The murder of student Henry Nowak on December 3 2025 shocked the UK. Now the case has also become a pretext for attempts by some on the right to divide communities with demands for “common sense”.

It leaves the Labour government with an important choice: move away from its failed strategy of trying to win over Reform UK voters, or continue down a route that risks normalising divisive rhetoric.

In the wake of revelations about Hampshire police’s handling of the knife attack, media attention focused on violent protests near the site of the killing.

But arguably more important is the suggestion by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, before the unrest began, that people respond with “pure cold rage”. His comments came after Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh, was jailed for life for the fatal stabbing in Southampton.

In heated exchanges in the Commons on June 3, Farage’s comments were widely condemned. But besides being exactly what Henry Nowak’s family wanted to avoid, it was also an example of the well-worn right-wing strategy of depicting its politics as “common sense”.

In his initial statement, Farage had clearly and calmly presented arguments around two-tier justice, anti-white racism, mass immigration and diversity........

© The Conversation