The world has moved too far to the left and the liberal politics endorsed by many mainstream politicians only work to serve the elite and undermine working-class values, John Lydon, the former lead vocalist of the English punk band Sex Pistols, has claimed.
In a damning indictment of the current political landscape across Europe, Lydon, who fronted the band that many consider to have been the forefathers of punk, took aim at the “condescending” symbolic politics employed by self-proclaimed progressives.
Speaking to the German newspaper Die Welt, Lydon, also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, accused liberal elites of equating regulated migration with racism, explaining that people are afraid to speak out over fears of being called racist.
“They invite black people to dinner because they are black and because it is trendy, but it’s mostly condescending,” Lydon said. “They advocate massive immigration for which there should no longer be any rules because such rules are equated with racism. They quarter the refugees in working-class neighborhoods where the people are already very poor, which in turn leads to more unemployment and more crime.
“If you say something against it, you will be labeled as a racist. But I’m not a racist and never will be. Politics is destroying working-class values based on empathy, love, and respect, not stealing from each other and helping each other when you need it. These are all values that are now being pushed aside in favor of fashionable elitism,” he added.
The man who co-wrote Sex Pistols hit, ‘God Save The Queen,’ also reserved some criticism for the British monarchy, and in particular King Charles III who he described as “not the brightest on this planet”.
“I’m afraid he’ll wreak havoc once he gets involved in world politics,” Lydon told the German newspaper, accusing the monarch of “desperately trying to curry favor with the Woken”.
Lydon’s political views are diverse and difficult to classify. He has previously expressed his loathing of dogmas, insisting that human beings should think more for themselves and not be led by authority or social trends.
Having backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election against Donald Trump, he switched his allegiance to the former Republican president in 2020, telling journalists: “I’d be daft as a brush not to. He’s the only sensible choice now that Biden is up – he’s incapable of being the man at the helm.”
The former punk frontman also supported the anti-establishment Brexit movement in his homeland, insisting that the working class had spoken in the turbulent years following the vote when politicians were actively campaigning for a second referendum. “They’re not going to be dictated to by unknown continentals,” he said at the time.