Rob Ford, professor of politics at Manchester University, has been a long-time watcher of the BNP, UKIP, Brexit and now Reform UK — explaining who these new right-wing insurgents really are, and why they're suddenly everywhere.

We find out why "the numbers game matters", why he thinks we're in "the most unstable moment", and explore the great whirlpool of resentment that immigration only partly explains.

Along the way: brand management, manufactured authenticity, and a cautionary tale about what happens when an ambitious academic reads his audience a little too well – "the brand has also become a prison."

But there are reasons to be cheerful too — Farage's "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" Reform model may be far less roadworthy than Trump's Rolls Royce.

Please do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table – available online and in all good book shops.

@peteryork.bsky.social

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.