There has never been anything like this; these are riots that are spreading. Even during the poll tax riots things did not spread like this all across London. What is underlying all of this? Of course this is about the austerity measures. While much of them have not kicked in yet, some things already are being felt. Primarily, the increase in VAT has undercut people’s wages, for the poor and those on lower incomes, there is simply less money available to be spent.
The government’s policies with respect to cutting funds for local councils and also their prohibition against them raising council taxes has already lead to cutbacks in services provided in local areas: financing for after-school programmes and youth clubs are being cut, libraries are closing, leisure services are affected. Additionally, the threat of cuts in housing benefits (so as to clear the poor outside of inner London) is threatening to disrupt communities and schools forcing the relocation of people from the Inner Boroughs of London to the Outer Boroughs which are already facing cuts to services and which will now have to provide for those thrown out of the Inner Boroughs. What future are these young people facing? No jobs, no hope, no outlets for the young children of the poor, the working poor and the working class.
However, I would argue that it is more than the current austerity measures that are behind the situation. From Thatcher forwards, the destruction of the industrial and manufacturing base of the country, the destruction of trade unions has lead to permanent unemployment and low wages. Instead of providing direct government jobs creation, all mainstream parties are insisting that this must be done by the private sector and have been facilitating this ideology with privatisations, corporate tax cuts, and cuts to the public/state sector.
These riots are about long-term poverty with no way out of it, permanent unemployment, and hopelessness. People of colour have been especially hard hit by the situation; so while white working people have been affected, what has affected them has hit people of colour even harder. Opportunities are few and far between; joblessness and underemployment are rife. And yet, our government talks about forcing people off benefit to work in non-existent jobs. It is essential to point out that rioting is not confined to people of colour, this is not a Black problem or a South Asian problem; rioting is being done by young people of all colours and all ethnicities. They are angry, they are frustrated, they see no opportunities … channels for social mobility are limited and they are closing quickly.
Add to this the constant argument where those that are poor and unemployed or underemployed are slackers and that it is their fault -- the classic blaming of the victim – housing and income support benefits are threatened, disability benefits are already under attack, youth clubs and after-school programmes are being closed due to local cuts, and with government ministers insisting that you find non-existent jobs and threatening your already meagre income, you have a powder-keg simply waiting to explode.
The situation and extent of the riots
The initial riot that occurred in Tottenham began as a response to the police shooting of a young black man, Mark Duggan (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...). A peaceful protest at the police station to ask questions and demand answers from the police; it seems that a woman was pushed and the situation escalated drastically leading to full-scale riots in Tottenham with wide-spread looting and fires set. 26 people were burnt out of their homes and parts of the High Street were destroyed. The community is devastated, already facing cuts and further deprivation; they now have to deal with this destruction (http://news.bbc.co.uk/...).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/...
In a situation of intense anger, intense deprivation and with more cuts coming, one horrific incident can set off a wave that just keeps rolling and takes on a life of its own which is independent from what happened in Tottenham. The next night, Enfield (a very wealthy area with a large section of poor people in the south of the borough) erupted and riots began in Hackney and Brixton.
Yesterday’s riot in Hackney was sparked by the stop and search for weapons (which were not found) … the situation escalated and spread.
Riots spread from the North of the city in Tottenham and Northeast in Hackney to Enfield in the North. They then spread rapidly to the South of London (Brixton, Lewisham, Peckham, Croydon, Clapham and Woolwich). In the Northeast and East of London, the situation spread to Walthamstow, Chingford Mount, East Ham, Mile End, and Bethnal Green. It spread to the North West to Chalk Farm. In the far west of London, Ealing (a rather comfortable area) experienced rioting.
Understanding the areas in which riots are occurring may provide some clarity:
Several places where violence has broken out are areas in which partial gentrification has occurred and where there are pockets of extreme poverty where homes have been taken by the wealthy (Clapham, Camden, Hackney); others are in very poor areas of London like Chalk farm, Brixton and Woolwich; others are just working class areas: Tottenham, Lewisham, Peckham, and Walthamstow. Ealing is a comfortable area in the far west of London.
Here is a map linking boroughs of London and income and expenditure:
http://data.london.gov.uk/...
There are vast disparities in income and wealth between boroughs and this is increasing, not decreasing.
Riots have spread outside of London to Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol.
Police (there were 6000 police on call last night) simply could not keep up with the groups of young people and young adults that were rioting (http://www.guardian.co.uk/...). Stores were ransacked, some were burned; this also led to people living above stores being burnt out of their homes. People were robbed. The first report of a death (beyond that of Mark Duggan that sparked the Tottenham riots) has been reported; a 26 year old man that was shot in a car in Croydon last night has died (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...).
While insurance will cover the business losses, renters may not have fire insurance and people have lost everything. Unless the government declares this a riot (and hence will cover the costs), people are dependent upon insurance to cover their losses. This may work for businesses and home owners, but rarely for renters. In terms of the loss of cars and other vehicles, those with fire and comprehensive insurance will be covered, but what about those that do not have cars that warrant that type of insurance?
Government Response
Treating this situation as the acts of mindless thugs and criminals which the Government is saying cannot provide an understanding of the situation. Certainly there are criminals that are taking advantage of the situation; certainly there is also opportunistic theft by participants. However, what are driving the situation are long-standing anger, desperation and hopelessness.
Already, Cameron (having to leave his vacation in Tuscany only last night, the 3rd night of riots) has stated that:
"And I have this very clear message for those people who are responsible for this wrongdoing and criminality. You will feel the full force of the law. And if you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment. And to these people I would say this. You are not only wrecking the lives of others, you are not only wrecking your own communities, you are potentially wrecking your own life, too. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/...)
Rather than deal with the true cause of the situation, treating all these people as criminals is far easier for a government that is guided by neoliberal economic ideology. Responsibility falls on these people rather than the society and government policies that have led to this despair and anger. Putting these people in prison only increases the spiral of social injustice and anger that has caused the situation.
This is not to deny the horror that people in London feel watching their neighbourhoods destroyed, this is not to deny that criminal activity has occurred. Moreover, this is not to justify at all what has happened. Explanations are not justifications. Separate the hardened criminals that are taking advantage from those young people that are rioting in anger and frustration. Ignoring the cause of the situation will not bring an end to the things that have led to such violent reactions; it will only lead to further anger and frustration.
Police presence on the streets will increase to 16,000. As of yet, they have not authorised the use of water cannons. Nor have armed-response squads been authorised (thankfully). Peple are discussing impositions of curfews. Demands of UKIP that the army be sent in to deal with the rioters has not been accepted thankfully (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...). While this may get control over the streets of London and in other cities where there is rioting, this will not end the discontent that has lead to this violence and looting.
Dealing with the root cause of the problem will require consultation with Community Leaders and youth, provision of more than imaginary jobs and threats. This will require more than ideology and protection of the private sector; it will require a complete transformation in the priorities of our society.