A Look Back at Britain’s Race Riots

The murder of three children at a Southport dance class revealed more fundamental problems afflicting British society.

In the summer of 2024, the tragedy of the Southport killings, revealed the British public to be more polarised than ever. Like many other European countries, the trend of anti-immigration sentiments and right wing parties is also present in the United Kingdom. The murder of three children at a Southport dance class revealed many fundamental problems afflicting British society.

Misinformation has never proved to be a more pressing issue than last summer – when agitators took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to spread false information about the killer’s identity, specifically that he was a Muslim asylum seeker. The name ‘Ali- al-Shakati’ was initially circulated on X and other platforms by Channel3Now, a website of dubious credibility, despite the killer’s identity not being revealed by police. The posts received over five million impressions, trending in the UK. While this turned out to be false, it did not prevent people from taking to the streets all across Britain to protest the alleged migration crisis which, to many, has spiralled out of control. Hashtags such as ‘#EnoughIsEnough’ and ‘#Save our Kids’ were trending, as well as posts by accounts such as Europe Invasion known for spreading anti-migrant and xenophobic content. What made the attacks especially concerning was the traction they gained from prominent figures. Elon Musk, who has over 140 million followers on X, questioned whether Keir Starmer ‘shouldn’t be concerned about attacks on all communities?’ following his condemnation of the attacks. Andrew Tate, a famous internet figure currently accused on charges of assault and rape, also commented on the events, speculating on the killer being an undocumented migrant. Tommy Robinson, co-founder of the far-right, anti-Islam English Defense League, also took the opportunity to make Islamophobic comments, calling Islam a ‘mental health issue’ rather than a ‘religion of peace’. Nigel Farage, the populist leader of UKIP with a long history of promoting anti-immigrant sentiment and the return of British ‘sovereignty’, stoked the fire of conspiracy theories as he questioned whether ‘the truth’ was being withheld from the public.

The Southport mosque was attacked, police vehicles set on fire, and talk of scheduled protests spread on social media. Over 100 were arrested following the chaos of the riots. In the aftermath of the ordeal, it was revealed that the killer was indeed a Welsh, Christian citizen of Rwandan descent. Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison for the murder of three young girls, Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, while also leaving many others critically wounded. The killing was politicised by right wing forces which inflamed already existing societal tension. From the arson of asylum seeker hotels, to harassment of people of colour in the streets, the situation was akin to the 2011 riots following the police shooting of Mark Duggan. Despite the passage of more than a decade, Britain’s racist past remains to haunt the present.

Since the election of the Labour party in the House of Commons, the issue of immigration has remained a point of contention between parties. Labour has also run their campaign with a strong stance on immigration. To many, the Labour party simply presents a continuation of the immigration policies and inflammatory rhetoric of Suella Braverman and Priti Patel. Shabana Mahmood revealed on Monday the party’s plans for immigration: stating that asylum seeker’s valuable items, such as jewellery will be seized and sold to cover accommodation costs, and that undocumented families will be deported, including children. Furthermore, asylum seekers will be given temporary visas for two and a half years, and face a 20 year wait before they can apply to permanently settle in the UK.

Many Britons are discontent with the outcome of Brexit, which promised to reduce immigration and increase economic opportunities for British citizens. For many Britons, migration is seen as the reason for the increased cost of living and both declining access and quality of public services like the National Health Service (NHS) and council housing. This frustration has only increased the popularity of UKIP, whose platform has centered around an even stronger stance on immigration than Labour and populist rhetoric, and is now one of the leading parties in voting intention. The riots present some deep-rooted and emerging issues facing British society today, such as the racist realities of its governance, its endemic knife crime problem. The role of social media and algorithms in serving divisive and hateful content on social media platforms also poses a significant legislative challenge, especially following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter wherein he significantly relaxed hate speech regulation. The brushing aside of these riots perhaps point to a worrying precedent of dismissing racial violence in the country. This follows the concerning trend of anti-migrant sentiment across the Western world, especially in the wake of Donald Trump’s mass deportation program, further worsened by his statements that ‘immigration is destroying Europe’ in his latest address at the United Nations.