Splitting far-right hardcore from sympathisers key to halting violence – expert
A car burns after being overturned during an anti-immigration protest in Middlesbrough. Photo Owen Humphreys/PA WireSplitting hardcore racists from thousands of sympathisers attracted to lawless rioting is key to preventing more “far-right thuggery”, an expert on the extreme right-wing has said.
Professor Matthew Feldman was “shocked but unsurprised” by the unrest sparked by the Southport stabbings and warned there could be more to come before the summer is out.
He told PA news agency: “It could well be this isn’t the last weekend we see these types of protests and the level of violence could get worse.
“This has been building over the last few days – and realistically far longer than that – to the point where we are at 200-plus arrests, more than three-score injuries to police, millions in costs.
“At the time we are speaking, there is still disorder going on in Bolton, Rotherham and Middlesbrough and elsewhere.”
Nuanced
Rather than condemning all demonstrators as “far-right” extremists, Prof Feldman called for a “more nuanced approach”.
He said: “I agree with the Prime Minister’s powerful statement that this is far-right thuggery.
“The places that are targeted are places of worship, especially of Muslim places of worship or places that house asylum seekers. These are the types of issues that have animated the far-right for decades.
“But I am not yet ready to say the many thousands of people turning up are far-right.”
He identified three groups: “far-right influencers” operating online; individual far-right extremists associated with groups like Patriotic Alternative and Britain First who came from out of town to “inflame sentiment and ratchet up tensions”; and a third group.
Prof Feldman said he was not ready to “write off” those people in the last group who may be drawn to the “allure” of a “carnival-like atmosphere”.
Misinformation
He said: “They may be motivated by particular issues, misinformation, even legitimate concerns about immigration expressed in a very wrong way but I think a big part of this group are drawn to the carnivalesque atmosphere.
“Let’s be realistic, that means some degree of dress-up, in particular masks, a certain anonymity in crowds and above all the opportunity to break some social norms and taboos.
“This could be chanting things that might get you arrested unless you are amongst a crowd, or throwing things at police, right the way through to burning up shops and other outrageous activities.
“I think we need to peel off this group of sympathisers from people who are hardened racists. Just dismissing them all as far-right isn’t incorrect because they are involved in far-right thuggery.
“But I think we can do better in trying to understand the different dynamics in play – people who are whipping up hatred, people who are motivated by hatred and people who are maybe doing hateful things.
“Separate the sympathisers from the hardcore and start thinking in terms of ‘alternative narratives’ for how we might engage with this audience.
“It needs to be a serious grown-up conversation. We should not be seeking to shut down difficult conversations.”
Prof Feldman was speaking as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed to crack down on those involved in the disorder or “whipping up this action online and then running away”.
Online Harms Bill
The Academic Consulting Services director said it was urgent to speed up the implementation of the Online Harms Bill to prevent future unrest fuelled by the spread of “lies” on social media.
He said: “Having read through that Bill today, I don’t see much thought given to compelling social media action around online propaganda and incitement to offline criminality.
“There is no question what fanned the flames was disinformation and we have seen the results: hundreds of arrests, scores of injuries, millions in damages and many communities operating under a sense of fear.”
Prof Feldman said the hot temperatures in the summer “to some degree” also impacted on protests.
He suggested providing people working on the front lines with “accurate, reliable, unbiased information” was vital in tackling online disinformation.
And there were “searching questions” for social media companies, Prof Feldman said: “They need to be asking themselves about how they get to a place where social media is better for society than it is now.
“We all know there can be positive aspects for social media. Surely it cannot be in social media companies’ interests to be associated with what clearly looks to be a radicalising agent in events like this and elsewhere around the world.”
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Mr Feldman is talking out of his rear end, how on earth will the Police separate Far Right protesters from the sympathisers, hangers-on etc, do the far right deserve free speech when the speech they use is contary to UK law and is calculated to incite hatred, Professor Feldman is sitting in an ivory tower and fails to see the rabid, drooling underclass of England, hard to see how these mobs equate to the England of Jerusalem . The english police forces are clearly under resourced and ill equipped to uphold the rule of Law – that is the legacy… Read more »
They could “kettle” the whole lot of them, bus everyone inside the kettle to some kind of processing centre then sort them out at their leisure. Anyone coming from outside town with the intention of fomenting a riot should get especially severe treatment. As it is, I suspect one reason they riot is because they know they can, with comparative impunity. And no, these are not “protests”. They are deliberate riots.
If someone at your rally gives a Nazi salute you are at a Nazi rally.
This isn’t nuanced at all. Associate with Fascist; you are associated with Fascism.
Appeasement of this bigotry doesn’t fix anything.
None of their concerns are legitimate. This hand-wringing Liberal apologist nonsense is what has gotten us here.
Have some damn standards.
So you’d presumably accept that, if you’re at a pro-Palestine rally, and someone shouts ‘from the river to the sea’, you’re at an anti-Semitic rally, yes?
They could be Zionists in theory if not in reality.
That wasn’t the question.
It should have reminded you of or alerted you to the complexity of the issue.
Hmm. If someone gives a Nazi salute then they are a ‘modern’ Nazi – because I am at that rally does not mean I agree with that salute and attitude.
While it’s a good practice to consider human nuances and motivational factors in people’s actions (especially in these polarising, tribal times), there is a point where trying to understand, relate or excuse people for their actions becomes madness in itself, and instead you have to compare these destructive outliers to the norm to get a realistic and reasonable determination of events. Most mentally sound people who desire a carnivalesque atmosphere would go to a carnival (or some other exciting yet peaceful attraction that suits their interests). It’s a simple as that. No nuance required. They wouldn’t go along to watch… Read more »
Quite so. A “nuanced” approach is fine when things are peaceful. But when people start setting fire to buildings, it is time for strong measures to put them down. Time to talk about “nuance” once peace is restored.
to judge from what you’ve said, I think that I’m broadly on the same page as you are. But a factor which seems to me to be relatively little discussed in the ‘MSM’ is the number of ordinary English folk who, while very much distancing themselves from the brute violence of these protests, still appear to see them as extreme symptoms of a disquiet which they understand because they share it. In my old age I spend rather more time than once I’d do listening in to LBC’s phone-ins, and this is a theme which crops up regularly and consistently.… Read more »
So that would also apply to the Harehills riots of a few weeks ago, yes?
If you don’t want to be labeled a far right thug then don’t do far right thug stuff. That includes supporting them.
For politicos that included guarded words egging them on.
No mention of the build up to the riots. No mention of the build up of frustration because of the high levels of poverty in the UK, of families struggling to feed themselves, of the lack of infrastructure, including medical care and housing and affordable higher education etc etc. The infrastructure has been destroyed by the Tories and politicians aren.t even listening. Political gaslighting and the resulting frustration and anger is bound to explode at some point, all it needs is a catalyst.
The body language, demeaner and actions of the rioters are identical to those used by football hooligans.
A group whose views on race and diversity are well evidenced and known.
To credit football hooligans with having motives related to poverty, affordable higher education etc etc when they fight and trash bars and cafes would be absurd.
These riots we’re seeing must be a boon to them.
Assault the police, shout racist chants, burn, loot and vandalise with no danger of losing their season tickets.
As you’re effectively repeating a comment of yours I’ll repeat one of mine.
The body language, demeaner and actions of the rioters are identical to those used by football hooligans.
A group whose views on race and diversity are well evidenced and known.
To credit football hooligans with having motives related to poverty, affordable higher education etc etc when they fight and trash bars and cafes would be absurd.
These riots we’re seeing must be a boon to them.
Assault the police, shout racist chants, burn, loot and vandalise with no danger of loosing their season tickets
These events should not be dignified with the name of “protests”. They are riots. Imported riots, violent outsiders brought to local towns by train.
Protests get severely treated in today’s Britain. One lot got five years for a non-violent protest after a trial in which they were not allowed to say why they had acted as they did. So this lot ought to be banged up for ten years at least. The law of riot allows it, especially if fire and dangerous weapons are used.
This seems to be a snapshot analysis describing the composition of the crowd as it is now in a particular place Far-right influencers, individual far-right extremists and carnival goers are types identified, each group greater in number than the previous one, However the “crowd” extends beyond those three to those tempted to be carnival goers and those susceptible to being tempted. The numbers of the final group are probably significant. What they all, apart from a very few who have ulterior motives, have in common is a willingness to believe without evidence what they’re told if it chimes with what they… Read more »
The riots are no surprise years of anti migrant rhetoric by the Tory right and Farage (even the other day he was stoking the fire) combined with the cost of living crisis and our youth struggling to get on the housing ladder, in poorly paid jobs and facing a cruel benefit system – have all brought us to this. There are consequences for spouting hatred and bigotry.
Paul Dacre and the Daily Mail have a lot to answer for. There were years when it was impossible to look at their headlines without finding something nasty about immigrants or refugees. That and the Tories stoking up hatred and culture war nonsense in a desperate attempt to drum up a few votes.
On the subject of two-tier policing, have the thugs who were punching female Police officers in the face at Manchester airport been charged with anything yet? If not, then why not?
They should face the consequences of their actions.
You ask if they have been charged yet so try and find out.
Depending on the answer “why not” could be a valid question.
There’s no information that I can find. If they’d been charged it would have undoubtedly have been reported somewhere.
Perhaps because they were not trying to set fire to buildings with people inside them?
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/police-update-arrests-after-manchester-29668881
Took me less than 10nseconds.
What’s your excuse?
Incompetence, Laziness, Believing what’s spread on far right websites, other?
Assembling and collating evidence in preparation for a prosecution, if ultimately deemed appropriate, requires care and attention to detail.
And – even when there’s public outrage and consequent public impatience – care and attention to detail requires time. No way round that, I suggest.
perhaps it`s time to bring back the Riot Act