I was told to ‘go home’ because I am a pro-Europe MEP. This torrent of bitter abuse must be stopped

The demonising of “traitors” who disagree? Check. Intimidation and foul-mouthed contempt for opponents? Check. Simplistic answers to complex problems? Check.

Whether they like it or not, and despite their activists’ howls of outrage, the Brexit Party’s rapid rise to prominence bears all the hallmarks of far-right movements throughout Europe’s troubled 20th century history. That uncomfortable political baggage tends to follow Nigel Farage wherever he goes – and it’s not a coincidence or a conspiracy.

The latest incarnation of the cult of Farage – born out of the racist wreckage of Ukip, which started out spreading fake news about immigration but which now actively embraces its Islamophobia – was conceived as an anti-politics political movement. But that is a concept as preposterous as it is impossible.

Instead of building a unifying manifesto, shadowy big money and vested interests bought them a rallying cry and a blank canvas for every crank, has-been and political wannabe to project their prejudices on to. The simmering frustration of an electorate fed up with the chaos of Brexit has been ruthlessly exploited by people who knew exactly what sort of a campaign they were building.

A campaign of false blame, false promises and false friends, then. But the cracks are showing already in the anger that Brexit Party supporters show towards anyone who disagrees with their world view.

On Sunday night I took to the stage at the ICC in Birmingham to thank the people of the West Midlands for re-electing me as their MEP, on a night where the young, multicultural city of Birmingham had comprehensively rejected the Brexit Party at the ballot box. And as I did so, I was subjected to a torrent of abuse unlike anything experienced by other candidates.

With their boos and cries of “f*** off” and “go home”, the Brexit Party’s activists attempted to drown out my speech. That should come as no surprise. Robust political debate is a cornerstone of our democracy and I am not a snowflake, but I am everything that the Nigel Farages of this world despise: an immigration success story, a woman in a position of power and a proud evangelist for what the European Union at its best can achieve.

By contrast, all Farage has ever used his considerable privilege to achieve is discord, division and personal gain.

In the aftermath, as more than a quarter of a million people watched footage of the abuse in less than 24 hours, the excuses have been as predictable as are pathetic. “It’s what we said, but not what we meant.” “Well, you called us fascists.” Not for the first time, the irony is lost on them.

Calling the Brexit Party out, for what it really is, does not mean I think that all those who voted for it are racists or fascists. But there is no question that they have certainly cornered that part of the democratic market.

The Brextremists, if you will, will never stand up to austerity because it gives them the one thing they crave: grievance. Yet instead of turning public fury at nine years of Tory cuts into a movement to kick them out of office, all Farage really wanted was a seat at the negotiating table, or at the very least to be an invisible hand guiding the Tory leadership contest towards the hard right.

At some point there must be a day of reckoning for this most destructive, disruptive force in British politics. A point where even Farage and his acolytes are forced to admit they have nothing to offer but hate and blame. A point where they are seen for the opportunists they are. A point where they run out of excuses. But clearly not just yet.

So for however long I am back in Brussels, I will shine a light on their darkness. These attempts to silence are doomed to failure because every time the far-right has reared its ugly head in Britain, from the Battle of Cable Street in the Thirties to the National Front of the Seventies, it has been defeated by ordinary, decent people.

Even at the moment of the Brexit Party’s supposed triumph on Sunday night they were sowing the seeds of their own destruction. It’s now up to us to finish the job.

Neena Gill is Labour MEP for the West Midlands