From Belfast to Bristol, our streets have been scarred by violent protest following the shocking knife attack on young girls in Southport at the end of July. Thuggery and crime should be condemned, without question, as the full force of the law is brought to bear on those who flout it. At various times in recent history, Summer’s long days have been blighted by rioting in London and other great cities. So, although at first glance the images on our TV screens look depressingly familiar, in a sense the recent violence was of a different order, not least because of where it happened – smaller places like Aldershot, Weymouth and Tamworth suffered scenes once largely limited to cities.
What is grimly similar is that in recent times numerous protestors of various peculiarities regard their cause as so essentially just that it necessitates disorder and even legitimises violence. In response to such horrors, too many people with power have bowed – or knelt(!), in our new Prime Minister – to extreme political subcultures that flout the law. The current violence powerfully demonstrates how dangerous it is to pander to elements that operate beyond lawfulness. The enforced order on which public safety depends relies on the authority of the police who must now reclaim our streets.
Fundamental to the rule of law is the principle, as A. V. Dicey encapsulated almost a hundred and fifty years ago, that ‘every man, whatever be his rank or condition, is subject to the ordinary law of the realm.’ Yet, in recent years the police and courts have been far too willing to indulge the demands of militant protestors who elevate their demanding causes above the welfare and wellbeing of others. Black Lives Matter; Extinction Rebellion; protestors preoccupied by Palestine; and others have been permitted to cause unprecedented disruption, criminal damage and public harm. In our capital, Mayor Sadiq Khan is to blame for much of this capitulation to extremists.
Legitimate doubts about the state of environment, or the conduct of a foreign war, are no excuse for destructive lawlessness. Righteous anger at the murder of innocent children and indignation about out-of-control immigration is widely felt, but it certainly doesn’t excuse violence. Hatred and lies form and fester on social media and must be quelled and quashed, nevertheless, searching questions about the impact of mass immigration warrant a fair hearing. So, the Government must reach out beyond its narrow base and demonstrate that it can govern for all the people of the United Kingdom, not just for the metropolitan liberal elite and vested public sector interests.
No cause legitimises lawlessness whatever its avowed motive; lawful order must be upheld for the common good. Once it has been, politicians of good faith should encourage and welcome a considered national conversation about ending the days of mass immigration and, in doing so, promote new steps to create an elevating and enduring shared sense of Britishness.
