Sitting at home watching every news channel’s coverage of the London riots makes me wonder what the hell is going on?! You could be mistaken for watching an uprising in the Middle East and North Africa. A majority of people will conclude the looting in the capital and other UK cities isn’t directly related to the shooting of a man under suspicious circumstances in north London last week.
The stupid and shameless acts witnessed do however expose the tip of the iceberg; they’re a number social, economic and political disparities the UK Government must face. So far, the coalition’s decision to ‘revise’ its policy on student fees, funding and the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for young people from poorer households hasn’t increased its popularity. I’m not advocating the Government executes a manifesto that simply pleases the masses, but surely it needs to address the social or economic needs of disenfranchised youth?
Not all of the population will take the streets in this way but they’re other demographics that are just as frustrated. This frustration is exacerbated by cuts to community initiatives, higher fuel bills, unemployment and no sign of improvements unless you’re a banker, most likely bailed out by the taxpayer.
Prime Minister David Cameron looks desperate and incredibly slow to react to this major issue facing his administration and now people will begin to question if he’s the right man for the job. Maybe he believes it is our responsibility as part of his ‘Big Society’ idea! Equally, London’s Mayor Boris Johnson looks out of his depth. It will be very interesting to see how they handle this crisis now they are back from their respective holidays.
A Day In the life of an Artist: David Emmanuel Noel 
It is said “Adversity tests a man’s true character” and with the recent riots in London, David Cameron and Boris Johnson have shown what they’re made of… and it’s not good
and the late Doctor Martin Luther King Jr quoted to have said “A riot is the language of the unheard” …..
Now that the so called powerless have made themselves heard, Will the establishment or powers listen???
Blair and Labour’s legacy after 13yrs of systematic abuse of the political and economic system of the United Kingdom. That’s what it is. Why does chaos always ensue following the end of any period of Labour rule I ask you?
In many respects it’s also a failure of the British public to be actively involved in politics at the ballot box that has also ensured this sense of non-inclusion and a ‘them and us’ feeling that seems to exist and grow. The greatest equaliser in a democratic society is the ballot box, irrespective of your bank balance or your ‘status’. We the people ultimately determine the structure of our society as well as what the polititians are allowed to get away with. When we the people refuse to participate in the process as had happened during those 13yrs Labour were allowed to break this country, the outcome can only be described as ‘you get what you deserve’! This country was run by the least representative government during the last 13yrs than at any other time in modern UK politics.
So that brings me to the riots. The country is bankrupt. We have a coalition government which we the people did not ask for, something we can only blame ourselves for once again. Voter turnout was higher at 65% in 2010 compared to 61% in 2005. It was 59% in 2001, 71% in 1997 and 78% in 1992. Assuming that a 90% turnout figure is a good measure of the will of the people, we have a substantial portion of the population of voting age which consistently fails to register its views, 23% on average, a huge number. Who knows what this country would be like if everyone was included?
Riots, oh yeah the riots… To link austerity measures to the riots is to absolve the criminals who took part in the riots of personal accountability. The riots had nothing to do with the tough economic choices the government is being forced to take in light of the economic catastrophy left behind by Labour. These riots were all to do with organised criminality and pure opportunism, much of it due to a lack of moral judgement and personal accountability. For the minors who were involved in the riots, where was the parental guidance that should have ensured that those minors made their way home to avoid getting caught up in the events?
When the least representative government of the last 13yrs was busy spending the nations earnings on massive and unsustainable hand outs and give aways in what can only be described as the construction of a dependancy based society, how did the people think it would be paid for? The country is bankrupt and cannot afford to continue expanding the size of the public sector. Ours was not the only country struck by the credit crunch. The whole world was affected the same way. However, of all the most advanced nations affected, ours is the one in most dire straights! As for high fuel bills, these are not the demise of the incumbant government more the result of market forces around the world. Increasing unemployment is still way below the high levels seen the last time labour ruined the nation at the end of the late 70’s and levels seen during the last global recession in the late 80’s early 90’s. We never had the kind of riots then that we saw in August. If anything those who would persist in linking economic tough times with the August riots only prove to demonstrate the greatest failure of a civilised and developed nation as a consequence of 13yrs of the biggest ever boom followed by the biggest ever bust in modern UK socio-economic times courtesy of Labour.
I have not even mentioned the moral decay that was epitomised by Blair in 2003 when he blatantly lied to the British people before committing horrendous acts of genocide and ‘smash n grab’ in Iraq despite the British people’s rejection of his argument. I haven’t even mentioned all the political scandals which were rife in the Labour party during 13yrs when they broke this country.
Unfortunately we the people failed to act at every opportunity to remove the rot. With politics seen by many as dirty and pointless, I never thought I’d live to see that notion be downgraded even lower as a result of 13yrs of Labour rule. How’s this for another titbit of information going back to the riots… it has been demonstrated that the largest share of participants in the riots range in age from as young as 9yrs old up to 23 or so, what I call ‘Blair’s Children’.
The riots were unprecedented, unexpected and targeted. These were shopping riots rather than grevience riots with nothing more than criminality and reckless minded opportunism at the helm. This is not a defence of Boris or David Cameron more an expansion of the argument from the usual ‘blame the tories for everything’ to bare facts as well as our own responsibilities as citizens of our ‘big society’.