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A semblance of normality has returned to the British streets after the recent ultra scare. But nobody trusts: not even the frightened citizens not even the new Labour government, which is committed to preventing a new outbreak and punishing those responsible for the riots as they deserve, has been able to respond to what happened.
There is also no political consensus on what happened, beyond the conventional rejection of violence, which has been supported even by those who, in one way or another, have inflamed the atmosphere that generated the explosion.
The great hoax that triggered the anger of the ultras is only the tip of a gigantic iceberg of manipulations, lies and criminalizing immigration policies
As is known, the violent ultra and racist riot was based on falsehood that a young man seeking refugee status stabbed three girls in Southport. It soon emerged that the attacker was actually a young Welshman of Rwandan origin, the country with which the Conservatives had agreed to a mass deportation of immigrants, in exchange for money, of course.
The great hoax that triggered the anger of the ultras is only the tip of a gigantic iceberg of manipulations, lies and criminalizing immigration policies. There are numerous studies that challenge racist discourse and the alleged damage that unwanted foreigners cause to the British economy and social cohesion. And the same can be said if we broaden the focus to include Europe and other parts of the planet where there is a widespread migration phenomenon.
The poor economic health has favoured this overflow of social tensions. Not surprisingly, most of the riots have been recorded in the cities hardest hit by the conservative austerity policies of the last three decades. All of them are exponents of that post-industrial Britain of the northwest and the Middlands Westerners, as the economic editor of the GUARDIAN pointed out a few years ago (1).
Another lie spread by British racists is that the police are more expeditious and forceful with whites than with blacks. In fact, in 2023, the security forces questioned and/or arrested six blacks for every white person (2).
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TORIES
That the British outbreak occurred three weeks after the formation of a Labour government after fifteen years of conservative political dominance It can’t be a coincidenceThe Tories’ immigration policies have created a toxic environment, underpinned by the same spirit of falsehood and hatred now deployed with virulence.
Most of the riots have been recorded in the cities hardest hit by the conservative austerity policies of the last three decades.
This connection, not necessarily mechanical, between institutional conservatism and violent racism has been denounced by Dame Sara Khanwho was an anti-terrorist commissioner in the government of Altar and adviser on social cohesion issues in the governments of May y Johnson (3).
Khan argues that recent Tory governments paved the way for the ultras, using a “inflammatory” language to refer to immigrants (the most striking case is that of the former Minister of the Interior, Suella Bravermanof Indian origin, like his boss, Prime Minister Sunak) or leaving legal loopholes that have allowed the incitement to violence on social networks. The warnings that Khan raised at the time, together with other social actors, have been systematically ignored.
The comments of this adviser, a black Muslim from Bradford, do not reveal anything that was not already known. But they have the value of demonstrating that Whitehall was not oblivious to the danger of ultra-impulse.
This political negligence and the consequent legislative passivity respond to a strategy of construction of an external enemy of multiple heads on which the Brexit as a political project. Certainly, separation from Europe was not an option only for the most radical conservatives. It was a cross-cutting aspiration that could be detected in Labour and other leftist families.
But the instrumentalization of immigration as a Trojan horse of that European superstate (another gigantic fallacy) that sought to destroy or overwhelm British institutions has been a specifically tory. Control of the English Channel, after the execution of the Brexithas put a lot of strain on bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Europe and, more specifically, between London and Paris, as was already the case before the divorce, in fact.
This political negligence responds to a strategy of constructing a multi-headed external enemy on which Brexit was based as a political project.
One of the benefits announced by the promoters of the Brexit was to reduce immigration. But neither Johnson nor his successors have been able to keep the promise. On the contrary, Immigration has tripled until reaching the peak in 2022. Which has contributed to infuriating the most extremist sectors.
LABORIST “HARDNESS”
The new Labour government has proclaimed that it will be ruthless in applying the law, in all its rigour, against those responsible for the violence of recent weeks. The Labour leader, Keir Starmera former Crown Attorney General, has a reputation for being a firm man in legal and criminal matters. He belongs to that faction of his party that maintains strict positions against crime, which has led to important political gains. Blair He came to power with that speech and practiced it from Downing St.
Starmer has been relentless even with his own people. He has not hesitated to use the persecution of anti-Semitism to pursue alleged anti-Jewish behaviour and prejudices. But also to remove from positions of relevance or expel from the party to critics of the policies of Israeli governments, even though they have become increasingly extremist, racist and genocidal.
It is moderate laborelectorally successful but probably not very transformative in terms of social structures and political mentalities, is also burdened by an institutional inertia that will hardly favour the eradication of racism and even its most violent manifestations.
While the type of terrorism practiced by radical Islam deserves the unanimous qualification of “terrorism”, the type of terrorism carried out by the extreme right is classified as “criminality”.
Three researchers from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSSIAN) have denounced the institutional double standard (including that of the entity in which they work) when addressing the issue of violence. While the violence practiced by radical Islam deserves the unanimous qualification of “terrorism”the one carried out by the extreme right is classified as “criminality”. The distinction has many administrative, political and legal consequences. Radical Islamism is under the control of the state anti-terrorist apparatus, while control of white racist extremism depends on the limited resources of local police forces (4).
Starmer has described the recent events as “far-right bullying”, a term that, in the opinion of the researchers, degrades the phenomenon in which this type of violence is rooted and consolidates the double standard They have denounced this in previous governments. It would not be enough, therefore, to be “tough on crime”: we must address the underlying policies to combat xenophobia and racism at their roots.
That is not what is being done. Not even in the EU, where countries have not been paid to host deportees, as the UK tried to do. Instead, subcontractor to states with a poor democratic reputation (Egypt, Tunisia) as containers for immigrants. At any price: without worrying about the methods used or paying attention to those human rights that they nevertheless demand from their geostrategic adversaries (5).
NOTES
(1) “The violence was shocking bur no surprising: Britain’s economy makes it ripe for far-right thuggery”. LARRY ELLIOT. THE GUARDIAN, August 8.
(2) “How to respond to the riots on Britain’s streets”, THE ECONOMIST, August 4.
(3) “Conservatives left UK wide open to far-right violence, says former adviser”. DANIEL BOFFEY. THE OBSERVER, August 4.
(4) “UK riots expose double standards on far-right and Islamist violence”. EMILY WINTERBOTHAM, CLAUDIA WALLNER Y JESSICA WHITE. THE OBSERVER, August 11.
(5) “From Tunis to Cairo: Europa extends its border across North Africa”. HUMZAH KHAN. CARNEGIE FOUNDATION, 9 April.
