Comment
IAN AUSTIN
Ordinary decent Brits do not riot and are not racist – but their concerns are not going away
Working people know immigration is completely unsustainable and they want Sir Keir Starmer to deal with it
ORDINARY, decent Brits do not riot and are not racist.
They despise the thugs who exploited Southport to wreak havoc on our streets.
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But many are concerned about issues like immigration and crime.
And their concerns are not going away.
You don’t need to be a knuckle-dragging thug to worry about the impact of immigration on the NHS and schools.
Or where they will live in the middle of a housing shortage.
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The last government allowed 1.2million people to come to Britain last year (although 532,000 left).
Working people know that is completely unsustainable and they want Sir Keir Starmer to deal with it.
The Prime Minister knows he must confront the underlying issues. It’s not about appeasing the rioters. The police and courts will deal with them.
But if the Government doesn’t defend our borders and tackle crime, I fear extremists will try to fill the vacuum and stir up hatred on our streets once again.
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We also need to be able to talk robustly about integration.
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If you want to live in Britain you must believe in democracy, equality between men and women, freedom, fairness and tolerance.
And speak English too – how else can you play a full role in our society?
This is obviously not a racist country. We’ve just had a Hindu PM, a Muslim First Minister in Scotland and a black First Minister in Wales. And we have always welcomed refugees fleeing persecution abroad.
My dad came here in 1939 as a ten-year-old Jewish lad escaping the Nazis. He grew up to be the country’s youngest headteacher and was honoured by the Queen with an OBE for education and charity work.
If you work hard and contribute to the country, the sky is the limit.
Sir Keir Starmer took tough action to take on the rioters this week. He demanded the cops crack down on extremist thugs terrorising people. And he opened the courts to impose stiff sentences. Quite right too.
Locked up like the far-right thugs
But hard-working Brits also want to see a crackdown on crimes such as burglary, car theft and antisocial behaviour with the same speed. Gangs of thugs can’t be allowed to take over our streets and intimidate people.
Violent left-wing extremists smashed a van into a defence company linked to Israel this week. Police and workers were attacked.
Let’s get them rushed in front of the courts and locked up like the far-right thugs too.
And I can’t be alone in wondering why victims of rape wait years for their day in court if it is possible to take the swift action we saw this week.
It’s also high time we got a grip on racism, extremism and lies on social media.
We are all still reeling from the horrific scenes of recent days.
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It is an unenviable in-tray for a new Prime Minister.
But if he gets the response right, the British public will thank him.