Only by listening to voters’ priorities can parties defeat the far right

‘Sánchez has struggled to keep his coalition partners focused on voters’ priorities and polls suggest his government may pay a high price.’ Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty

I wonder if Gordon Brown is wise to use the kneejerk descriptor “neofascist” for the rise of ugly rightist politics in Europe (Spain’s election is a key battle in the Europe-wide struggle against neofascism, 14 July). In terms of attacks on women, on the poor and on unions, or the home secretary referring to “vulnerable white English girls … being pursued and raped and drugged … by gangs of British Pakistani men”, English politics is as ugly as Vox is in Spain.

So far, when holding government office, the hard right on the continent differs little from what we have seen in Britain in recent years – and, if anything, is not as obsessed with leaving the EU in the manner of Ukip, the BNP, many Tories and much of our press.