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Riots that began in Southport last week have since spread to London, Rotherham, Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Bolton and Northern Ireland. UnHerd columnist Aris Roussinos was on the ground in Belfast as a firsthand witness to what he calls the ‘ethnic conflict’ of our era. He spoke to Freddie Sayers about what he saw and how civil clashes might change the future of the UK.
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SubscribeEthno-religious sectarianism has clearly been slowly building in the UK over three odd decades, and is now beginning to come to a head, but I want to make a tangential point about Keir Starmer.
I cannot think of a single Prime Minister from my five odd decades in the UK, who would have used the words “far-right” in an address to the public, or other words like “far-left” or anything else provocative like that. I’m not sure even Corbyn, had he perchance became PM, would have used such words. The reason is so self-evident that it shouldn’t even need stating: a Prime Minister is not an activist, or a prosecutor, but the representative of the entire state, a totem. Starmer’s words created instant divisions in the polity, alienating large sections of the population. Contrary to Peter Hitchens’ predictions, I don’t view Starmer’s response as sinister, rather it is very early evidence of governing incompetence. I suspect it stems from a combination of Starmer’s ideology, his inexperience, his poor quality consigliere, and his profession, leading to a mistaken belief that you can run the country like a prosecutor. But you can’t. Free nations can only be governed by consent, which has to be earned and negotiated – it cannot be imposed.
To me, the entire Starmer cabinet is already giving off wafts of a low-quality smell, like something that has gone very slightly off – it likely won’t kill you, but you might end up chucking up, and the small risk exists (if you get unlucky) that you could become very sick. It seems like we have not so much elected a Labour government, as handed over governance of the nation, to a panel of graun columnists. We have had a series of lemons as Prime Minister from the Tories, but contrary to the hope that Starmer might at least provide some straightforward technocratic governing competency, it’s already time to face facts: the UK has just lumbered itself with yet another dud. Just Cosmic.
Excellent analysis.
My longer comment has gone into ‘purgatory’ so just to summarise: the point expressed by Aris at the end of the discussion that the governing class are as morally – and indeed legally – culpable for what we’re now witnessing is absolutely correct. It’s a point i made a couple of days ago.
An excellent, open discussion. The very last point raise by Aris – that those who’ve been pushing and continue to push the open immigration agenda, whilst calling those opposed to it “fascist” etc. – are essentially just as culpable morally (he also thinks legally too) for the conflict we’re now seeing on our streets is absolutely correct.
Without wishing to assume any credit (since this isn’t a situation that warrants claims of ‘credit’ in any sense) but it’s a point i also made in Comments a couple of days ago
It’s hugely refreshing to see experienced and urbane people in the media coming to the conclusions that are felt subconsciously, both in the general population and to some extent out on the streets. That’s not to condone acts of violence at all, or to credit those committing them with enough wits to be able to express these things. I’ve called their approach an “inchoate sense of injustice”.
These are the discussions that need to be had. They’re the only way forward, but these are the discussions that the new government, mired in progressivism, is seemingly incapable of countenancing. Until that changes, the conflict will only worsen. Aris thinks it may dampen down, but it’ll only spring up against with the next spark, more ferociously than ever.
Come on, how can government of people supporting mass immigration, multiculti, net zero and other woke idiocies suddenly admit it was all mistake?
History and politics don’t work like that.
You need new people as leaders of the country.
Who recognise mistakes made, have not been responsible for them and have a plan of action to solve the problems facing uk.
I don’t see anyone like that available.
Please don’t say this person is Farage.
Happily there is no ethnic conflict in Britain between the Greeks and the Turks.
Having been acquainted with two Greek women professionals, one born in Cyprus and who was aged 12 at the time of the Turkish invasion, I am aware from conversations with them how much they loathe and fear Turks respectively.
There are certainly no Huguenot communities speaking French anymore in Britain. However, astonishingly, there was still such a community existing in Canterbury as late as the 1930s.
This was reported in a newspaper article in The Evening Telegraph, Dundee, on Wednesday 21st December 1938, entitled, The Foreign Bits of Britain.
This Huguenot community was described as thriving and still speaking French. They continued to hold their services in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral.
The purpose of this article was to report on the imminent arrival of Czech refugees from Sudetenland, who were to be accommodated in a special ‘community house’ on the west coast of Scotland.
The article referred to the Huguenots and other ‘foreign’ communities with the evident purpose of allaying what would now be called ‘concerns’ about immigration. It was emphasised that all these communities were small, industrious and self-sustaining.
This newspaper article can be read on the British Library’s newspaper archive website, and can be found by using the search term ‘Libury Hall’ and the date of 1938.
I rate Aris’ writing very much and it was really interestng to have an inside view of the Irish scene.
There are two bits of weak reasoning though.
Freddie pointed out that the percentage of immigrant population in the UK is still low. OK. But it is the unevenesss with much higher concentrations in already low income areas, that cause the heat obviously.
No one is rioting in Hampstead or North Devon are they?
Seccondly, Aris makes a good point about the divisiveness of lumping all BAME into one opposing pot of all skin shades other than white – which are then seemingly given special status and made larger.
But as to whether focusing on the various ethnicities would diffuse things I am unconvinced.
Aren’t the key factors in ethnic disputes different-ness ➗ integration ✖ quantity?
Sorry, neo-tribalism is the cultural Marxist binary, (victim vs oppressor) deliberately inflicted through DEI, ESG, and BLM operators, promulgated by useful idiots.
The eventual goal? Weakining cohesion, chaos and collapse of order.
See any chaos out there?