Gareth Southgate, England manager and perhaps one of the most likeable men in the British Isles, is feared to be a “tool of deep Woke”, a Financial Times op-ed claimed on Monday. It seems a consortium of “Conservative supporters” believe some conspiracy is afoot, and Southgate is a mere pawn to woke-ify the nation. All of which prompts a question: has everyone lost their minds?
Woke is already a rather tricky word. To some it simply indicates an awareness of societal injustice; a term that guides us to a fairer world. To others, wokeness refers to a cultural climate in which we must follow rigid orthodoxies in thought and opinion. And any attempts to deviate from those orthodoxies may see you condemned from the altar of public opinion.
So where does Southgate fit into all of this? He has been roundly praised for his paean to progressive patriotism (an open letter titled “Dear England” published prior to the Euros), and for his endorsement of players taking a knee prior to kick-off in protest of racism. Of course if he really is a tool of deep Woke this cannot be a function of Southgate’s inherent decency, but rather it must be a part of a secretive and insidious plot (exactly what the aim of this plot might be is, as of yet, unclear).
The discourse is saturated and no one can think straight. Woke has lost all meaning and will soon lose all potency
Casually making such ludicrous assertions in respected newspapers is probably a sign that everyone needs to have a lie-down. We must have – finally – reached the apex of the culture wars. The discourse is saturated and no one can think straight. The term woke has lost all meaning and will soon lose all potency.
Not so fast. Though it is easy – and encouraged – to direct ridicule at anyone who believes Southgate to be a propagator of deep Woke (whatever it is supposed to mean), wokeness and all of its accoutrements may have a deeper hold on democracy than we assume. In fact, it may be the biggest dividing line between voters from here on in. At least that’s what one veteran pollster reckons.
Step into the ring Frank Luntz, an American pundit and political language consultant who advised the Republican party over the course of nearly three decades. Luntz’s repertoire includes advocating for the use of the term “climate change” in place of global warming (it sounds “less frightening” he says), and the renaming of the “estate tax” to the much more evocative “death tax”.
Attempts to view the UK (or Ireland) through an American lens will fall short
Luntz has since renounced his Republican identity, and has come to the UK to warn it of its fate: Britain is heading in the same political direction as the deeply divided United States, and is in desperate need of course correcting. In fact, Britain could descend into a full-throttle US culture war in no time at all. And “wokeism” may have no small role to play.
In research conducted with the Centre for Policy Studies, Luntz found that “wokeism” was among voters’ major concerns (more so than sexism or populism). And via focus groups and several polls he concluded that voters believed “woke” versus “non-woke” to be a more significant social divide than young versus old or men versus women.
It is certainly noteworthy, but we would be wise to maintain some scepticism that the UK is about to experience a seismic American-style political reckoning. The UK and the US are not the same place. And they often – most of the time, in fact – wildly misunderstand each other, assuming greater commonality thanks to a shared language and a foggy notion of a “special relationship”. Only a cursory glance at the culture shock both the British and Americans experienced over Meghan Markle is evidence enough of this. Attempts to view the UK (or Ireland) through an American lens will fall short.
It suits the short-term electoral interests of certain parties to stoke these flames and capitalise on an apparent anxiety voters share over wokeness
So it seems unlikely that we are about to import the US’s political culture to the UK or the EU wholesale. But we would be wrong to dismiss culture wars – long bubbling under the surface – as a frivolous concern. The furore over whether Rule Britannia would be sung at the proms; the ongoing rows over statues erected to imperfect historical figures; and the establishment of GB news, a broadcaster that appears to take its editorial cues from the likes of Fox rather than the BBC, are all indicative of this culture war gathering in speed and momentum.
And the problem here is simple to diagnose but difficult to solve. It suits the short-term electoral interests of certain parties to stoke these flames and capitalise on an apparent anxiety voters share over wokeness. If it really is set to be a significant (if not the most significant) political division in coming years, then politicians will want to stake their claim to the right side of the debate.
That may well be antithetical to the curation of a moderate, centrist and healthy society. But it may soon become a quick ticket into office.