European Observatory to Combat Radicalization – EOCR
UK far-right riots: Everything we know
politico – Unlike in other European countries, Britain’s far right has little political organization. While parties explicitly linked to the British far right have in the past garnered hundreds of thousands of votes in general elections and won representation in local councils and the European Parliament, parties of the far right have made little impact in recent elections at any level.
Reform UK — the populist right-wing party led by Nigel Farage — has distanced itself from the riots and condemned the “levels of violence seen in the last couple of days.” Farage has faced criticism for spreading “conspiracy theories” about the initial Southport attack. He has also previously drawn attention to and criticized hotels that house migrants.
Instead of seeking an electoral route, Britain’s largely atomized far right uses social media to organize — and its most prominent figures, and outriders from abroad, leapt on and contributed to the initial disinformation spread in the aftermath of the Southport attack.
There appears to be little formal organization behind the rioting — with social media used by those involved to try and recruit fellow travelers.
WhatsApp and Telegram have been used to organize gatherings at short notice, while flyers organizing specific protests have been spread on Facebook. TikTok has been abuzz with videos of the violence.
“While many, or even most of those who have attended, are not part of any traditional far-right organization, they are inspired by far-right misinformation and are engaging in far right activism,” Hope not Hate said.
“The trigger for these events was the attack in Southport, this weekend’s events have broadened out and are now drawing from a common wellspring of anger and often recycle the same far-right slogans in particular “Enough is Enough,” “Stop the Boats” and “Save Our Children,” it added.
Instead, at this stage the government has promised further protection for mosques, while ministers are engaging with social media firms as they call for more action to tackle criminal material on their platforms.
The government has faced criticism from some quarters for its response to the riots — which is widely seen as the first big test of Starmer’s young premiership.
James Cleverly, the Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, told GB News that the Labour government has been “slow off the mark” in its response and that it should have convened an emergency COBR meeting earlier.
“The Labour Party have got to get used to the fact they are no longer in opposition. It’s not just about what you say, it’s about what you do, and they have been slow off the mark,” Cleverly said.
Other politicians, including Farage and the Labour MP Diane Abbott, have urged Starmer to cut short the U.K. parliament’s current recess so that MPs can debate the disorder — while polling from the Opinium pollster shows that Starmer’s approval rating has dipped in the last fortnight.
European Observatory to Combat Radicalization – EOCR
