The Observer Book Club with Nick Lowles

Invited experts

John Simpson

Home Affairs Editor

Nick Lowles

CEO, HOPE not hate

John Simpson

Home Affairs Editor

Nick Lowles

CEO, HOPE not hate

Join us for a rallying Observer Book Club event with Nick Lowles, veteran campaigner and founder of HOPE not hate, as he discusses his urgent new book, How to Defeat the Far Right: Lessons from Hope Not Hate.

Drawing on 35 years of frontline experience and two decades leading Britain’s largest anti-fascist organisation, Lowles delivers a searing critique of the rise of extremism and intolerance across Western societies. He unpacks how far-right and populist movements have gained traction, fueling a surge in anti-immigration, antisemitic, and Islamophobic attacks, and offers a clear-eyed analysis of what is happening - and why. Most crucially, Lowles provides practical strategies for activists, politicians, and citizens to counter the far right, drawing on innovative campaigns and hard-won lessons from the fight against hate.

Together in the newsroom, we’ll ask: What makes far-right movements so resilient? How can communities effectively push back? And how can hope, rather than fear, become the driving force for change?