UK Politics Weekly - Why Two-Tier Keir Starmer should recall Parliament

Recalling Parliament would allow debate on the ongoing riots, rather than confining discourse to online arguments and in-street fighting.

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When deciding what to write my weekly Substack article about, the ongoing riots and protests in the UK were impossible to ignore.

The last week has seen riots, violence and disorder take hold across Britain, with the initial protests in response to the tragic murder of 3 children in Southport last week.

It seems that this was the spark that lit a fire.

Rioters falsely believed that the murderer was an asylum seeker, but it was later revealed that the man was born in Wales to Rwandan parents. This makes him British in both the legal sense and in my own view.

Social media has made for consistently depressing viewing, with awful scenes of police officers under attack, buildings set on fire, and mosques damaged.

None of this is acceptable, justifiable, or reflective of British values.

We have also seen violent sectarian mobs of Islamic extremists on the streets; some in counter-protest but some unprovoked.

These groups walk around intimidating journalists, brandishing weapons, and attacking white Britons.

Keir Starmer came out and condemned the violent scenes, calling it “far-right thuggery” and promised to deal with the chaos decisively.

This statement only inflamed tensions, with further riots targeting hotels housing asylum seekers the next day.

It is certainly correct that many protestors were far-right, but a blanket claim like this is inaccurate and likely inflamed tensions even more.

It then became apparent that while some of the rioters were extremists, many were expressing anger at decades of mass migration, and a perceived 2-tier system of policing.

Starmer’s statement yesterday steered clear of using the term, perhaps proving that the government has recognised that their blanket claim only poured fuel on the fire.

It goes without saying that any protests that extend to vandalism, attacking police officers, or targeting religious groups are appalling. These thugs should be dealt with swiftly and face lengthy jail sentences.

Starmer’s attempt to brandish all of them as far-right was a huge mistake, and it is likely that many are not particularly political, and their violence stems from anger, not racist sentiment.

By dismissing their grievances as extremist, the PM risks ignoring the underlying reason for their anger.

Starmer must be clear, attacking the police or vandalising property is extremist, but anger at mass migration is not.

Two-tier Keir?

Even worse for Keir Starmer is the growing accusation that the UK operates a system of two-tier policing.

This stems from two things:

• The contrast between Starmer’s reaction to various riots

• The lack of police response to Islamic extremists

People have uncovered Starmer’s rather more sympathetic response to BLM riots in 2020, where police officers were injured, and lockdown rules were broken.

The violence and disorder in Harehills Leeds a couple of weeks ago didn’t receive a particularly strong response from the government, despite the scenes looking very similar to those in Southport.

And now this week, where we have seen mobs of Islamic extremists brandishing violent weapons, attacking innocent civilians, intimidating journalists.

A police chief even suggested that certain communities were permitted to police themselves, further fuelling the anger and perception of two-tier policing in the UK.

It looks particularly bad for the UK’s police force when the Met’s chief Sir Mark Rowley grabs a journalist’s microphone and drops it on the ground when asked about two-tier policing.

Keir Starmer has been Prime Minister for just over a month, and thus cannot be blamed for all instances of unfair policing. But his previous remarks on BLM, as well as his blanket claims of ‘far-right thuggery’, don’t help his case.

The public need reassurance that policing is fair and equal.

Instead Keir Starmer inflamed tensions further.

His response has also been slow and disjointed, taking nearly a week to convene a COBRA meeting to discuss government action.

The public anger is reflected in a recent YouGov poll, which found that just 31% of Britons feel he is handling the riots well.

Recalling parliament

With the explosion of violence on Britain’s streets coming just after Parliament started it’s Summer Recess, many are asking the PM to recall MPs to discuss the crisis.

Tory leadership candidate Priti Patel, Labour MP Dianne Abott, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage were among those calling on Starmer to recall Parliament.

Starmer rebuked these suggestions, saying he was focused on stopping disorder and restoring safety.

Patel rightly argued that politicians need to get “some kind of grip on this” and that a return of Parliament would allow MPs to discuss the issues at hand.

This situation is not without precedent, as in 2011, following similar riots in London, Parliament was recalled.

While it must be stated that the police have all the powers necessary to deal with the disorder, the underlying motives of both the anti-immigration and radical Islamist rioters is perhaps what is most significant.

When BLM protests and riots happened 4 years ago, people questioned their motives, and asked questions about the underlying problems, namely systemic racism.

And yet, nobody seems to be doing that this time.

Recalling Parliament would allow debate on this issue, rather than confining discourse to online arguments and in-street fighting.

Conclusions

By calling all rioters far-right extremists, not addressing the radical Islamists in Birmingham, and ignoring the underlying motives of both groups, Keir Starmer risks allowing this violence to continue further.

The best way to coordinate government response to this ongoing crisis is to recall Parliament.

The best way to discuss the UK’s knife crime epidemic, evidenced by the Southport stabbings and mobs in Birmingham, is to recall Parliament.

Starmer is correct that those engaging in violence should be locked up and condemned, but the response must not end there:

• MPs need to have an honest and open debate about the motives of the rebels

• Police chiefs need to be briefed about accusations of two-tier policing, take steps to address it, and ensure that their conduct is colour-blind and equal

• The government should increase stop and search to get knives off our streets

• Mass migration needs to end, with steps taken to stop small boats arriving, and to reduce legal immigration.

Debate will hopefully see the underlying issues identified and addressed, preventing a repeat of such violence in the years to come.

As things stand, we can only hope that police can quickly restore law and order, violent rioters on both sides are arrested, and that Parliament can return to discuss the underling issues more deeply.

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