How can the European left deal with the threat posed by xenophobia?

This essay charts the rise of xenophobia as a Europe-wide phenomenon, which has become more of an urgent threat following the increase in popularity of far-right parties such as UKIP.

European far-right parties have succeeded thanks to the spread of misinformation about the effects of immigration, the ratcheting up of fear, and Euroscepticism: all of which have been assisted by a compliant media.

As UKIP looks to be successful in the forthcoming European elections, the essay calls upon progressives to take on far-right parties by exposing their xenophobia, addressing the social problems that have led to their rise, and mobilising the groups which may be negatively affected by xenophobic rhetoric.