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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Ben Quinn Political Correspondent

‘Once whispered, now discussed’: the rise of dubious claims of civil war in the UK

Civil War United Kingdom Elon Musk Britain
A rioter celebrates in front of a burning car in Sunderland in August 2024
Riots across England in 2024 led Elon Musk to claim civil war was inevitable, a view that appears to chime with growing numbers of people. Photograph: Drik/Getty Images

It is a darkly dystopian vision of Britain’s future, in which tens of thousands die in a bitter civil war in just a few years time.

Yet such forecasts are no longer limited to niche corners of the internet or the X feed of Elon Musk, condemned by Downing Street for claiming that war in Britain was inevitable after the post-Southport rioting.

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