The normalisation of fascism is becoming a common occurrence. In Britain alone, from cowards wearing balaclavas protesting in Dover to Reform UK’s Suella Braverman referring to the actions of anti-immigrant agitators in Gosport as “people power”, we are seeing this all too often in our electoral politics and on our streets.

It is not going unchallenged, however, with anti-fascist protests taking place across the country in places like Bristol and London, with fascists like “Young Bob” being cuffed and led away by police for aggressive behaviour towards an abuse survivor. Meanwhile, ITV is exposing just how deep the rot has spread within Reform UK with an undercover sting operation lifting the lid on the racism and bigotry that runs within the party, and how little Nigel Farage and his cronies actually care about handling this, with the article highlighting that Farage went so far as to protect a candidate caught in the sting.

None of this is new, of course. So many people are far more experienced than I am in the fight against fascism, having taken part in protests across the 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond. But what stands out to me is how much more organised and “professional” the far right portray themselves. They’re no longer just National Front hooligans, though the evidence I’ve provided so far suggests they still exist; they’ve learnt how to play the political game.

Take Germany, for instance.

Following World War Two, lessons needed to be learnt from the capture of the state by the Nazis and the atrocities carried out against the Jews in the Holocaust, among atrocities committed against other minority groups, which came in the form of adopting an idea founded back in 1937. Streitbare Demokratie, roughly translated as militant democracy, holds that a liberal democratic society must be willing and able to defend itself against any forces that seek to dismantle democracy using the tools liberal democracy provides, even if those forces command a majority government.

These ideas would take effect through the German constitution, the “Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany”, which includes provisions allowing federal and state governments to proscribe extremist organisations, subject to review by an independent judiciary; The Federal Constitutional Court can dissolve a political party if concrete evidence exists proving its goal is to impair or eliminate liberal democracy; and every German citizen has the right to resist any force that seeks to abolish the constitution, provided there is no alternative option.

While it would be assumed that the AfD, or the Alternative for Germany, would be banned under the Basic Law, this has not happened, as neither the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, nor the federal government has asked the Federal Constitutional Court to consider a ban. In February 2026, a Cologne court issued a temporary injunction preventing the German Intelligence Service from classifying the AfD as “confirmed right-wing extremist” despite finding strong suspicions of anti-constitutional efforts within the party, with co-leader Alice Weidel calling the verdict a win for “democracy and the rule of law”.

So the safeguards exist, but they set a high bar, and the AfD has shown it will use the courts to fight them, with mixed results.

What does that mean for Britain?

We don’t have the same constitutional rights in place, with it often being down to the discretion of the Home Office as to whether any particular extremist or fascist group is banned. Even then, the German far right is weaponising those rights to fuel support by framing itself as a dissenter against the system.

The answer already exists, and has done so for years: education and praxis in our communities. And no, I don’t mean you need to have read Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto to participate.

But learning about what the far right is saying, who’s funding them, and comparing their messages to the facts is a good start. Push back against people at work or at home who repeat the far-right lies; it doesn’t need to be aggressive, just simply saying, “No, I think you’re wrong, and here’s why” – if it’s safe to do so. Seek out anti-fascist publications like Searchlight and Hope Not Hate, sign petitions, share their far-right exposes, and even offer to write or research for them if the opportunity arises.

You don’t need to be a hero to fight back against fascism, but you do need to be active, aware, and alert to the danger it poses.

* Jack Meredith is a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Wales Chair for Centre Think Tank. His writing focuses on democratic reform, social justice, economic democracy, and the institutional foundations of effective government. He has written for Lib Dem Voice, Liberator, Fabians, Centre Write, Nation.Cymru, and Bylines Cymru.