Brexit leader Nigel Farage implied that the horrific violence of recent days was a sign of the breakdown of democracy and said the underlying issues behind last week’s riots remained unresolved.
Political leaders across the political spectrum have spoken out against the violence that took Britain’s streets overnight, but responsibility, underlying causes and how to respond remain a matter of debate. While the government has moved quickly to distance England’s violent protests from the mass stabbing of young children that sparked them a week ago, some see what they see as blatant government politicking as fueling anger.
Under the banner of a “two-tiered system,” critics say the prime minister responded swiftly and toughly to last week’s riots, while reacting calmly, while expressing sympathy, to other riots involving ethnic minorities and not ethnic majority activists.
Police release names of child victims killed in mass stabbing attackhttps://t.co/KGI7tULA2N
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 30, 2024
Reformed British Leader Nigel Farage recalled Sir Keir, who was the leader of the opposition Kneeling for BLM rioters Criticising the then Conservative government’s lax response to the 2020 protests, he said: “The sense of a dual policing system has been widespread since the lax police response to the Black Lives Matter protests. The Prime Minister’s faltering attempts to deal with the current crisis will only exacerbate that sense of injustice.”
In recent weeks, protests have also turned violent among Manchester’s British Muslim community and Leeds’ Gypsy and Roma communities. As previously reported, senior MP Lord Goldsmith was one of several to point out the stark difference in the government’s rhetorical approach to the various violent incidents in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s short month in power, saying “the contrast couldn’t be more stark”. [previous] Reaction to the Manchester riots, with ministers desperately explaining that they “understood” the anger as rioters “or else” demanded immediate justice.”
“Why has the Home Office responded so differently to these two cases? Can’t they see that this is fuelling the narrative of a two-tiered approach and pushing people towards the far right? This is extremely short-sighted and stupid,” he said.
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was given the opportunity to address the accusations of dual policing on a television programme on Monday morning, but the grilling was mild, with her husband among the presenters.
A tale of two riots: UK government accused of double standards over who is behind civil unrest https://t.co/MOMAaS5HFP
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 31, 2024
Asked about those allegations, Cooper rejected the idea that there is any difference in how different communities are policed, saying those who say otherwise are simply trying to excuse last week’s protests. “People are trying to make this an excuse, they’re trying to use this as some kind of excuse to somehow justify the disgraceful actions of criminals this weekend,” he said.
Mr Farage’s comments on Monday morning also clearly contradicted those of the Home Secretary, who said rioters should act democratically. Her comments somewhat ignored the fact that parties and movements promoting reduced immigration came in first place in the 2010 national election. 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017and Twice in 2019But those promises were never fulfilled.
Mr Farage said: “The vast majority of people recognise that our communities are being torn apart as a result of mass uncontrolled immigration, legal and illegal. Yet any attempt to discuss this issue in public is met with immediate condemnation. Population explosion without integration is always going to end badly. I have been saying that for years.”
Mr Farage said there needed to be an “honest debate” about border controls and, crucially, people needed to have “confidence that there is a political solution”. This is the polar opposite of the experience of British democracy over the past 15 years, when widespread concerns about uncontrolled mass migration have been downplayed by politicians. As a first step, Mr Farage said the Prime Minister should convene Parliament from its summer recess and subject it to scrutiny from the House of Commons.
Nigel Farage warns that cracking down on Starmer riots is treating symptoms, not the cause https://t.co/YIwCGZZ32a
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 2, 2024
Farage’s comments follow those from last week, when the Reform UK leader again condemned the violence and held the Government to account for doing nothing to address the “fear, discomfort and anxiety” in working-class communities after the mass knife attacks. Starmer warned then, and again now, of the full force of the law and massive retaliation against rioters, saying the “immediate challenge is driven by far-right hatred” in the wake of the children’s massacres. Farage responded by saying the “far right” was a symptom, not a cause, of the riots.
He said at the time: “No, the far right is a reaction to fear, discomfort and insecurity shared by tens of thousands of people. Let’s have proper law and order. But Mr Starmer, blaming a few far-right thugs and saying that’s the root of our problems just doesn’t work.”
He continued: “Let me be clear: I do not support violence on our streets. I do not support violent crime in any way, shape or form. But I am concerned not just about the incident in Southport, but about the social decay that is happening across our country. Law and order on our streets is breaking down and this Prime Minister has no idea what to do about it.”
In the debate over what is happening and why, some continue to try to pin the blame for last week’s violence on Nigel Farage himself. One persistent voice is former London Mayor “Awakened” Police Neil Basu, the party’s leader, said Mr Farage had failed to “keep his mouth shut”. Labour MP Kim Johnson Request to Parliamentary Standards Commissioner They have described Mr Farage’s comments as “dangerous” and even accused him of being a “spokesperson” for the EDL. [English Defence League] Mr Farage has been a long-standing opponent of the organisation.
UK left-wing government announces ’emergency security’ measures for mosques amid anti-immigration unresthttps://t.co/rH4xyBH9tR
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 5, 2024
