One of the toughest things in politics is trying to explain that, yes, things are bad, but no, they are not quite as bad as you think. I have yet to find a way to make that argument without it being misunderstood or caricatured.It is an argument that almost every British conservative now finds himself having with American rightists. Yes, things are bad. We have no First Amendment. We had a needless surge of immigration, much of it illegal and involving some seriously bad hombres. Our public sector is riddled with the kind of wokery that has been in retreat stateside since 2024.At the same time, though, no, things are not that bad. Although dim-witted cops disgracefully feel people’s collars over social media posts, these visits almost never result in prosecutions, let alone convictions. We are not at the point of imposing sharia law on a country that is 94% non-Muslim and in which, even among the 6%, there are plenty of secularists. Crimes by minorities are not systematically covered up.
A sign stating ‘Protect Children From Rape Gangs’ is held by an anti-illegal immigration protester outside The Roundhouse hotel, on August 09, 2025 in Bournemouth, England. (Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
