When the political elites betray the people, the people find new leaders.

“This is not a clash between equally moral positions; it is a battle between freedom and oppression, compassion and barbarism, civilised behaviour and violence. We need to decide what side we are on, and fight for that side to win.”

Those stirring words are the conclusion of Anne Marie Waters’ remarkable new book, _Beyond Terror: Islam’s Slow Erosion of Western Democracy_. This is the account of Waters herself, who up until not very long ago was a reliably Leftist member of the UK’s Labour Party, deciding what side she is on, and beginning to fight for that side to win. Realizing the threat that jihad terror and Sharia oppression of women, gays and others poses to Britain and to the free world in general, Waters recounts how and why she left Labour and became an activist for human rights, and particularly for women’s rights.

Waters calls herself “an anti-sharia campaigner,” and forthrightly explains: “I’m fighting a battle against a religion which is new to Europe, and it’s something that I feel frightened of, and I’m not ashamed to admit that is because of how it treats women. When you talk about women, you’re talking about me; you’re talking about my freedom and my autonomy and my right to live in a way that makes me happy.”

Yet despite the clarity and obvious rightness of this, Beyond Terror is a book about betrayal. Above all, of course, there is the betrayal of the people of Western Europe and North America by their governments. One of the most remarkable and portentous developments of the last few years has been the increasing alienation of the political elites of Western Europe and North America from the people they are supposed to represent. It is now taken for granted by vast numbers of people that the broad mainstream of the political spectrum is dominated by individuals and groups who do not have their best interests at heart.

But there are other betrayals in this book as well. Exiting Labour, Waters joins UKIP, the UK Independence Party, whose leader, Nigel Farage, was one of the principal proponents of the Brexit initiative. Waters admired Farage: “his frankness was jaw-dropping. He inspired and energised, and that was, I felt, exactly what politics needed.” But after Farage resigned the UKIP leadership, the increasingly prominent Waters became a candidate to replace him – only to be denounced as “racist” and “Islamophobic,” and even as a Nazi, by UKIP apparatchiks who lacked the courage to confront the greatest challenge Britain faced since Hitler.

After being denounced by Farage (an ugly act of cowardice on his part that Waters passes over in silence in the book), Waters finished second in the UKIP leadership race to the colorless Henry Bolton. “In hindsight,” she states, “the UKIP leadership election could not have gone better. The primary reason was the exposure of UKIP’s leaders for what they really are: professional politicians more concerned about negative press attention than telling the truth and standing up to the greatest threat to Britain since the Second World War. The public now knew for certain that UKIP did not have the courage or principles to defend the country against any and all enemies. It was an important lesson for them to learn.”

The betrayers included Farage: “Following the result, even the messiah Farage made known his capitulation to the mainstream press. After years of being called a racist for wanting out of the European Union, Farage would then imply that others are racist for opposing an incredibly dangerous religion which, at that time, had prompted the murder of scores of Britons and the rape of thousands.”

UKIP’s loss, however, could be a gain for the free people of Britain. After the UKIP betrayal, Waters recounts how she founded her own party, For Britain. This couldn’t come at a more propitious time. All over the West today, a new group of citizen leaders is arising – people who are not professional politicians, and who are determined to defend their nations not least against those very political classes that have betrayed their own people. Donald Trump is, of course, the most successful, but there are many others. If Britain is to survive as a free nation, it will be because Anne Marie Waters and other citizen activists have taken it upon themselves to do what their government has failed to do: protect its own people from threats foreign and domestic.

Beyond Terror is one woman’s story, but if Britain and any other nation is going to survive as a free society, this book should be taken as a template for what must be done, and for how everyone who values freedom must now become an activist – before it’s too late.