The official version, circulating on the BBC and repeated by government and police spokespeople, says that the riots and uprisings of recent weeks in Britain are the product of a tiny minority of “far-right” hooligans and criminals incited by “disinformation” about the circumstances of the gruesome murder of innocent children in Southport. In particular, it concerned the identity of the 17-year-old attacker, who was initially portrayed as a Muslim refugee but later turned out to be a Welsh citizen of Rwandan parents. Strictly speaking, this official version is not wrong. But it is only half the truth.
The racial unrest, street violence, and public disorder we have witnessed in recent weeks have complex causes and cannot be explained with a simple, one-dimensional explanation. In their eagerness to condemn “far-right” rioters and looters, however, many public commentators fail to mention that the rioters’ instinctive anger is in fact just an extreme and unlawful expression of the anger and frustration of many ordinary, law-abiding citizens whose concerns about immigration and its impact on their communities are usually either ignored or casually dismissed as “disinformation” or “far-right” propaganda.
Don’t get me wrong: I am not suggesting for a second that throwing stones at a mosque, injuring police officers, setting fire to refugee shelters, behaving inappropriately, or intimidating people of other religions or ethnicities is in any way justified. I am not suggesting for a second that violence against immigrants should be tolerated or encouraged.
I would suggest, however, that in condemning ‘right-wing extremist’ agitation and violence, we should not overlook the wider societal discontent and fragmentation that such violence engenders. Our condemnation of right-wing extremist violence must not blind us to the fact that a very large proportion of citizens who express their disquiet about immigration policy or attend public rallies to draw attention to their concerns are not violent thugs or ‘right-wing extremist’ agitators; they are simply ordinary, law-abiding citizens who are concerned about how poorly controlled immigration will affect their access to housing and public services, the safety on their streets, or the cohesion and prosperity of their neighbourhoods.
If deep dissatisfaction with British immigration policy were limited to “far-right” hooligans, it would not explain the remarkable success of the Brexit movement, whose main selling point was its opposition to “mass immigration” and which pushed through a successful Brexit referendum in 2016. Nor would it explain why Nigel Farage’s Reform Party managed to win 15 percent of the vote in the 2024 election with its call for tighter immigration controls – and this in a first-past-the-post system where many Reform voters knew they were likely to hand victory to Labour.
Of course, it is psychologically comforting to blame a social problem on a single scapegoat. It makes you feel better because the problem is limited to the person you have made the scapegoat – be it the pesky refugees, the Muslims, the Jews, the conservative rednecks or the “extreme right”. But it can also be short-sighted if the problem is complex and has multiple causes.
To limit ourselves to condemning far-right violence in the face of growing unrest over immigration and race is to miss a golden opportunity to spark a sophisticated public debate about the fragmented communities across Britain, the real and perceived failures of immigration policy, and the reasons why immigration remains such a hot topic in cities across Britain.
Public unrest in the UK over immigration policy is real and goes far beyond the agitation of the ‘far right’. Even when this unrest is not on the front pages of British newspapers, it continues to simmer beneath the surface, as some communities feel that their access to public services and housing, and the future of their way of life, are threatened by disproportionate immigration, including illegal immigration.
According to a 2023 analysis of professional opinion polls by the Migration Observatory, 37% of Britons think immigration should be reduced “a lot” and 15% think it should be reduced “a little”, compared to 6% who think it should be increased “a lot” and 8% who think it should be increased “a little”. In short, more than half the population believes there is too much immigration., More than a third believe that much too much immigration.
The superficiality of the ‘official’ British response to the spreading unrest may be due to a kind of wishful thinking: if we just focus on the ‘far right’, we can just catch the culprits, pack our bags and go home. After all, what politician or police chief wants to tackle a racially charged issue like immigration while seriously considering the demands of angry citizens and communities?
However, until public authorities and opinion leaders start to speak respectfully to citizens who believe that illegal immigration is out of control, and to communities concerned about the impact of immigration on social cohesion, housing, public services and public finances, unrest and discontent will continue to spread. Unfortunately, we can expect even more unrest and disorder if public authorities do not deal respectfully with citizens’ legitimate fears and concerns.
Republished from the author’s Substack
