The British Labour Party has just returned to power and the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer is still very young but has faced a huge domestic challenge. This can also be considered the first major obstacle that Mr. Starmer and the British Labour Party must overcome if they want to have a successful and long term in power…
Social media has played a decisive role in the direction and extent of these developments. It started with the case of a young man of African descent born and raised in the UK who stabbed three girls to death and injured more than 10 others. Far-right protesters caused chaos and clashed with the British police to express their dissatisfaction with the Government’s policies on refugees and immigration. But since the spread of false information on social media that the perpetrators were Muslim refugees, protests have erupted in many major cities in the UK.
The wave of protests, xenophobia and violence was not only caused by far-right elements but also by many British people of different ages, targeting Muslims, refugees and non-white people in the UK. Violent clashes occurred between the far-right and anti-far-right groups as well as between the two groups and the police.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the British Government is determined to quickly restore security and political and social stability, and to take strong and decisive action to suppress chaos and violence. The British Government has mobilized more than 40,000 police officers, gathered more than 100 experienced civil servants to handle the problem, and asked courts at all levels to work overtime to quickly try and convict those arrested by the police if they are found guilty.
The nature of the chaos and violence in the UK has now morphed into hostility and discrimination against Muslims, refugees and non-whites on the island. This is accompanied by the rise of right-wing, far-right, populist and extreme nationalist forces. To be fair and objective, the current tragedy in the UK is not the result of Mr Starmer and the Labour Party, but the consequence of the previous Conservative Party.
During its more than 10 years in power in the UK, this party not only did not pay attention to, nor did it prevent the rise of far-right and populist forces, but also created a favorable internal political and social atmosphere for these forces to rise through economic and social policies that deepened the gap between rich and poor, between the North and the South of England; in terms of socio-economic development; between the British and foreigners, especially between the British and Muslims and refugees. In order to gain votes from British voters, the Conservative Party throughout its time in power deliberately played the refugee and immigrant card with slogans and methods that were strongly populist in nature.
The time of the transfer of power in Britain was a time when politics was no longer in control. Therefore, the consequences of the previous period became challenges for the next period.
