Keir Starmer, the Labour Party leader currently serving as the U.K.'s prime minister. Musk has harbored resentment towards Starmer since his election, and this week, he escalated matters by urging King Charles to disband Britain's parliament and supplant the new prime minister.
In general, Musk has portrayed Starmer's government as a corrupt and incompetent regime that is causing harm to Britain. To bolster this image, Musk this week shared a message that resonated with his followers, which suggested that the king should dissolve the parliament and call for a general election to safeguard the country. Musk simply replied with "Yes."
Moreover, Musk seized on a scandal involving child exploitation gangs and used it to criticize Starmer for not holding child abusers accountable in his country. Musk claimed that Starmer was complicit in the sexual abuse of Britain. The scandal in question revolves around the prevalence of "grooming gangs" in northern England, which are described as primarily consisting of offenders with South Asian or British Pakistani heritage. As a result, Musk was accused of exploiting the plight of young girls for political gain.
Furthermore, Musk expressed support for Tommy Robinson, a controversial far-right activist and convicted fraudster with a criminal record. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is known for his anti-Islam activism and has been accused of Islamophobia. "Free Tommy Robinson!" Musk posted. Robinson is the founder of the now-defunct English Defense League, which advocated against Islamic extremism. Musk's actions stirred up so much controversy that conservative allies of Trump were forced to distance themselves from his comments.
It's unclear why Musk dislikes Starmer so much, but it's difficult not to see it as an attempt to undermine Starmer's liberal government and pave the way for a more conservative government. Moreover, Musk is not the first American billionaire to meddle in U.K. politics; the relationship between U.S. billionaires and the push to remake Britain into a right-wing dystopia has been a well-established phenomenon for some time.
The United States' influence on making Britain more right-wing
One reason why Musk and his peers might be so concerned about Starmer is that he is the first British prime minister in years to not have any ties to the American right. Boris Johnson, who served as PM between 2019 and 2022, actively courted pro-Trump figures, identified as a libertarian, and implemented policies influenced by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a think-tank associated with a global libertarian network known as Atlas. Atlas Network was founded by a British citizen but is based in the U.S. and has ties to various American organizations, including the Heritage Foundation and ALEC (the pro-corporate, American Legislative Exchange Council). Prior to her short tenure as prime minister, Liz Truss, who was ultimately the U.K.'s briefest-serving PM, met with numerous right-wing U.S. think tanks, such as Heritage, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and ALEC. Later, Truss implemented policies inspired by the IEA, with a focus on drastic tax cuts for billionaires. However, Truss's tax cut proposal was met with derision and she resigned shortly afterward. Rishi Sunak, the interim prime minister who served between Truss and Starmer, also had close ties to the U.S. and implemented "free-market," libertarian policies that were largely unpopular.
Musk's role in disseminating propaganda
The campaign to transform Western nations into conservative strongholds has been aided by propaganda efforts aimed at undermining confidence in liberal governments. It's worth noting that, while Musk has publicly targeted Starmer's liberal government, he has also been increasingly associated with some of the organizations and causes that support Britain's cultural and economic shift towards the right.
Recently, I put out there that Musk is essentially the modern-day Steve Bannon, implying that Musk, much like Bannon did prior, aided Trump in getting elected by functioning as a messaging mastermind. This individual stirred up political backing by exploiting voters' cultural and financial resentments. Bannon, who played a significant role in Trump's election in 2016, is also recognized for introducing American-centric nationalism into British political customs. Bannon was a vocal supporter of Tommy Robinson much before Musk started tweeting about him. As far back as 2018, Bannon was praising the right-wing activist publicly. In leaked audio, Bannon reportedly exclaimed: "Tommy Robinson is the spine of this nation. Without individuals like Tommy Robinson, you won't have a nation." In February of the previous year, Bannon appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland (alongside Liz Truss) and labeled Robinson as a "hero."
Bannon executed this strategy with subtlety, while Musk is doing the same but in full public view. Via his platform X, Musk has been promoting numerous right-wing conspiracy theories and misinformation, which seems to be targeted at undermining Starmer's government's credibility. Before his pro-Robinson tweets and his statements on dissolving parliament and street rapes, Musk also used his platform to comment on a violent incident that led to riots across Britain. Musk's comments were even attributed to intensifying the riots. Musk also recently advocated for new elections so that Starmer could be removed from office.
Though it's happening in a different country, Musk's propaganda attempts in the U.K. appear to be mirroring those he's engaging in the U.S. These efforts can't help but be perceived as an extension of a broader objective by the American right-wing to use racial and financial grievances to incite lower and middle-class populations and steer them towards financial policies that benefit the wealthy elite. It's possible that this strategy will be more effective in the U.S., where the average intelligence might be slightly lower.
In the future, Musk's influence in technology and tech industries could potentially be utilized to further his political agendas, both in the United States and abroad. Despite controversy surrounding his tweets, Musk continues to use social media as a platform to disseminate his views, leveraging his significant following to shape public opinion.