During their campaign to get elected to the Senedd in 2026, Reform UK’s manifesto stated that if they got into government, they would dictate how Welsh museums would present history. This was partially targeted at museums’ aim to decolonise history and ensure the stories of minorities were told. This is just one of the worrying signs of where the future might lead and what it means for the education of history.
Far-right politicians like Nigel Farage (leader of Reform UK) often use distorted versions of history for their own benefit. To promote English nationalism, Farage has referred to historical events like the Battle of Britain to create a scene where national identity is supposedly under threat from foreigners. In doing so, he claims that British people are made to feel ‘ashamed’ of their history and that British history is no longer taught in schools. The irony of Farage’s claims is that by referring to ‘British’ history, he only means English history, leaving out Welsh and Scottish history. As this article began with Reform’s campaigns in Wales, it would be suitable to refer to the teaching of Welsh history.
Myself and the majority of people who attended school in Wales did not learn about Welsh history. We did not learn of the native Princes of Wales like Llywelyn ab Iorwerth or the legendary Welsh rebellion against English rule headed by Owain Glyndŵr at the turn of the fifteenth century. Instead, we learned of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, of the Norman invasion of England. We learned of Henry VIII and his six wives, the Gunpowder Plot, and other importantEnglish historical events. Welsh history was not even a cough on our education system. In recent years, there has been an improvement in teaching Welsh history but it will take a long time for the effects to be felt across Wales. Although Reform UK did not win at the Senedd elections in May 2026, they are the main opposition in Wales and could still speak out on the presentation of history. Undoubtedly, an English nationalist party would object to the teaching of a Welsh rebellion that protested English rule for fifteen years.
In Spain, history and politics are deeply intertwined. Civil war brought great destruction in the late 1930s and from it, emerged a dictatorship that would last until 1975. To transition into a democracy peacefully, the government agreed to forgive and forget the crimes against humanity. People turned away from the slaughter of thousands under the guise of wartime, the abduction of babies, the violent repression that continued past war years and into ‘peacetime’ out of concern that addressing it would reopen old wounds. It is only since the early 2000s that the government have given into calls to compensate survivors and address the horrific crimes in the last century and even then, there have been great barriers to doing so. More conservative political parties like the People’s Party (PP) have objected to the funding directed at exhuming war victims and burying them with dignity and honour. Far-right party, VOX, have spoken out against presenting former dictator Francisco Franco, negatively and have even used the same tactics that Franco and his men did to justify the killings of thousands of Spaniards. Interesting, some have even criticised the Socialist government for not doing enough to honour victims of Francoism, not allowing enough victims to claim compensation or allowing the victims linked to stolen babies to use public funds to conduct a more thorough investigation. As Franco faced a different fate to his former allies (Hitler and Mussolini), his memory is not one of shame. He is celebrated by the right and far-right of Spain, fifty years after his death. The victims of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship are not honoured and instead, reduced to a political and controversial matter that should be avoided.
In Canada, Australia, Denmark and especially the United States, history of indigenous populations is scarcely touched on. Instead, the history of settlers and colonies is paid more attention, leaving the stories of those who were there first untold. As the Republican Party slides further and further to the far-right, the traditionalist pro-America narrative grows more entrenched. Those who make the effort to learn about Native Americans and their history are dismissed as ‘liberals’, intertwining the learning of untold history with the liberal and left spectrum while the American right celebrate a distorted version that benefits their narratives.
As we see a surge in far-right parties globally, it is more important now than ever to be educated on the true events of history. The simple act of being educated is inherently political. To point out that we should learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of history is political. It should be common sense but frankly, every element of one’s life is and will be politicised. We have a choice to educate ourselves or we can remain ignorant and allow ourselves to be vulnerable to propaganda that blindly walks us in the direction of dangerous government.
History and politics cannot exist without the other. Politics is needed to understand history and history is needed to understand politics. In a world where politicians produce distorted recollections of history, it is more crucial than ever to educate ourselves and stay informed on the truth.