Elon Musk’s entry into British politics is a warning to the US

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man with an estimated fortune of about $428 billion, is rapidly reshaping himself as a political commentator.

At first glance, Musk’s meddling in political affairs appears to be a hobby. He has entered European politics and supported the far-right Alternative for Germany party before February’s elections.

But in Britain, Mr. Musk appears to be eyeing a more dominant role, one of trying to oust a centre-left prime minister and install a more radical right-wing replacement. Beyond sporadic social media posts calling for the release of far-right activists currently in prison, Musk has continued to escalate his interventions in recent months. “America should free the British people from their tyrannical government,” he posted on January 6 in a poll of X’s 212 million followers. 58% of respondents agreed with his statement. Since 2025 began, Musk has posted about the UK almost every day, sometimes dozens of times a day, according to an analysis by the Financial Times.

Mr Musk’s question is just one in a series of attacks on Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other senior British politicians. Even staunch allies, including far-right politician Nigel Farage, who previously called Musk a “hero,” have not been saved. Writing in X, Musk argued that Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead the right-wing populist party Reform UK, which won 14% of the vote in the 2024 general election. And Musk’s support comes with capital, with some reports saying he is considering donating $100 million to the party. Mr Farage is already a beneficiary of Mr Musk’s policies. He is one of three pro-reform MPs who have earned thousands of pounds through the company’s “Creator Earnings” program through posts on X, which often contain hateful rhetoric.

On January 7, Musk accused the current UK Minister for Women, Girls and Violence, Jess Phillips, who has long campaigned against gender-based violence, of being a “rape and genocide advocate”. Mr Musk claimed Mr Starmer was “deeply complicit in gang rape in exchange for votes”.

These comments have brought the so-called “grooming gang scandal” back into the political spotlight. The scandal refers to an organized network of men said to be responsible for the long-term sexual exploitation and abuse of vulnerable girls and women in the UK, and the far-right uses anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment to create a narrative. is saturated.

In research into grooming gangs in Rotherham, one professor concluded that “the majority of known perpetrators were of Pakistani descent”. Similarly, an independent inquiry into abuse in Telford found that the men convicted were of “South Asian descent”. While some ministers have been keen to publicize these studies, other reports have also been deliberately ignored, such as the conviction of a group of white men and women who abused 30 children in a Cornish town in 2010. has been done. While it goes without saying that exploitation and abuse is not limited to any particular racial or ethnic group, the racist rhetoric surrounding the abuse in Oldham has been so intense that the National Police Chiefs’ Council has issued a statement to the public. I decided that it was necessary to explain this in detail. The vast majority (85 per cent) of group-based child abuse cases in the UK in 2024 were committed by white people rather than Pakistanis, in line with Britain’s white-dominated demographics.

Mr Musk’s accusations come shortly after Mr Phillips refused to order a national inquiry into the Oldham Town ‘grooming gang’. Mr Phillips insisted that an inquiry into the matter was within the remit of the local council and pointed to previous local independent inquiries covering towns such as Telford, Rochdale and Rotherham. Musk, on the other hand, says he should be in jail. After Mr Musk’s revelations, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on January 16 announced five government-backed local investigations and a national review of gang grooming evidence, including key demographics, confirming the central government’s position. suggested a change in

Supporters of Mr. Musk’s approach argue that his message taps into the underlying dissatisfaction that British people have with the country’s current state and its leaders. However, evidence suggests otherwise. A majority of Britons (53%) think Musk is having a negative impact on British politics, according to an Opinium poll.

But Mr Musk’s role in shaping Britain’s political debate is already clear. Instead of discussing the destabilization of the NHS, Mr Starmer was asked to deny Mr Musk’s claims that he covered up child abuse and exploitation and did not do enough while leading the government. I noticed that The Crown Prosecution Service is an independent body that prosecuted criminal cases in England and Wales from 2008, when the scandal broke, to 2013.

Mr Musk’s interference in British politics is spreading dangerous misinformation. The full scope of the scandal has been simplified to fit Musk’s narrative. Indeed, while the Crown Prosecution Service was criticized for labeling victims of abuse as “untrustworthy”, the decision not to proceed with prosecutions was reversed under Mr Starmer’s leadership. A government-commissioned investigation into the grooming scandal took place in 2014, with a further investigation to follow in 2022. The investigation characterized authorities’ slow response and found that some choices were shaped by fear of being seen as racist — leading to some resignations and apologies. . Labor now says the focus should be on acting on the review’s recommendations.

Beneath the surface of this right-wing rhetoric, therefore, is less a genuine interest in combating gender-based violence than a desire to exploit victims’ suffering as a political point-scorer.

Mr. Musk’s interest in British politics is extremely narrow, focusing only on sexual abuse cases in which the perpetrator was of Asian descent. On the other hand, he enabled the spread of rumors based on anti-immigration sentiment against could not condemn far-right violence. And perhaps most importantly, she supported Donald Trump, who was found guilty of sexual assault in 2023, and soon worked for him while pretending to champion women’s rights.

In some ways, Mr. Musk’s involvement in British politics, at least since Labor came to power in 2024, appears to be motivated by a vendetta against the Labor Party itself. In Starmer’s early weeks as prime minister, Musk dashed Labor’s hopes of attracting business. He claimed there were “very few” companies willing to invest in the UK under the current government. By frequently expressing dissatisfaction with the current government, Musk has incited the public against the Labor Party and encouraged more extreme right-wing leaders such as Farage, seen as a challenger to Musk’s allies, to take office. leaving the door open. With playing cards.

But on a larger scale, Mr. Musk’s interference in British politics reflects his influence on world politics, as he seeks to incite far-right extremist outsiders and strengthen his grip on more moderate politicians. It reflects a wide range of orientations. Musk has positioned himself as a key ally among both established and emerging far-right leaders. Even after being accused by the German government of interfering in the upcoming election, Musk is scheduled to host a debate in X-Space with Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. Musk has also been known to support populist, anti-immigrant politicians beyond elections, as he has spent time getting close to other right-wing leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Argentina’s President Javier Millei. It is the center of his personality.

It remains to be seen whether Mr Musk will enter British politics while still part of the Trump administration. But his focus will certainly remain international as well as domestic. The billionaire is already reported to have held informal talks with allies to oust Mr Starmer before the next election. And after describing Britain’s civil war as “inevitable,” it’s easy to forget that Musk himself is part of a larger problem. Ultimately, the desire for power that is not easily satisfied serves as a prescient warning to the United States of what Musk has in store.

This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) and may be freely shared and republished under the terms of the license.

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