Immigration Riots.

The immigration riots that took place in the summer of 2024 were regrettable and unfortunate.
Whilst there were no fatalities, there were many injuries, including around 130 police officers.
These riots never should of happened but they were understandable, perhaps even inevitable.
Social tensions have been building for a number of years and there have been immigration riots in other European countries, so it was only a matter of time before unrest came to our country as well.
These riots where the culmination of a long history of events and bad policy decisions.
The political reaction to these riots has been mistaken and shown a lack of understanding and consideration.
Politicians cannot seem to put two and two together to make up a picture.

The two main factors that contribute to anti-immigrant sentiment are terrorism and crime.
There have been a number of terrorist attacks over the years, people still remember Lee Rigby or the victims of the Manchester Arena bombings, these memories will never go away, they are national tragedies and blots on our nation's history.
Whenever I travel to Manchester and visit the Glade of Light memorial I am saddened that this happened in my country, this is permanently recorded in history and will never be undone.
All of these terrorist atrocities could of been avoided, there were all made possible because of immigration policy as well as some unwise foreign policies that have led to conflicts.
It was yet another tragedy that finally set these riots going, regardless of any possible misinformation about the attacker's identity.

With regard to crime, one of the worst crimes is that of the grooming and rape of young girls.
This horrendous crime is another act of terrorism, another national tragedy that is a blot on the recent history of our nation.
One of the towns in which riots took place was Rotherham.
This town is also one of the towns where child grooming and sexual exploitation occurred.
So the people of Rotherham have good reason to be angry and it is understandable that some would vent that anger.
This is anger that comes out of grief and this type of anger should be handled sensitively with consideration.
But instead of sensitivity, people were arrested for minor crimes, they were arrested for verbal violence as well as physical violence.
One of those arrested was Peter Lynch, who later committed suicide in police custody.
This is another tragedy that could of been avoided, another that will never be forgotten and it is a sign of how much despair there is in society.

Despair, not just caused by the issue of immigration but a whole range of issues.
We know for a fact that there is despair is society, there is a mental health crisis and I have seen this despair myself whilst talking to people.
Many people feel like their country is dying and I understand that despair.

It is important to emphasise it is immigration policy not necessarily immigrants themselves.
Many immigrants are people who simply wish to better their lot in life and we cannot blame them for wanting a better life.
But politicians are elected by the people and they ar supposed to act in the national interest.

In the year 2000, the United Nations published a report called 'Replacement migration : is it a solution to declining and ageing populations?'.
'Replacement Migration' refers to using migration as an economic tool in order to compensate for a societal decline in fertility and provide a workforce for an aging population.
This is an unwise strategy and actually rather uncaring, it treats people as economic statistics and merely cogs in a machine.

A declining population is an unhealthy population and this policy neglects the poor health of the nation by artificially increasing the population whilst neglecting the underlining health and societal issues that cause low fertility.
Replacement migration is unsustainable and it is short-term, sooner or later politicians will have to find solutions that can heal our unhealthy society and encourage natural population growth.

The word 'Replacement' is also unwise, it gives the impression that people themselves are being replaced and adds to the feeling of neglect and resentment.
Replacement migration has in fact inspired a far-right conspiracy theory, there have been massacres in the United States and riots all across Europe.

Throughout history, sections of society have been neglected and dismissed.
It is very easy to dismiss people as 'far-right' or 'racist' but it is harder to listen and address their concerns.
The lack of consideration and sensitivity when handling these riots will not be forgotten by voters.

I sympathise with the rioters, we can only hope and pray that in the future we will have better politicians who can understand.