Woke is Not in Retreat, but is as Dangerous as Ever! By Richard Miler (Londonistan)

Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union (FSU), argues that the tide of "woke" ideology—radical progressive beliefs tied to identity politics and social justice—may finally be receding in Britain and beyond:

https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/woke-britain-b1216501.html

Young begins with cautious optimism, reflecting on launching the FSU in 2020 amid peak woke fervour, only to see it surge after George Floyd's death that May—BLM protests swept even the Isle of Man, and Sky Sports presenters donned solidarity badges. He likens his hope to a man falling through a burning building, each "floor" of retreat collapsing further.

He points to evidence of decline: the 2024 U.S. election saw Republicans sweep the presidency, House, and Senate, partly because Kamala Harris's "extreme" woke stance alienated voters—"the Democrats got woke and went broke." In the UK, he cites Westminster rumours of shelved trans-inclusive conversion therapy bans and potential tweaks to the Equality Act, suggesting Starmer's Labour might lean less woke than feared—some Tories even call him a Thatcherite.

Despite this, Young hesitates to declare victory, burned by past false dawns. He sees "reasons to think the religious fire may have gone out" but admits woke's deep institutional roots—councils like Wokingham still ban "hard-working families" to avoid offending the jobless, and McDonald's pushes DEI targets (40 percent "under-represented" leaders by 2030). For free speech advocates like him, the outlook's brighter, yet he's "not ready to commit."

Young's "peak woke" claim is wishful thinking—despite tactical retreats, woke ideology remains entrenched, potent, and a threat to reason, freedom, and sovereignty.

First, institutional grip proves resilience, not retreat. Young admits Wokingham's language bans and McDonald's DEI push persist—these aren't outliers. The UK's public sector—NHS, BBC—still churns out "inclusive" edicts; a 2024 Telegraph report notes NHS trusts mandating pronouns. Retreats like shelved bans are pragmatic pauses, not defeats.

Second, electoral "losses" don't kill ideology. Young's U.S. example—Harris's flop—ignores woke's deeper hold. Trump's win tapped economic angst, not a woke referendum; victimhood's "social currency" thrives, unchecked by ballots. In Britain, Starmer's Labour may dodge trans bills, but its 2024 manifesto still pledges "racial equality" audits—woke by stealth. This is a Nietzschean will-to-power: it adapts, cloaking itself in pragmatism, not dying.

Third, globalism bolsters woke's muscle. Contra Young's hope—EU elites (RT, 9 March 2025) and tech giants fuse woke with supranational control. Google's AI-robotics (Breitbart, 14 March 2025) and the EU's migration push aren't retreating—they're scaling.

Fourth, woke's danger festers in its dogma. Young's "religious fire" metaphor underplays its zeal—cancel culture's mental toll (e.g., 2023 Psychological Reports on ostracism stress) and education's woke skew (UK's 2024 ban on To Kill a Mockingbird, Modernity News). It's not just speech—reason's under siege; dissent's branded heresy. The Shakespeare Trust's "white supremacy" pivot (covered today at this blog) isn't a retreat but a doubling-down—cultural erasure with teeth.

Finally, resistance isn't victory. Young's FSU gains are real—free speech flickers—but woke's roots in law (Equality Act 2010), media (BBC's "mirror" defence, Standard, 4 March 2024), and academiaare deep. "Wokeness isn't dying"—it's metastasising.

Woke's not peaked—it's entrenched, adaptive, and dangerous, threatening sovereignty (national, intellectual) with undimmed vigour.

We Godly men and women of the West, must battle on against the dragon of woke.