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Turning Point UK

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Not to be confused with Turning Point (charity).

Turning Point UK
AbbreviationTPointUK
Formation1 February 2019; 5 years ago (2019-02-01)
TypeNonprofit organisation
Location
  • United Kingdom
President
Marco Longhi
Websitetpointuk.co.uk

Turning Point UK (TPUK) is a British offshoot of the American student pressure group Turning Point USA.[1] The UK group was set up to promote right-wing politics in UK schools, colleges and universities, with the stated aim of countering what Turning Point UK alleges are the left-wing politics of UK educational institutions.[2] The close similarity of Turning Point UK's rhetoric and target demographic to that of Generation Identity, a continental European group with racist and Islamophobic intentions, has been noted by scholars of hate studies and the far-right.[3]

Turning Point UK describes its objectives as promoting "the values of free markets, limited government and personal responsibility". It says it does this to counter what it alleges is "a dogmatic left-wing political climate, education system and radical Labour Party" which, Turning Point UK claims, "sympathises with terrorists [and] wishes to disarm the nation".[4]

The group was launched in December 2018[5] by Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, and Candace Owens, then the communications director of the US group,[6] at the Royal Automobile Club in London.[5] On the day of its social media launch in February 2019, Tory MPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel tweeted supportive messages for the group.[7][8] Labour MP David Lammy stated that the launch and its Tory support are evidence that the Conservative Party "openly promotes hard-right, xenophobic bile".[9] From its inception, the organisation and its leading members were the subject of widespread popular ridicule. It was described by the BBC as "a tsunami of online mockery".[10][11]

Overview

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The group was launched in December 2018[5] by Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, and Candace Owens, then the communications director of the US group,[6] at the Royal Automobile Club in London.[5] Among those attending the event were Andy Wigmore, Paul Joseph Watson, James Delingpole and filmmaker Amanda Eliasch (a follower of David Icke).[5][12][13] The event was hosted by John Mappin, a hotel owner and QAnon supporter.[14]

On the day of its social media launch in February 2019, MPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel tweeted supportive messages for the organisation, as did Nigel Farage,[7] while it was marked for criticism by others.[8] From its inception, the organisation and its leading members were the subject of widespread popular ridicule on the social networking service Twitter. The ridicule continued for at least a week. It was described by the BBC as "a tsunami of online mockery".[10][11] The launch of its Twitter account was accompanied by multiple parody accounts, along with a parody of the organisation's website created by a 'left-leaning student' calling himself 'Skeptical Seventh'.[15][16] There was also a protest from the charity Turning Point over potential confusion caused by similarities between the two names.[10]

Turning Point UK's chairman was George Farmer[8][12] until April 2019.[citation needed] Farmer was a Candace Owens' fiancee, a Conservative Party donor, the son of a Conservative peer, and was close to far right activist Paul Joseph Watson of conspiracy theory website Infowars.[7][12] Until 2021 its CEO was Ollie Anisfeld (the son of Lance Forman, former Brexit Party MEP for London).[12] At its launch in 2019 the group had employed several full-time staff.[5]

In June 2019, it held a £180-a-head fundraising dinner, antisemitic conspiracy theorist John Mappin and Ferzana Barclay, wife of Daily Telegraph owner Aidan Barclay. This was attended by Nigel Farage, artist Amanda Eliasch, Brexit Party chair Richard Tice and digital strategist Steve Edginton, Brexit Party candidate Lance Forman, and pundit Toby Young.[17][18][19]

According to the Oxford University newspaper Cherwell in early 2019, the group "claims to already have chapters at eight universities". The group's then chairman George Farmer told the paper they had chapters at the universities of Sussex, Oxford, St Andrews, York, Warwick, Nottingham, King's College London, University College London, the London School of Economics and the University of the Arts London.[5] Like Turning Point USA, it does not disclose the identities of its donors.[5]

In 2019, Labour MP David Lammy described Turning Point UK as evidence that "sinister forces are taking hold of our country" and that the Conservative Party "openly promotes hard-right, xenophobic bile".[9] The scholar Chris Allen, of the Centre for Hate Studies at Leicester University, has written that while the group is linked to Turning Point USA, which Allen notes has been linked to the far-right, the UK group does not fit traditional conceptions of the far-right. Allen notes the group's closely similar rhetoric and demographic to Generation Identity, a continental European group whose intentions are racist and Islamophobic.[3]

Dominique Samuels, one of the group's "Young Influencers", told the BBC during a radio interview that the UK branch would not set up the same controversial Professor Watchlist for which its US counterpart is known.[10] Samuels later became a GBNews host.[19] The group hosts the TPUK Education Watch website, where students can submit examples of political bias in the education system. The site has been described by the University and College Union as having "the acrid whiff of McCarthyism about it" after it called for videos and photos of lecturers to be sent into it for publication. Turning Point UK rejected the accusation and said that any academic they featured would be given the right to reply and that unlike the US group the default would not be to name people although they reserved the right to do so.[20][21]

The Chief Operating Officer until November 2021 was Jack Ross, who then co-directed a group called Reasoned with right wing activist Darren Grimes.[22] In 2021, Reading-based personal trainer Nick Tenconi[23] tweeted that he had taken over as COO.[24][better source needed] As of 2024, its president is Conservative Party activist Marco Longhi.[25] Tenconi was reported to have attempted to broker a Reform UK candidate to stand aside on Longhi's behalf in the 2024 United Kingdom general election,[25] while also stepping up from deputy leader to interim leader of UKIP.[26]

Street protests

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According to Hope Not Hate, "following the addition of COO Nick Tenconi to the group, it appears to be in the process of reinventing itself as a street-protest organiser, taking a key role in the demonstrations against drag queen storytelling sessions throughout the year".[27]

The Honor Oak pub protests

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On the 25 February 2023, Turning Point UK held a protest in Lewisham, London, against a drag queen event at the "Honor Oak" pub. Writers for the left-wing outlet Novara Media wrote on the protest, noting that the Turning Point UK activists were greatly outnumbered by counter protestors who supported the drag queen event, and the Turning Point UK activist's protest was then confined hundreds of meters away from the pub.[28] Both the PinkNews and Southwark News also reported on the number of pro-drag queen counter-protestors vastly outnumbering the Turning Point UK activists.[29][30]

Turning Point UK held another protest outside the Honor Oak in June, in which three people were arrested, and one trans activist was photographed with blood pouring down their face.[31][32] Turning Point UK then made posts on twitter which implied that the activist had faked their injuries.[33][32]

The Great Exhibition pub protest

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On the 10 March 2023, Turning Point UK staged a protest in East Dulwich against an alleged Drag Queen Story Hour outside a pub called "The Great Exhibition."[34] However according to the BBC News the drag queen event that Turning Point UK was protesting against did not exist and that the pub was empty during the protest.[34] The drag queen event that Turning Point UK had organised a protest against was based on an outdated advertisement for a drag queen event had already happened the year prior in 2022.[34] Turning Point UK claimed that there had been a cover-up, and that the pub had deleted one of their drag queen advertisements.[30] The Turning Point UK protest was counter-protested by both LGBT and anti-fascist activists.[34] Turning Point UK's protest against a non-existent drag queen show was mocked by a writer for Novara Media.[28]

Anti-Palestinian and anti-migrant protests

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During the Israel-Hamas war, TPUK co-organised a demonstration on Remembrance Day in November 2023 to protect the Cenotaph from potential descecration by pro-Palestine protesters, a demonstration that culminated in far-right protesters fighting police.[27]

Tenconi was involved in the 2024 United Kingdom riots against migrants. On 8 August in Aldershot, he led a small crowd in chanting “invaders out, close off borders, invaders out” outside a hotel housing asylum seekers.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Tory MPs voice support for new UK branch of 'sinister' right-wing US group". The Independent. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  2. ^ "The UK launch of right-wing youth group Turning Point is going about as well as expected". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b Allen, Chris; Cuko, Ilda (14 February 2019). "Turning Point UK: new conservative youth group doesn't fit traditional understandings of the far right". The Conversation. London.
  4. ^ "About - Turning Point UK". Turning Point UK. Borehamwood: Media & Activism Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h van der Merwe, Ben (28 January 2019). "Right-wing dark money comes to Oxford student politics". Cherwell. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Turning Point's UK launch beset by memes". The Daily Dot. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Walker, Peter (4 February 2019). "Tory MPs back youth group with apparent links to US far right". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Barnes, Luke (4 February 2019). "Turning Point USA launches British chapter to rocky reception". ThinkProgress. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  9. ^ a b Brown, David (6 February 2019). "Right-wing student leader Charlie Kirk will tour UK universities". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.(subscription required)
  10. ^ a b c d "The battle over Britain's newest student movement". BBC News. 9 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  11. ^ a b "How an army of farcical fakes ruined Turning Point UK's big day". Wired UK.
  12. ^ a b c d Dearden, Lizzie (4 February 2019). "Turning Point UK: Jacob Rees-Mogg and Tory MPs support new branch of 'sinister' right-wing US group". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Everything You Need To Know About The Launch of Turning Point UK". HOPE not hate. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  14. ^ Boedy, Matthew (15 May 2023). "Turning Point Efforts to Export Drag Queen Attacks and 'Take Back Universities' Marred by Fringe Associations and Farcical Missteps". Religion Dispatches. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  15. ^ Waters, Lowenna (5 February 2019). "Turning Point's UK Twitter launch has gotten off to an exceedingly bad start". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  16. ^ Volpicelli, Gian (6 February 2019). "How an army of farcical fakes ruined Turning Point UK's big day". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019 – via www.wired.co.uk.
  17. ^ Wickham, Alex; Stefano, Mark Di (21 May 2019). "New Video Shows Nigel Farage Courting Fringe Right-Wing Figures At A Private Tea Party Hosted At The Ritz". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  18. ^ Casalicchio, Emilio (27 June 2019). "Nigel Farage attended dinner with right-wing conspiracists". POLITICO. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  19. ^ a b Denkinson, Katherine (21 February 2023). "Who's for Dinner? Andrew Bridgen and the Conspiracy Theorists". Byline Times. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  20. ^ Hazell, Will (2 March 2020). "Right-wing student group Turning Point UK accused of 'McCarthyism'". inews.co.uk. The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  21. ^ "Education Watch FAQ". Turning Point UK. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  22. ^ "Jack Ross".
  23. ^ a b "Personal trainer leads 'offensive' chants at clashing pro and anti migrant protest". Reading Chronicle. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  24. ^ "x.com".
  25. ^ a b Mendick, Robert (2 July 2024). "Reform candidate's 'unique offer' to step down in marginal seat by To…". archive.is. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Knives being sharpened after extreme right election disaster". Searchlight. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  27. ^ a b "Case file: Turning Point UK – HOPE not hate". HOPE not hate. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  28. ^ a b Childs, Simon; Lubbock, John (27 June 2023). "Drag Queens Are the Latest Target for Homophobic Culture Warriors". Novara Media. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  29. ^ Stroude, Will (25 February 2023). "Hundreds turn out to defend London pub's drag event for kids from pitiful far-right protest". Pink News. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  30. ^ a b Russell, Herbie (9 March 2023). "Turning Point UK to protest kids' drag queen event that isn't even happening, according to the East Dulwich pub". Southwark News. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  31. ^ Sawer, Patrick (24 June 2023). "Trans activists 'attacked' at children's drag queen story time event". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  32. ^ a b Jess O'Thomson (27 June 2023). "Exclusive: The Truth About the Far Right Attack on Honor Oak". Trans Safety Network. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  33. ^ Childs, Simon (27 June 2023). "Turning Point UK Questions Inanimate Object After Bloodshed at Demonstration". Novara Media. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  34. ^ a b c d "Protesters rally against a non-existent drag event". BBC News. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.

Further reading

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