3 d. ago Here’s the truth about Britain’s immigration hysteria: Starmer and co have whipped it up to get cheap votes | Nesrine Malik

He is part of a political establishment that is fuelling a crisis way beyond the point that they can ever be seen to solve it. It’s a cynical, idiotic doom loopImmigration has been a fixture of Britain’s political discourse for so long, it now feels, like Voltaire’s god, that if the issue did not exist, we would have to invent it. What would our politics look like, what would the broad majority of Britain’s media do with themselves, without immigration? It has become such a feature of the country’s political culture, it amounts to a sort of historical exhibit: “rivers of blood”, the “hostile environment”, “go home” vans, “controls on immigration” crockery, the Brexit “breaking point” poster, the Windrush scandal, “stop the boats”, “island of strangers”. And now, summer riots.What conjoins all of these is one thing: misinformation. I have banged on for years in this column about the disconnect between immigration discourse and the reality of how hard and expensive it is to enter the ...

Politics

4 d. ago Rightwingers warn of another blaze of summer riots in Britain – but they’re the ones striking the match | John Harris

Grim predictions of ‘societal collapse’ and ‘civil war’ will hit home so long as Labour fails to address the country’s problemsA last stretch of this strange, uneasy summer remains. Between now and September, there could conceivably be further outbreaks of the kind of violence that rightwing politicians and their media allies have been frantically predicting. But for now, behold a fascinating spectacle: a country quietly refusing to chaotically combust, despite being endlessly encouraged to do so.One word in particular symbolises the gap between hyped-up rhetoric and everyday reality. “Tinderbox” was first used in the mid-16th century, to describe a crude instrument for starting fires: a container that carried a piece of either flint or steel, and a pocketful of the dry, flammable material that gave the device its name. With the invention of matches, the use of such implements fell away, and the word began its passage to how it is used today: as political shorthand for any situation...

Events

8 d. ago Quarter of Britons say summer rioters were treated unfairly as Labour vows fresh crackdown

Dozens of protesters are still wanted by police for offences such as throwing bricks

Politics

1 week ago Public asked to identify 40 faces pictured at last year’s UK summer riots

Police hope new webpage will help them track down people suspected of violent disorder across EnglandDozens of people suspected of throwing bricks and attacking members of the public during last summer’s riots are still wanted by police forces across England.The police have launched a webpage with images of 40 people they are seeking in relation to rioting provoked by the far right after the Southport murders. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago The people from Greater Manchester police want to find one year after summer riots

Greater Manchester Police is working with four other police forces in the UK to track down the suspects

Events

1 week ago The 58 people across the UK police still want to speak to after 2024 summer riots

Dozens of images taken from CCTV and bodyworn cameras have been released by UK police forces

Events