Every few months the British right anoints a fresh face to say the unsayable on the high street and monetise the reaction. The current model is seventeen, ruddy-cheeked, and goes by the name of “Young Bob”.
This particularly-fresh-faced new voice promotes the current “mass deportations now” rhetoric and he is, alas, a rising star of social media. He drew attention in the aftermath of the racist riots in Southampton and his rise is continuing in the run-up to the Makerfield byelection.
“Bob” – real name either Thomas or Gregory Moffatt, depending on which reports you believe – has become a familiar fixture in certain corners of X, TikTok or YouTube, where he brings the energy and tactics of the American right to the British local high street.
With a wet-lipped intensity reminiscent of Peep Show’s Mark Corrigan, Young Bob runs the Confrontational YouTuber playbook to perfection. Affiliated with the US Christian organisation Turning Point (of Charlie Kirk fame) since 2023, “Bob” first built a profile filming controversial “interviews” at Speaker’s Corner. One sample title: “Doctor Evil – Allah Gives Him Money”.
He has also campaigned for Disciples of Christ, a Christian activist group influenced by the current leader of UKIP, Nick Tenconi. From there he pivoted to producing what the right likes to call “auditor” videos, which basically means “turning up at left-wing protests or town centres to goad people and film the ensuing confrontations for social media content”.
Suggested Reading
Our ‘pure cold rage’ should be at Farage and Robinson
Since then, Bob’s been on something of a journey. He was kicked out of Turning Point after describing Nick Tenconi as a “fucking idiot”, Turning Point UK as “under-managed”, and Tommy Robinson’s support base as “brain dead”. He has been campaigning in Makerfield for Restore Britain, filming all the while.
He’s also launched his own movement, Project Britannia, which according to its website exists to “promote conservative Christian values”. While there’s limited detail on exactly what progress it’s made in doing so, the website is very good at scattering prominent “donate now” links across its many pages.
“Bob” has some clear ideas about what is wrong with the UK: immigration and asylum, Islam, gender identity and what he frames as the “transing” and sexualisation of children.
He also objects to what he sees as the chilling of free speech. The fact that “Bob” is able to say all of the above and to film and then broadcast it for money does not allay this fear.
He explicitly casts himself as continuing Charlie Kirk’s campus-activism and after Kirk’s death he told Fox News his group is trying to carry on Charlie’s fight in the UK.
In many respects, Bob is a perfect analogue for the current state of the British hard right. He offers a mishmash of Islamophobia, a grab-bag of “Christian” values, which include opposition to abortion, along with a pervasive fear that “British culture” is being undermined by Dark Forces, specifically, Islam and “woke liberalism”.
He’s also, though, illustrative of a very new form of “journalism”, where all you need in order to become a part of the media ecosystem is a camera, a mic and some chutzpah. Witness Southampton, where much of the on-the-ground violence was captured by Young Bob in full “citizen journalist” mode, breathlessly reporting on the developing civil unrest for the crowd on X.
Unfortunately, Bob’s failure to grasp how the law works meant his footage was used as evidence in the trials of several men convicted of violent disorder. He was promptly branded a “grass” by fellow travelers on the far-right.
Suggested Reading
The Democrats have a big, Nazi-tattooed problem
Still, this hasn’t prevented his star from rising yet further in recent days. “Bob” has made his debut on GB News, an important milestone in the nascent career of any rightwing grifter worth their salt.
He is now soliciting further attention, sympathy and of course donations from his base following an altercation in Manchester which saw him “attacked” by “foreigners”. This fracas was inevitably filmed. The foreigners in question looked very much like Manchester schoolchildren.
This is the playbook: film some confrontational videos around whichever culture war issue you think will tickle the algo’s fancy and attach yourself to a movement which laps up what you’re giving them. You take the creator payouts, raise your profile, the views and the payments and find yourself moving upstream towards the pseudo-mainstream big boys at TalkTV, GB News and, the ultimate goal, the Americans.
Expect to see “Bob” cropping up on Fox News before too long, telling the MAGA audience that Britain is being overrun by Islamists. Don’t bet against $BobCoin traded on your favourite crypto exchange come 2027.
Most popular
We are failing: Rod Stewart, Morrissey and the indescribable hell of the late gig cancellation
A history of Brexit in 256 disasters
The 13 people most to blame for Brexit
Burnham, Binface and the sexist plumber: A guide to the Makerfield by-election candidates
