A new report from the Runnymede Trust has found that hostile language in UK news reports and parliamentary debates is more likely to describe people of colour as immigrants or with less sympathy, contributing to a rise in reactionary politics and far-right extremism.
Researchers analysed over 63 million words from 52,990 news articles and 317 House of Commons debates on immigration between 2019 and July 2024. They concluded that the language used by media and politicians has helped shape the increase in backlash against antiracism and emboldened the far right.
The report, titled 'A Hostile Environment: Language, Race, Surveillance and the Media', found that the word 'illegal' has become even more strongly associated with 'migrant' and 'immigrant' than in the 2010–2014 period, cementing the perception of migrants as inherently unlawful. It also noted that 'hostile environment' policies have expanded and normalised the surveillance state.
When filtering words associated with immigrants by nationality, 'Mexican' was most strongly linked, typically in US news contexts, while 'Chinese' and 'Indian' were also strongly associated, often in UK immigration coverage. Other common signifiers included 'Asian', 'Irish', 'Muslim', and 'African', reinforcing the image of immigrants as ethnically minoritised.
In parliamentary debates, the top words associated with migration were 'illegal', 'net', 'committee', 'act', 'bill', 'tackle', 'level', 'reduce', 'system', and 'mass'. However, parliamentarians were more likely to use humanising terms like 'guest', 'brave', and 'community' when discussing Ukrainians.
The report highlighted the 'stop the boats' slogan as a stark example of how hostile language from politicians and media aligns with racist violence, noting its use by rioters in summer 2024. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government acknowledged the disorder highlighted the need for a new approach to community cohesion, with a task force developing a national strategy and £1.5bn invested in community services.
