Summer of open fascist riots in Britain – legacy of Tory misrule and Labour spinelessness
The Prime Minister of the UK – Keir Starmer – and the open fascist riots in Britain
9 August 2024
Introduction
Recent riots and confrontations provoked by right-wing forces in the UK, have alarmed the British working class and indeed all of Britain. Both those born in the UK and new immigrants; and both white and blacks. And of course it has alarmed communists and all progressive people.
The core reason for this eruption of neo-fascist hatred is an ever increasing pressure on working class living standards and rights. Upon this dry tinder Farage and neo-fascist groups have danced and lit fires. Moreover after 14 years of legitimisation of racism by the now defeated members of the Tory Government, and the sterile resistance to it offered by the Labour party, a ‘normalisation’ of racism has been ensured.
That “normalisation” of the fascist equations of fall in living standards and immigration must be understood as a part of the fabric of UK ruling class behaviour. In particular the Tory fraction of it. This was a “setting of the tone” . This was vividly exposed by Dame Sara Khan. She “was Rishi Sunak’s independent adviser for social cohesion and resilience until May this year and acted as counter-extremism commissioner under Theresa May and Boris Johnson”.
Khan explained in an interview that:
“The Conservative government left the UK wide open to the far-right violence erupting across parts of the country by ignoring red flags and stoking fires with a culture war agenda, a senior adviser on extremism to Tory prime ministers has said.… the recent administrations had failed the British people. Repeated and urgent counsel that far-right extremists were exploiting gaps in the law to foment violence on social media had been ignored while top ran politicians in a series of administrations sought to gain advantage by waging culture wars, Khan said, in a damning intervention.
“The writing was clearly on the wall for some time,” Khan said.
“All my reports have shown, in a nutshell that, firstly, these extremist and cohesion threats are worsening; secondly, that our country is woefully unprepared. We’ve got a gap in our legislation which is allowing these extremists to operate with impunity.
“Previous governments have astonishingly failed to address these trends, and they’ve taken instead, in my view, approaches that have actually been counterproductive and actually just defy any logical rationale.
“They scrapped the counter-extremism strategy [in 2021], including all the resources and funding for local areas across the country who are struggling with extremist activity and extremist actors. And the government, at that time, did not replace it with anything. They left local authorities struggling to deal with consistent extremist challenges in their area.”
Daniel Boffey, “Conservatives left UK wide open to far right violence, says former adviser” 4 August 2024; Guardian
The right wing neo-fascists, now led by Nigel Farage and the ‘Reform’ Party were quick to exploit this. An opportunity to amplify some fraction of the working class discontent into riots came in July 2024, with the murders of three young girls in Southport.
However the outpouring of anti-fascist protests largely ‘spontaneous’ and from below – have impressively pushed fascists back for now. The counter-protesters have stopped the fascists. Inevitable comparisons arise to the Cable Street demonstrations of the 1930s against Sir Oswald Mosley’s National Union of Fascists.
These racist and neo-fascist provocations reflect the heightened pitch of the class war, as capitalist crisis has prompted further attacks on working class living standards.
It is notable that police actions in the UK did indeed defend mosques and community centers from right-wing neo-fascist attack. To the extent that such police actions did occur they should be supported. That should be the normal function under democracy. It of course may be questioned whether they were enough. Some on the left have expressed doubts whether the police can ever do anything progressive. Here the police appear to have been directed do exactly that.
But on the heels of these events, have also come calls from the new Labour Party Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, for further militarisation of the police.
[We must digress briefly, to note the words of ‘Ollie a coastal lifeguard in Pembrokeshire’: “I don’t think anyone with ‘Sir’ in their title really represents socialism. That seems a little bit ironic.” p.24; University College London Report on 2024 elections
Indeed Starmer is only a “new” Blair with a few superficial differences. Cultivating instead of Blair’s PR flashiness a staid solidity. But essentially the same, merely updated.
Starmer’s call for further police powers, comes after the police force was already ‘steeled’ after having crushed the great Miner’s Strike of 1984-1985. He described the new powers he is looking for as follows:
“A “national capability” will be established to tackle violent disorder and rioters, Keir Starmer has announced, as he warned social media firms they had a responsibility to clamp down on misinformation. Speaking after violent disorder followed the Southport stabbing attack, the prime minister said the initiative would “pull together” intelligence and action across the country’s police forces. This would range from “the
immediate challenge, which is clearly driven by far-right hatred” and “all violent disorder” that flares, regardless of motivation… while enhancing the sharing of community tension indicators and the coordination of mutual aid, where specially riot-trained officers are rushed from one area to another, Starmer said.
The prime minister said there was “a balance to be struck” when it came to social media platforms’ efforts to tackle misinformation online, with discussion needed on whether they could face consequences if they failed to act.
“Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, it’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere.
“That is the single most important duty of government; service rests on security. We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.”
Vikram Dodd and Aletha Adu; “Far right riots: Keir Starmer announces new
violent disorder unit”; Guardian 1 Aug 2024
It should be understood that this force will not only be directed at the neo-fascist movement. Indeed Starmer makes that quite clear. The left will be targeted in the months and years to come. Starmer’s own record as state prosecutor make that clear (See below ).
The phenomenon of even further miltiarising the police is not confined to the UK, as an underlying thrust is exactly the same regardless of country. Namely the capitalist ruling class wishes to groom a secure elite attack-guard to ensure its own interests in an escalating class war. This suggests the need for clarity on the role of the police and the appropriate slogans for the left. This will be addressed separately.
In this article, we intend only to briefly reprise events in the UK. But emphasis is placed primarily on examining how the UK got to the current situation. Therefore the analytical parts are placed first. In contrast for those who do not know them, a purely temporal sequence of events between July and up to the 7th August is placed at the end. This may seem counter-intuitive, and if so – we apologise.
The new Labour Government – a shallow depth of support despite being first past the post election majority
We have discussed the wave of right wing support in the European elections recently. We noted there:
“The major feature of the election results was the very large boost in votes for the neo-fascist right wing. However this has not yet thrown out the “centrists”.
Restructuring the Capitalist Parties of the European Community; MLRG.online June 22, 2024
Despite the superficial appearances and the Labour Party propaganda – similar considerations also apply to the British general elections. In these elections while the Labour party won the absolute majority of seats, their electoral base was weak and reflected intense disillusionment. And the neo-fascists made great strides.
The root cause of these riots is the enormous and complete crushing of working class living standards under neo-capitalist norms. This is not going to change under Starmer.
The ruling class was well aware that the “austerity” merchants of the Tory party were completely discredited in the eyes of the population of Britain. That ruling class needed a a new face to exert its political power. A re-moulded, newly purged of ‘too left wing radicals’, newly obsequious Labour Party under Starmer – only a newly cast Blair – was the ideal fit. The neo-fascists, now “officially” under Nigel Farage’s leadership of the ‘Reform’ party – are a back-up for when the Labour Party will become completely exposed.
But we need to reprise the steps by which we come to this conclusion from some key features.
(i) Results of the 2024 elections – Labour support was and remains on thin ice
In one way the results were not surprising in that Labour won a ‘landslide’ in the first-past-the-post system. However just as in the European elections, the far right led by Nigel Farage won a suprising proportion of votes, yielding five parliamentary seats.
Moreover many Labour members suffered an precipitous loss of vote share. Finally, Jeremy Corbyn the target of Starmer’s purge of ‘the left wing’ – won his seat as an independent standing against a Labour member. David Rosenberg summarises this:
“Starmer won his landslide: 64% of the seats in Parliament but, astonishingly, on less than 34% of the vote share (far fewer than the 40% vote share Corbyn achieved in his first attempt to win a General Election in 2017). Despite the Tories’ disastrous campaign, their vote held up at 24%. The surprise in the pack was the far-right populist Reform Party, led by Nigel Farage, which collected more than 14% of the national vote share and won five seats in Parliament, taking votes from both former Tory and Labour supporters.
In absolute numbers, combined votes for the Tories and Reform outstripped Labour. In Starmer’s own seat, his personal vote went down by more than 18,000. A large chunk of those votes went instead to an excellent Independent left-wing candidate, Andrew Feinstein, a South African born anti-Zionist Jew who at one time served as an ANC MP under Nelson Mandela. Many of Starmer’s closest right-wing allies saw their personal vote fall massively in their constituencies. Jonathan Ashworth, one such ally who would certainly have held a Cabinet post, suffered a shock defeat to an independent. And Starmer’s new Health Minister, Wes Streeting, defending a majority of more than 5,200, saw that shrink to barely 500. This was due to an Independent challenge from 23-year-old Leanne Mohammed, a British-Palestinian who focused significantly on Labour’s shortcomings in its stance on the Gaza War.” David Rosenberg, “Jeremy Corbyn’s Independent campaign in Britain’s 2024 General Election – A View from the Inside”; Berlin Left 02/08/2024
How are we to interpret all this?
To reiterate – Labour obtained only a third of the popular vote – even in the favourable circumstances of a discredited Tory Party in power. Its base is also less “ideologically cohesive” than in the past – meaning it is less solidly ‘pro-socialist’:
“Labour’s support now spans a much broader and less ideologically cohesive coalition than in 2019. Labour won its 174 seat majority on just a third of the popular vote”. University College ‘Open Lab’ Researchers
The academic pollsters suggest that voters felt “unsure” about the Labour Party:
“But the fact Labour took just a third of the vote, against a Government which by any measure had lost public confidence, suggests voters remained unsure about the alternative.”
p.14; University College ‘Open Lab’ Researchers
A key finding is that the population distrusted “politicians” – as Sir Keir Starmer certainly is one. One measure of distrust in all parties – including the Labour Party – can be seen in this figure below. Even in their own seats, the Labour Party lost vote shares:
p. 15 University College ‘Open Lab’ Researchers
The working class of Britain are quite right to distrust the Labour Party. Especially under Starmer-Blair. But the looming threat from the neo-fascist Reform Party – and its leader Nigel Farage – remains:
“The emergence of Reform which won 14.3 percent of
the vote, compared to 23.7 percent for the Conservatives and 33.8 percent for Labour — suggested to some that Britain is still vulnerable to the kind of hard right populism that is on the march in France, Nigel Farage, the populist firebrand who leads Reform and was an early champion of Brexit, appeared to be trying to reinvent himself for that purpose…
“There is a massive gap on the center right of British politics,” a jubilant Mr. Farage said to cheering supporters in the town of Clacton-on-Sea after he had won a seat in Parliament for the first time in eight attempts. “My job is to fill it, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Mark Laner; “Labour Won a U.K. Landslide. Why Doesn’t It Feel Like That?” July 5, 2024, New Y Times.
(ii) UK Working class impoverishment due to economy stagnation
Quite how did the population of Britain become so disillusioned with all of its politicians?
To answer, the first need is to understand the intense disinvestment, and profit-ransacking without attempts at reinvestment. This resulted in economic stagnation under the Tories. The figure 2 below describes the chronic under-investment.
Adam Tooze; “Shit life syndrome”, Starmer’s Labour Party & the UK election: democracy under conditions of deconvergence”; Chartbook 299, July 17, 2024.
This led to a stagnation in real wages. See Figure 3 below.
Adam Tooze; “Shit life syndrome”, Starmer’s Labour Party & the UK election: democracy under conditions of deconvergence”; Chartbook 299, July 17, 2024.
What this means for workers, in relation to workers of other countries can be seen in this following graph which shows how Britain fell as against its peer countries. It should be noted that the statistic used of the median, will under-emphasise the lowest ranges of income stream. Nonetheless, it helps paint the story (figure originally from ‘The Economist’) Figure 4:
Figure 4: UK Wages compared internationally (By year x-axis) Simon Hix; cited by Adam Tooze at: – ‘Nostalgia for decline in deconvergent Britain’ Dec 30 2022; Chartbook #184
(iii) Effect on the British population
The title of Tooze’s article can now be understood. What is a ‘shit life syndrome?’
This syndrome was first aptly labelled as such by doctors in the British National Health Service. It was brought to public view by a reporter in the Financial times. Adam Tooze writes:
“Shit life syndrome”, as Sarah O’Connor informed us in her prize-winning FT report on the depressed English seaside resort of Blackpool (2017), is a folk diagnosis amongst doctors in the UK National Health Service that describes mental or physical health problems …. the causes are a tangled mix of economic, social and emotional problems that they (the doctors) — with 10- to 15-minute slots per patient — feel powerless to fix. The relationship between economics and health is blurry, complex and politically fraught. But it is too important to ignore.”
Adam Tooze; “Shit life syndrome”, Starmer’s Labour Party & the UK election: democracy under conditions of deconvergence”; Chartbook 299, July 17, 2024.
Polls taken by the OECD before the election, had already indicated that the UK placed 29th out of 30 countries in level of public trust. Only 27% of the population expressed high or moderately high trust in the national government.
(p.20 University College Researchers
iv) Can the UK benefit from Starmer-Blairism?
Well, of course it is perceptibly nicer not to have those overt upper crust crooks – David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak etc – as Prime Minister (PM). Leave aside their even more unhinged partners in Cabinet.
But what are the omens however, with Labour?
If the Labour Party were to really substantially change Britain, it would need to move against the ruling class. It has patently denied any wish or need to do so.
Keir Starmer himself is a staunch upholder of British traditional power. He is simply a staider version of Blair flashiness. A recent summary of his previous ‘form’, puts his much-praised legal skills into the proper context:
“Throughout his legal and political career, Mr. Starmer has displayed a deeply authoritarian impulse, acting on behalf of the powerful…. Feted by the judicial establishment, Mr. Starmer was hired to run the Crown Prosecution Service in 2008, putting him in charge of criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. Professional success brought him closer to the state, which he repeatedly sought to shield from scrutiny. He did not bring charges against the police officers who killed Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian migrant who was mistaken for a terrorist suspect and shot seven times in the head. Nor did Mr. Starmer prosecute MI5 and MI6 agents who faced credible accusations of complicity in torture. Nor were so-called spy cops — undercover officers who infiltrated left-wing activist groups and manipulated some of their members into longterm sexual relationships — held accountable.
He took a different tack with those he saw as threatening law and order. After the 2010 student demonstrations over a rise in tuition fees, he drew up legal guidelines that made it easier to prosecute peaceful protesters. The following year, when riots erupted in response to the police killing of Mark Duggan, Mr. Starmer organized all-night court sittings and worked to increase the severity of sentencing for people accused of participating.”
Oliver Eagleton, “Britain’s Next Prime Minister Has Shown Us Who He Is, and It’s Not
Good”; NYT July 3, 2024.
All this emerges clearly from the statements made by Starmer’s economics leader.
Rachel Reeves is the first woman Chancellor of the Exchequer. She fits the mould of all her predecessors. Namely she aims to boost the ruling class profit margin since for her they are the source of prosperity for the British working class. She describes her own version of “supplyside economics” as being derived from the policies of the current United States secretary of the treasury Janet Yellen.
We previously defined supplyside economics as follows:
“In the USA attempts by the Reagan administration to control the money supply by an aggressive fiscal approach ( cutting welfare spending and public administrative spending ) were combined with “Supply side” economics. This entailed cutting taxes to enable a so-called “encouragement to business to invest” which would allow some riches to “trickle down”, to the less wealthy. In fact simultaneously with this the President:
“Sanctioned the largest increase ever seen in US defence spending. This rose from 120 billion in 1980 to $ 265 billion in 1986…the scale of the external deficit which in 1986 was predicted at best to plateau out at around $170 billion in 1987, was seen by the international community as the biggest single obstacle in the way of a world economic recovery..in an attempt to finance both the budget and the external trade deficit, the administration …. pursued … high-interest rates. these reached historically high real levels during the 1980’s when the US absorbed no less than one-tenth of the gross savings of the rest of the world..”Citing J.Palmer: “Europe without America? Crisis in Atlantic relations”; Oxford, 1988, p.72-3”.
Aliiance ML“Crisis In Capital And Their Solution – Free Trade And Protectionism In Developed Countries”; Alliance Ml, October 1992
Following Yellen, naturally she also explicitly follows so-called Bidenonomics:
“Labour is seeking inspiration from Joe Biden’s plan to tackle inflation and create jobs, shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. The US president’s vast package of subsidies and tax breaks for industry has been dubbed “Bidenomics”. Unveiling her version in a speech during a US trip, Ms Reeves pledged to rebuild Britain’s “industrial foundations” if Labour wins power. She claimed this will insulate the country against “global shocks”. Ms Reeves has dubbed her strategy “securonomics”, which she said would mean a bigger role for government in running the free market economy and greater cooperation with like-minded international allies.”
Brian Wheeler BBC; 24 May 2023
In fact it was Reeves who coined the word “Securonomics” to describe her approach:
“Ms. Reeves, 45, calls her version “securonomics,” a portmanteau word that means ensuring “resilience for our national economy and security for working people,” she said in March. It’s also likely to mean a more activist government. The Labour Party has drawn up an industrial strategy and has plans for a national wealth fund and a publicly owned energy company. “Much of my securonomics approach has its roots in Yellen’s modern supply-side economics… She is also influenced by the Harvard economist Dani Rodrik, who calls for “productivism,” a partnership between governments and businesses to create more productive jobs”
Eshe Nelson, “The American Inspiration for Britain’s First Female Chancellor”; NYT 6 July 2024.
“Ms. Reeves has added to her constraints by vowing not to raise Britain’s three main taxes and to keep her predecessor’s “fiscal rule” of getting debt to fall in five years. To avoid worsening austerity, Labour is relying on economic growth to improve the public finances, and it is depending on wave of private-sector investment.”
Eshe Nelson, “The American Inspiration for Britain’s first Female Chancellor”; NYT 6 July 2024.
“Globalization, as we once knew it, is dead,” she said in a speech. In its place, a “new multilateralism” is emerging with partnerships between nations with shared values and interests. Ms. Reeves’s denouncement of globalization is inspired by Mr. Rodrik, who has said that the era of “hyperglobalization” is over and that, instead, a new economic order needs to put a priority on domestic social, economic and environmental objectives. That could lead to a new, “thinner” globalization, in which the government focuses on creating productive jobs.”
Eshe Nelson, “The American Inspiration for Britain’s First Female Chancellor”; NYT 6 July 2024.
Others comment in similar vein:
“During our conversations Reeves ruled out a lot. She said a Labour government would not introduce annual wealth and land taxes; raise income tax; equalise capital gains rates and income tax (something the late Nigel Lawson did as chancellor); rejoin the European single market and customs union; change the Bank of England’s inflation target and reform its rigid mandate; or take private utilities into public ownership, except for the railways.”
Jason Crowley, “The Reeves doctrine: Labour’s plan for power”; June 2023, The New Statesman’;
Britain’s working class improvements in living, would also need to tackle the growing capture of the British economy by USA finance. As Michael Roberts notes:
“In his recent book, Vassal State – how America runs Britain, Angus Hanton shows the dominant role that US companies and finance play in owning and controlling large sections of what remains of British industries. This US takeover was accepted and even encouraged by successive British governments from Tory Thatcher to Labour’s Blair.
Michael Roberts; “Broken Britain” July 2, 2024
Astonishingly, Reeves has previously noticed the capture of leading British heights:
“In a New Statesman essay, “Our search for a national story”, in March 2021, she wrote: “No other Western country has allowed so many of its strategic assets, great companies and public services to be captured by overseas interest.” Jason Crowley, “The Reeves doctrine: Labour’s plan for power”; June 2023, The New Statesman’;
But the alliance Reeves announced in person to Janet Yellen and President Biden at Washington in May 2023, is to subsume all those aspects. For as the Chartered Institute for Export and International Trade summarised the launch of her plan for Labour:
“The UK Labour Party yesterday (24 May) set out a detailed vision for the UK economy if it wins the next general election. The plan, titled “A New Business Model for Britain: Building Economic Strength in an Age of Insecurity” was announced by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, in a speech in Washington.
The location for the launch was notable, as the Financial Times notes, because the plan draws very heavily on president Biden’s economic model and in particular his huge Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Reeves says in her report act as a kind of blueprint for Labour’s much-touted green industrial strategy.
Whether it is “Bidenomics” or a UK-equivalent, the Labour Party likes to call “securonomics”,
Reeves compared her new plan to what she calls “the managed decline of Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt”.
In the report’s foreword, Reeves adds that Labour’s new approach, which has been inspired by speeches on “modern supply side economics” given by US treasury secretary Janet Yellen, would see the state take a more active role in the economy “making and shaping markets that are essential to a nation’s resilience and future prosperity”.
Reeves adds this approach relies on “productivism”, asking both the public and private sectors to boost productive capacity. Put simply, this is described as an economy’s ability to “make, do and sell things”.
Richard Cree, 25 May, 2023; for Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade
The British Labour Party has chosen once more, to attach Britain to the USA coat-tails.
They have in Marxist terminology – adopted a ‘comprador’ position to the USA.
v) A brief event summary of the neo-fascist explosions on the streets of Britain
July 29
o At a dance and bracelet-making class for Taylor Swift fans in Southport, near Liverpool – a young man knife attacked, killing three girls – Alice Dasilva, Aguiar, 9; Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; and Bebe King, 6. Eight other children and two adults were seriously wounded.
o Initially suspect was not identified by the police,. After riots began he was named as Axel Rudakubana, a teenager from the village of Banks was arrested
o “Within hours of the attack, far-right accounts on social media began spreading a fictitious Arabic-sounding name for the killer and claiming that he was a Muslim asylum seeker who had illegally arrived in the country by boat.” Nader Ibrahim and Peter Robins; “How Anti-Immigrant Riots Flared in the U.K.” NYTimes Aug 8, 2024
o The BBC reported his parents were migrants from Rwanda.
July 30
o “The next night, far-right activists called for a rally in Southport after a vigil for the three girls. The rally quickly turned to violence, with hundreds of rioters attacking a mosque near the scene of the
stabbing. They hurled bricks, set cars on fire and injured more than 50 police officers.”
Ibrahim and Robins; “Ibid; NYTimes Aug 8, 2024
o The open fascists amplify false allegations: “Perhaps most prominent among the range of far-right figures involved in spreading misinformation was Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson). … he has been posting on X, criticising Islam and saying that rioters in Southport were “justified in their anger”. .. his name was regularly chanted by rioters at most of this week’s protests… and the infamous misogynist Andrew Tate, who wrongly claimed the attacker was an “illegal migrant” and told people to “wake up”. (They) had previously been deplatformed on X (formerly Twitter) but were given their accounts back after Elon Musk took control of the platform. This has resulted in a far-right movement once again being able to reach millions of people. Within moments of the initial attack in Southport on Monday, misinformation about the alleged perpetrator spread across the internet: there were false claims that he was a Muslim, motivated by Islam and that he was an undocumented migrant who recently arrived by boat.”
Joe Mulhall; “Some are calling these far right riots an outpouring of legitimate anger. They are not”; Guardian 5 August 2024.
July 31
o “Another violent far-right gathering followed in Whitehall, in the heart of London’s government district, resulting in more than 100 arrests. As they had in Southport, the demonstrators adopted the slogan “Enough is enough.” They borrowed another rallying cry “Stop the boats,” meaning the small boats used by people smugglers to ferry migrants across the English Channel — from Britain’s former Conservative government”.
Ibrahim and Robins; “Ibid; NYTimes Aug 8, 2024
August 2
o Right-wing calls to surround a Liverpool mosque were countered by huge crowds defending it. But in Sunderland – in the North-East, violent right wing mobs looted and burned shops and cars.
August 3
o Across a dozen cities including Belfast Northern Ireland, far-right rallies attacked both police and counter-protesters. Individual businesses of identifiably non-whites attacked and libraries and food-banks burnt. But in Bristol, counter-protesters ringed a hotel for housing asylum seekers.
August 4
o PM Keir Starmer labels the riots as “organized, violent thuggery” and warned that anyone participating in the violence would “face the full force of the law.”
o In Rotherham rioters set fire to the Holiday Inn used to shelter asylum seekers, demonstrators surrounded the hotel, chanting, “Get them out.”
o Nigel Farage and co-Reform MP Lee Anderson, fan the flames:
“Farage has released two videos since three children were murdered in Southport last week. In the first, he questioned whether police were withholding information about who was responsible for the murders. It came at a time when false information was circulating on social media that a Muslim asylum seeker was responsible, which fuelled disorder at a mosque in Southport. In a second video, Farage challenged Keir Starmer’s argument that the violent protests were the fault of the far right, saying it was “a reaction to fear, to discomfort, to unease that is out there shared by tens of millions of people”.
Lee Anderson, the Reform MP and former Tory deputy chair, made a similar argument, writing on X: “This problem has been caused by smug politicians who have refused to listen to the concerns of British people. It has festered and now it has boiled over. Parliament must listen, parliament must act but it must not blame the British people.”
Aletha Adu and Rowena Mason; “Watchdog should investigate Farage’s ‘dangerous comments’, says Liverpool MP “: Guardian 4 August 2024.
August 5
o In Southport a vigil held where “families and children gathered around the flowers and toys that had piled up in tribute to the three girls killed.” They call for riots to stop.
o Five independent MPs including Jeremy Corbyn point out that Starmer has not “gone “nearly far enough in identifying the anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim hatred” behind the riots on Britain’s streets.
In a letter to home secretary Yvette Cooper, they wrote: “While we welcome the Prime Minister’s condemnation of the ‘far right thuggery’ that has scarred our towns and cities this weekend, we feel his words do not go nearly far enough in identifying the anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim hatred driving this violence.
“When people are under attack for the colour of their skin and their faith, government references to ‘understandable fears’ send mixed messages and only give succour to those seeking to sow hatred and division…. We are alarmed the government has said they have no plans to meet with the largest body representing Muslims in the UK, the Muslim Council of Britain. We find it inconceivable representatives of any other faith community would be treated in a similar manner.
“Instead of pandering to those who have helped ferment the ugly racism behind these protests, we expect our Government to call out the bigotry and Islamophobia behind them and stand shoulder to shoulder with its victims.
“We reject any narrative that seeks to blame asylum seekers and immigrant communities for the decades of austerity and the subsequent decline in stable and well-paid jobs that has eroded the fabric of once-secure communities.””
Tom Ambrose, Mabel Banfield-Nwachi “Calls grow for recall of parliament as home secretary says prisons ready for ‘thuggish criminals” – England riots live”; 5 August Guardian
o “Downing Street has criticised comments by Elon Musk who posted on X that “civil war is inevitable” under a video of violent riots in Liverpool. Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the violence came from a small minority of people who “do not speak for Britain” and said the prime minister did not share the sentiments of the billionaire, who has previously been criticised for allowing far-right figures back on to his social media platform.” Jessica Elgot, “No 10 criticises Elon Musk for ‘civil war is inevitable’ post on England riots “; Guardian 5 August 2024.
o “Elon Musk calls Starmer “Two-tier Keir” alleging that police treat white far-right ‘protesters’ more harshly than minority groups. “Downing Street would not engage again with the billionaire owner of X, having previously said his comments about a potential civil war in the UK had “no justification”. Guardian 6 August, 2024
This allegation of Musk repeats one by Nigel Farage. This was refuted in the Farage refuted Guardian 6 August, 2024.”
Jessica Elgot and Rowena Mason; “Elon Musk calls PM ‘two-tier Keir’ over police response to UK riots“; Guardian 6 August, 2024;
o Nigel Farage tries to evade any responsibility while “condemning” attacks on the police. He compares the response of the neo-fascists to the Black Lives Matter movement. Interestingly he is challenged by the ultra right-wing Tory Priti Patel:
“Farage condemned the violence against police officers in a statement posted on X on Monday morning but the Reform UK leader said “deeper long-term problems remain”. He also called for the recall of parliament and said the government should consider deploying the army. He added: “Ever since the soft policing of the Black Lives Matter protests, the impression of two-tier policing has become widespread. The prime minister’s faltering attempts to address the current crisis have only added to that sense of injustice.”
Patel said Farage’s comments were deeply misleading and “simply not relevant right now”.
Jessica Elgot “Priti Patel criticises Nigel Farage for comparing far-right riots to BLM protests”; Guardian 5 August, 2024
o Meanwhile a modern day Uncle Tom but a millionaire (?billionaire) – one Zia Yusuf – comes to Farage’s defence:
“Yusuf exploded on to the political scene in June by donating a six-figure sum to Reform UK.. (he is now).. chair of Reform UK, the rightwing populist party led by Nigel Farage… “He should scare the Tories,” one senior figure on a Conservative leadership campaign said. “At the moment it’s hard to see where that party goes without Nigel. You add a young dynamic businessman who has time on his hands, a fuck-ton of money and the ability to communicate with the public, and you have a problem.”
Eleni Courea “Reform’s new chair Zia Yusuf: a man intent on making Nigel Farage PM”; Guardian 5 August, 2024
7th August
o Social media lists targets related to asylum and immigration
o Thousands of anti-racism protesters held counter rallies, everywhere from Newcastle to Bristol to Birmingham, London and Brighton. They formed human shields to protect asylum centres, and waved placards saying “refugees welcome” and “reject racism, try therapy”. While there were some reports of tensions flaring – some skirmishes in Blackpool and a clash in Aldershot in Hampshire between a group chanting “stop the boats” and demonstrators who had been chanting “refugees are welcome here”
o While 100 far-right gatherings were threatened, few occurred as 6,000 riot officers mobilised; and swift arrests and court appearances of those accused of participating in the weekend’s violence.
o Small, far right-led mobs gathered in Durham, Blackpool, Norwich, Northampton, Sheffield and Brighton.
o “The messaging app Telegram said it will be “removing channels and posts containing calls to violence” in the UK. The app, which gained prominence in far-right circles as one of the last places that the “English Defence League (EDL) founder, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (better known as Tommy Robinson) was allowed to post, has become a go-to app for the far-right.”
Data and quotes from: Vivian Ho, Donna Ferguson, Martin Belam and Lili Bayer; “England riots live: thousands of counter-protesters take to the streets as it happened”: Guardian 7 Aug 2024
Conclusion
At the time of writing, the British working class has seen off the fascists for now. This has been an epic reprise of 1936 Cable Street. This time the fascists did not have the forces or the courage to confront the anti-fascists.
However the situation remains fraught as the economic and political crisis in the UK is not anywhere near an end.
Without a Marxist-Leninist party, and without a solid and united Anti-Fascist United Front that brings together all progressives – the threat remains.
RELATED UPDATE: 11 August 2024
Tommy Robinson – or Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – is reported by Middle East Monitor (MEMO), August 10
to be very well funded by:
“A powerful anti-Muslim and pro-Israel network (which – Ed) is funding the UK’s far-right leaders. Figures like Tommy Robinson and Katie Hopkins, who have not only instigated and mobilised recent racist violence, but have been agitating against Muslims and migrants for decades. MEMO video journalist Alexander Morris reveals how an American tech billionaire, a former Israel Department of Defence employee and a far-right news network are at the centre of this network, pushing pro-Israel messages while funding anti-Muslim activism across Europe and the US.”
Other sources substantiating this can be found at the following standard news sources:
New York Times April 23, 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/07/tommy-robinson-global-support-brexit-march
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tommy-robinsons-surprising-net-worth-33395075
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-61753172
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