Description

The language of the far right is now in the mouths of our mainstream political leaders, from Labour to the Conservatives.

In 2025 we saw the biggest far-right march in Britain’s history, after a summer of flag-waving protest. The year before, racist mobs tried to attack mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers.

Something incredibly dangerous has been unleashed and yet our political class seems at best indifferent and at worst to welcome it.

In this short, urgent and brilliantly illuminating book, Daniel Trilling explains how we arrived at this extraordinary moment and what we can do to change course before it’s too late.

Praise for Daniel Trilling:

‘Racism and the rise of the far right in Britain are often discussed but rarely understood. Daniel Trilling is an exception . . . his voice must be heard’ – Owen Jones, author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class

‘Combining forensic enquiry with moral passion, Daniel Trilling has emerged as one of our most intrepid and resourceful reporters’ – Pankaj Mishra, Windham-Campbell Prize-winning author of The World After Gaza

Publisher Review

‘Racism and the rise of the far-right in Britain are often discussed but rarely understood. Daniel Trilling is an exception . . . his voice must be heard — Owen Jones, author of Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class Brilliantly researched and written, Lights in the Distance is, above all, a book of witness * Observer * ‘Trilling brings human detail – individuality – into focus * Times Literary Supplement * The author’s mastery of the details of his subject shines through * Financial Times * Such a powerful book * Irish Times * Humane and illuminating — Olivia Laing, Windham-Campbell Literature Prize-winning author of The Garden Against Time ‘Combining forensic enquiry with moral passion, Daniel Trilling has emerged as one of our most intrepid and resourceful reporters — Pankaj Mishra, Windham-Campbell Literature Prize-winning author of The World After Gaza A book to read for anyone who takes the biggest moral question of our age seriously — Ece Temulkuran, author of How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship