Counter-protesters gather outside a possible anti-immigration demonstration in Walthamstow, UK, on ​​August 7. | Photo credit: Getty Images

The story so far: The recent far-right riots in Britain are a continuation of the phenomenon of urban unrest that the country regularly experiences, particularly in the summer months, such as the violence in 1981 in Brixton in London and Toxteth in Liverpool; or in 2001 in deindustrialised northern towns such as Burnley and Oldham. While previous outbreaks of violence have seen open clashes between black and ethnic minority youth and the police, who have been accused of racially motivated and discriminatory behaviour, this summer’s violence has involved white working-class men, in some cases attacking a mosque and hotels housing immigrants.

What led to the unrest?

In this wave of racial unrest, social media played an almost incendiary role, spreading misinformation at an exponential rate. The immediate trigger for the violence was the rumour that the perpetrator of the knife attack in the town of Southport, in which three young girls were killed, was a Muslim immigrant who had recently arrived by boat. Controversial far-right figures such as English Defence League co-founder Tommy Robinson spoke out on the issue on social media, leading many of his followers to take to the streets in violent protests.

The riots are the culmination of decades of dehumanization of immigrants. Former British Prime Minister Theresa May created what she called a “hostile climate” to force illegal immigrants to leave during her time as Home Secretary in David Cameron’s government. This reached even more extreme levels under Home Secretaries Priti Patel and Suella Braverman. Indian Prime Minister Rishi Sunak played his part with his “drawbridges up” mentality and his “stop the arrivals” slogans.

Signals from the highest levels of the British political establishment reinforce the unfounded belief that immigrants are damaging the British economy and society. The emphasis and headlines on immigration also serve to obscure the fact that unemployment has arisen from deliberate deindustrialisation rather than immigrants taking jobs; that there has been a shortage of social housing; and that public services such as the National Health Service (NHS) have been stretched to breaking point by systematic underinvestment.

How did right-wing media react?

A curious phenomenon of these riots was the right-wing media and commentators’ preoccupation with the English working class. This plight was itself provoked by the declaration of outright class struggle, when Margaret Thatcher, during the miners’ strike, referred to the National Union of Miners (NUM) as the “enemy within” and drew a parallel with the “enemy without” in the form of the Argentine junta that had been defeated in the Falklands War in 1982. Historically, workers’ unrest in Britain, such as the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 or the miners’ strike of 1984, had the potential to challenge and transform the British establishment on a more just and socially equitable basis. The right-wing commentators do not visualise their working class portrayal of the current riots in this transformative way. They have not worried about the worsening conditions of the working class resulting from the 14 years of austerity imposed by the Conservative government since 2010.

The current unrest must also be understood as a far-right response to pro-Palestinian protests in several British cities demanding a ceasefire in the face of Israeli military action in Gaza. These protests were labelled hate marches and anti-Semitic by right-wing media. The possibility of further far-right violence was thwarted by anti-racist street protesters, to whom the Labour government has been rather cool. The Keir Starmer-led government is unlikely to challenge the far right, fearing a shift in support towards the immigration-obsessed Reform UK Party, which received four million votes in the July election. The Starmer government’s ability to deal with the violence is undermined by ongoing austerity measures that have generally impaired the ability of the British state to act.

Amir Ali teaches at the Centre for Political Studies, JNU, New Delhi