“The normalisation of racism by Labour has not won them any support, it has only legitimised the likes of Reform UK.”
By Ben Liao
On July 30th 2024, hundreds of far-right protesters gathered outside Southport Mosque in Merseyside. Within an hour, this ‘protest’ had descended into a riot. Despite the attempts of various far-right figures to portray this as an outburst of anger from regular citizens, the involvement of known organisations of the extreme right was clear.
Matthew Hankinson, who served six years in prison for membership of the banned neo-Nazi terror group National Action, was present to document events. Hankinson was a senior leader in the organisation which celebrated the murder of Jo Cox MP and plotted to murder Rosie Cooper MP.
One of the key organisers of the riot, Andrew McIntyre, set up a Telegram chat called “Southport Wake Up”, which was used to instigate violence. McIntyre had previously been found in possession of Mein Kampf and posted an image of himself performing a Nazi salute. Many of these people were long-term supporters of Tommy Robinson and other far-right causes.
This was just the beginning. Within a week, riots spread all over the country. People were left afraid to leave their homes and walk the streets of their own communities. Perhaps the worst of the attacks was the attempt to burn down a hotel housing people seeking asylum. This was a clear attempt to murder more than 200 people.
Rupert Lowe, now expelled from Reform UK, sought to blame mass migration for the unrest. This was part of a trend of attempted legitimisation by many right-wing politicians. Despite witnessing people being attacked in the street solely for not being white, these despicable people fuelled the fire and blamed the innocent victims of the violence.
These riots were a huge moment in British society. One of the biggest shows of strength from the extreme right in our history. It should have been a turning point, a moment of realisation of where the politics of division is leading.
The government claimed responsibility for stopping the riots. In reality, it was the mass mobilisations for counter-protests, mostly organised by Stand Up To Racism. This mass resistance of anti-racists, coming out to defend our communities, suffocated the riots. It is clear that without these counter-protests, the riots could have gotten much worse. The racists were beaten back by popular struggle.
The riots were an example of what happens when racism and far-right ideology are brought into the mainstream by politicians. The counter-protests were an example of the power that can be exercised by mass mobilisation and demonstrated a clear path of response to the rise of the far right. This was the perfect opportunity for Labour to choose an alternative to the politics of division.
Unfortunately, what has unfolded since has been nothing short of a disaster. Instead of learning from the riots, this Labour government has done the only thing it seems to know: capitulate. Since the riots, Labour has, in policy and rhetoric, massively escalated state-led racism. In terms of action, it can easily be argued that this Labour government is more racist than any of the last Tory ones.
This government has filmed deportations for social media and parroted right-wing talking points on migrants being a drain on public services. It has changed laws so that it will be almost impossible for those coming to the country via ‘dangerous routes’ to get British citizenship. There are pretty much no safe routes to claim asylum available. This will ensure that people who seek asylum are forever second-class citizens. An example of the madness of this policy is that if this law had been in place before, someone like Mo Farah might never have been able to become a British citizen.
Last week, Yvette Cooper ordered changes in crime statistics that are expected to lead to league tables of foreign nationals’ crimes. This move has been celebrated as ‘common sense’ by Rupert Lowe. It legitimises the extreme right racist view that crime is race-based against the reality that it is caused by multiple factors, including poverty and inequality.
Sadly, this is unsurprising. Under Starmer, Labour has jumped at opportunities to use jingoism to attempt to mobilise support. Their ongoing military support for the genocide in Gaza, one of the most extreme cases of racism in modern history, is a perfect example of this. The resurgence of the socially conservative faction ‘Blue Labour’ also signifies this. Starmer’s Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, was called ‘one of us’ by Blue Labour founder Maurice Glasman. For context, the reprehensible Glasman is a friend of JD Vance and was described as a ‘hero’ by far-right strategist Steve Bannon.
Shock and surprise, this hasn’t worked very well for Labour. Despite going all out to normalise racism, support levels are rock bottom after less than a year in government. This pandering has only increased support for the far right, with Reform UK poised to take control of multiple councils on May 1st. This includes traditional Labour areas like Doncaster and County Durham. At the Runcorn by-election, caused by trigger-happy MP Mike Amesbury, Reform could win the 16th safest Labour seat in the country. Racist factions such as Blue Labour will push for an escalation of discrimination as a result of this.
It is abundantly clear that Labour’s choice to capitulate to the far right since the summer riots has only thrown fuel on the fire. The normalisation of racism by Labour has not won them any support, it has only legitimised the likes of Reform UK. If you are anti-immigration, which is much more likely due to the absence of mainstream support for migration, why would you vote Labour when you can get the real thing in Reform UK?
It is vitally important that we resist this path, as the summer riots show us where it leads. The consequences of pandering to the far right have already been seen, but it can get worse. The far right hasn’t just disappeared, they are on the rise. It is more urgent than ever that the left make a bold, positive case for multiculturalism and immigration to push back the dominant far-right narrative. Sadly, it is highly unlikely that Starmer’s Labour will do this as they have shown to be completely lacking in any principle. In the future, we will look back on this government as one which did not heed the lessons of the rise of the far right. We will remember a Labour Party that did not stand with those under attack but instead turned on us. They cannot be allowed to escape accountability for the forces they are unleashing.
- Ben Liao is a socialist and anti-racist activist. You can follow him on Twitter/X.
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