In response to the violent far-right riots across the UK, we have seen pledges from Keir Starmer’s Labour government to increase police resources, expand policing powers, and implement tougher and quicker sentencing to keep our communities safe. Far-right violence is a danger to individuals and communities across the UK but putting more police on the streets with beefed-up powers will leave many UK communities and legitimate acts of protest less safe for everyone.
We should scrutinise the prime minister’s promises of a “standing army” of specialist police, “swift criminal sanctions” for far-right rioters and promises to bring down the “the full force of the law” as a deterrent. The eruption of far-right violence is a danger to all of Britain’s communities and a manifestation of deep social crisis, but a crisis is the worst time to abandon critical faculties and hard-won rights for an illusion of safety.
