A New Jacket For A New Reign Of Terror
A Short Scroll
No longer willing to confine their assaults to people, the lunatic left have clothing in their sights. When thousands of Barbour jacket wearing farmers protested a tax against them in central London last November, one X post claimed the garment is ‘clearly the new uniform for a new reign of terror’. Another stated the jacket is a ‘new overt symbol of the right’. These posts inevitably invite derision and contempt while offering an insight into those who make them.
To conflate farmers opposing tax measures with the so-called right is nonsensical if understood with common sense. The farmer protests focus on the issue of taxation and are not tied to an ideological movement of any particular stripe. Things become clearer when we dispense with common sense to see the matter through a leftist lens. They often say that the countryside is too white and “racist” and condemn opposition to this as right-wing. By being white and rooted in the countryside, farmers are a symbol of this white space that upholds the “racism” they see as an obstacle to overcome. By remaining in situ and resisting their dispossession, farmers can only be racist and of the right. The thinking that we are up against is very basic.
The linking of Barbour to the right is tenuous. The Scotsman John Barbour founded the company in South Shields, England in 1894, and it has remained owned by his family to this day. It is a huge global brand. Barbour made oilcloths for ships and fishing boats before producing clothing in the early 1900s, initially making attire for sailors and fishermen. In the 1920s, Barbour began to create the waxed cotton jackets that are their signature products today. The breathable and waterproof garments are ideal for hunting and fishing and famous for durability and elegance. Royal warrants for the supply of clothing were granted to the company from the Duke of Edinburgh (1974), Elizabeth II (1982) and Charles III (1987). The Barbour aesthetic is synonymous with rural Britain. Given this history, one might just about see how certain types might link Barbour to the right. Although today they are often desperately liberal and at times appear leftist, the monarchy is still a symbol of British tradition. Taking all of this into consideration, it is fair to say that Barbour is what one might term traditionally or conservatively coded. This heritage does not change the fact that Barbour has a modern apolitical image. Model and TV personality Alexa Chung has recently promoted Barbour, and she has supported the Labour Party.
What exactly gives rise to a fear of a ‘reign of terror’? Perhaps the homogeneity of farming communities reminds leftists of the order and roots they spurn in favour of cosmopolitanism and leftism. The British countryside is inseparable from the folklore and imaginings of a people whose heredity they inveigh against in support of abstract values and fungibility. These types say there is a “darker side” to the “nationalist feeling” evoked by bucolic depictions made in the eighteenth century.1 Such nonsense is borne out of a motivation to stamp out any instance of positive native cultural affirmation. The farmers evoke our past and must be condemned along with characteristic representations of the places their ancestors inhabited. It is the potential for a reassertion of the primacy of British cultural identity that scares the left; this is why any sign of a collective consciousness contrary to their worldview, no matter how slight, might emotionally unsettle them.
And the smartness of many who wear Barbour garments contrasts markedly with the often defective appearances of leftists. General slovenliness, soulless androgyny, and faces punctuated with piercings in the cause of uglification are examples.
If there is going to be a revolution of the right in this country, it would make sense for its participants to look good while executing it. After all, the British are known globally for sartorial elegance. At least a bit of fun could be had if the usual suspects are a bit frightened by this.
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References
Tom Cotterill, Woke brigade claim Barbour jackets are 'fast becoming a new overt symbol for the right' after thousands of farmers protested against Keir Starmer's tax grab in London, The Daily Mail, 20/11/24, accessed: 12/3/25, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14104795/woke-brigade-barbour-jackets-symbol-right-keir-starmer-tax-grab-london-farmers-protest.html
The Sporting Lodge, The History of Barbour, 23/1/23, accessed: 12/3/25, https://www.thesportinglodge.com/blogs/journal/the-history-of-barbour
Barbour, barbour.com, Our History, https://www.barbour.com/uk/our-history, accessed: 12/3/25
Tristan Vanheuckelom, British Landscape Can Evoke “Dark Nationalist Feelings,” Museum Claims, The European Conservative, 18/3/24, https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/british-landscape-can-evoke-dark-nationalist-feelings-museum-claims/, accessed: 14/3/25
Tristan Vanheuckelom, British Landscape Can Evoke “Dark Nationalist Feelings,” Museum Claims, The European Conservative, 18/3/24, https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/british-landscape-can-evoke-dark-nationalist-feelings-museum-claims/, accessed: 14/3/25