How the Right Will Shape British Politics

David Cameron kept Scotland in the U.K., but the rise of right-wing nationalists could cost him his job

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By Cam Simpson

November 6, 2014 at 8:43 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the November 10, 2014 issue of businessweek.

It took a man named Reckless—Mark Reckless—to shake up British politics. In September the member of Parliament announced on live television that he was quitting the Conservative Party and joining the U.K. Independence Party, a right-wing movement usually known by its acronym, UKIP.

The 43-year-old’s decision injected a dose of mainstream credibility into the party. Dismissed as “a bunch of fruitcakes, loonies, and closet racists” by David Cameron before he was prime minister, it’s now his biggest problem leading up to next May’s general election. UKIP, founded in 1993 by conservatives opposed to Britain’s membership in the European Union, has done well in special elections this year on an anti-immigrant platform. In May, it came ahead of Labour and the Conservatives in elections for Britain’s representation in the European Parliament.