Welcome

Scribblings on working-class politics and culture by a (proudly anti-woke) socialist and trade unionist

“Paul Embery is one of the most interesting, insightful and original voices to have emerged in British journalism for some time” — Douglas Murray, Spectator columnist, author of The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity

If you’ve made it this far, the chances are that you know a little bit about me and have at least a passing interest in my work. And, for that, I’m hugely grateful.

For those unfamiliar with me, I am a firefighter, trade union activist, author and broadcaster.

I have in recent years written extensively about working-class politics and culture, including for UnHerd, The Huffington Post, The Spectator, Spiked and Compact. In 2020, my first book – Despised: why the modern Left loathes the working class – was published.

I am a regular ‘talking head’ on GB News and have appeared across several other broadcast media platforms, including on Sky News Press Preview, BBC TV’s Politics Live and Radio 4’s Any Questions?

This, my Substack column, represents an attempt to create a personal space in which I can bring my ideas and opinions directly to you via your inbox.

The pitch

You thought everyone on the political Left was a ‘progressive’, didn’t you? That we Leftists had all been captured by the ‘woke’ agenda, held liberal opinions on the big social and cultural issues, loathed Brexit, were in thrall to the creed of identity politics, worshipped at the altar of multiculturalism, and supported the demand for ideological conformity in the public square.

Well, I aim to disabuse you of these assumptions.

I consider myself part of a tradition on the Left - granted, a diminishing one, but it stubbornly lingers nonetheless - that recognises the deficiencies of liberal-progressivism; that understands the history of the labour movement to be both radical and conservative; that embraces rather than eschews diversity of opinion; that refuses to elevate feelings over facts; and that shares the patriotic and communitarian impulses of many working-class voters.

As a longstanding foot soldier of the labour movement - I became a trade unionist at 16 and joined the Labour party at 19 - I have spent much time debating and agitating over some of the fundamental questions that have affected working people in our country. Why did the working class fall out of love with the Labour party? Are the days of the nation state numbered? Can we - should we - halt the relentless march of globalisation? Is immigration too high? Are national borders redundant? What does all this mean for democracy and social solidarity? Why has Britain deindustrialised so dramatically? To what extent should the state intervene in the economy? Are trade unions still relevant? Why are age-old social and cultural norms changing so rapidly? Is our society really afflicted by deep racism and prejudice? Can people actually change sex?

I believe that large parts of the Left have failed to grasp the importance of many of these questions and, where they have grasped it, drawn entirely the wrong conclusions. And the price has been paid in millions of lost working-class votes at the ballot box.

I think I can modestly lay claim to being one of the few voices inside the labour movement who predicted the collapse of the Red Wall at the 2019 general election. I saw it coming a mile off. That’s because I had witnessed up close how the Left had increasingly looked upon traditional working-class voters as some kind of embarrassing elderly relative. They wanted their votes at election time but didn’t really want to be seen in public with them. They - along with the liberal establishment more generally - had come to despise the small ‘c’ conservative instincts of many of these voters and did not understand their desire for cultural, as well as economic, security.

The intense deindustrialisation and demographic change visited upon working-class communities over the past couple of decades has served to create vast enclaves inside our country where inhabitants feel an acute sense of alienation and believe that out-of-touch politicians possess no understanding of their grievances and concerns. Brexit was their way of hitting back.

But even now, many among our liberal elites, cocooned as they usually are in the more affluent neighbourhoods of our fashionable cities and university towns, have failed to comprehend the extent of the disaffection that plagues post-industrial Britain. They continue to look upon working-class voters as, for the most part, uneducated and intolerant ‘nativists’ who are too easily seduced by ‘reactionary’ and ‘populist’ propaganda and who, for their own and society’s good, need to be dragged out of their ignorance.

These elites - the so-called ‘clever people’ - need to be challenged at every turn. We badly need more and stronger voices willing to disrupt their ‘progressive’ consensus and speak up in defence of traditional working-class communities. Here and elsewhere, I will continue to do my bit.

The plan

I will publish regular columns, which subscribers will receive direct to their inbox. There will be a mixture of free and ‘paid for’ content.

I will write mainly about politics, culture, economics and current affairs (with perhaps a bit of sport thrown in). Expect me to be candid and forthright in my opinions. In return, you can decide whether you agree or disagree with me (and, if the latter, let me know how terribly offended you were by what I wrote!).

Thank you for your support.

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