Although a loose coalition of anarchist hooligans may have initiated the recent frenzy and violence in Britain, socialist organizations are now attempting to capture the student protests and use them as a pretext for wider social unrest. This, probably far more real threat has, however, gone unnoticed by the mainstream media.
The lack of official comment is far from unusual, and must be accredited in part to the sympathy of the Left-leaning media and politicians. Notably, two member of the “democratic socialist” Labour Party have lauded the rioters via Twitter. MP John McDonnell commented that it “just shows what can be done when people get angry. We must build on this;” while fellow party member MP Alex Cunningham tweeted: “Well done our students – thousands outside the office getting stuck into the LibDem / Tory government.”
Cunningham was referring to the first protest, in which anarchists attacked the Conservative Party HQ, Millbank Tower. Windows were smashed with hammers, metal bars, and sticks. Ceiling fixtures were pulled down. Walls were sprayed with graffiti. After which students poured into the building, with some reaching the rooftop. One of these protestors then threw a fire extinguisher, which missed a number of police by only a few feet as it crashed to the ground several stories below. By the end, seven police needed hospital treatment due to the sustained attack.
Despite the coalition government’s attempt to cut benefits, Britain remains a welfare state. There are families in Britain in which no one has worked for three generations; and those who decide that they cannot afford a college education will have no problem in collecting welfare checks. Clearly three things need to happen: Cuts need to be made; the mentality of the welfare state needs to be recognized as out of touch with current reality; and aspiration needs to be encouraged.
A few weeks ago rioters again showed their contempt for Britain and its values, tearing Union Jack flags down from the Cenotaph, spraying it with graffiti, and urinating on a statue of Winston Churchill. The mob – some of them wearing black balaclavas – set fires in the center of London and attacked police, throwing bottles of urine and sticks. As one Daily Mail reporter put it: “Every symbol of government or establishment became a target. Anything to hand became a missile.”
A number of rioters broke away from the main protest, and made for London’s West End, an affluent and busy area known for its shopping and nightlife. There they were able to attack the car of Prince Charles (heir to the British throne) and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as it passed through the area. Rioters – who were chanting “off with their heads” – kicked and threw paint bombs at the vehicle, fracturing two of its windows. Although they were only seconds from drawing their guns, protection officers were able to get the car away from the mob, and out of the area, without using force. Nevertheless, Camilla appeared to be visibly shaken by the attack.
Although this Greek-styled riot was one of the most violent, Britain has been experiencing them since November, when the first student protest against a proposed rise in university tuition fees collapsed into chaos. The Daily Mail noted that “Militants from far-Left groups [had] whipped up a mix of middle-class students and younger college and school pupils into a frenzy,” and pointed to the presence of animal rights activists and one member of Class War. It later suggested that Anti Cuts Action, Students for Climate Change and Counterfirehad also participated in the riots, although it failed to note that a flag in one of the photographs it published was that of the violent, self-described “anti-fascist” group Antifa.
Although there are good arguments both for and against raising the tuition fees, the violence that has blighted the UK for more than a month is not the spontaneous outburst of disgruntled students, but the coordinated efforts of anarchists and socialist organizations.
A special publication [pdf] of the Socialist Worker cites the attacks on the car of Charles and Camilla, the Treasury and the Supreme Court without the slightest hint of condemnation. (It instead appears to revel in the turbulence.) The reader is also informed that “Most of what happened was the result of independent organization, not ‘official’ protest from the [National Union of Students].” By “independent organization” the organ appears to imply that the Socialist Workers Party was behind, or at least, connected to the chaos.
The party is well aware that the issue of tuition fees can be manipulated to create unrest in the UK. This, they hope, will cause the government to collapse, giving them an opportunity to establish a socialist state. As theSocialist Worker remarks:
[I]f the revolt develops, the Tories and lib Dems can be blown away like the scum they are. […] We need bigger numbers to win. And we need the social power of workers to guarantee victory. […] That will be the most effective preparation for the battles to come.
Prime Minister David Cameron has made one of his more forceful statements [video], calling the anarchy “completely unacceptable.” There is, he said, “a right to protest peacefully […], but there is not a right to go on the streets of London, wanting to pursue violence and smashing up property […] it is no good to say this was just a very small minority – it was not – there were quite a number of people who were clearly were there wanting to pursue violence and destroy property.” If Cameron is correct, then it is possible that the agitators are guilty of offenses under the Terrorist Act 2000, which defines terrorism as the use or threat of action “designed to influence the government” possibly involving “serious damage to property,” risking public safety or endangering the life of someone other than the perpetrator.
The recent student protests have attracted thousands of people; considering the large scale, it was probably unavoidable that a number of people intent only on behaving violently would emerge within them. It would be one thing, as well, if the socialist groups had intended merely to protest peacefully, with a few of their members going against the spirit. This is not what happened.
Looking at the websites of socialist organizations, one discovers that they have grasped the potential of exploiting the anger and frustration of students. Their immediate intention is to draw in other groups – workers first of all – to initiate wider social unrest.
John Rees of the Marxist-Islamist alliance called the Stop the War Coalition showed up to one protest, calling it “a decisive battle” and “a decisive test between a new mass movement and the Con-Dem government” [video], while The Socialist Worker – the organ of the Socialist Workers Party – has literally called for “a wider revolt.”Linking the “student revolt” to a number of the party’s other issues, and its ultimate aim of a socialist society, it tells us that:
Everywhere there are people who back the student revolt, hate racism, support workers fighting back and want a socialist society.
Everywhere there has been struggle over the last month individuals or groups raised the idea of a fight, learned quickly how to organize, and won others to resist. They need to
I knew this was coming but prayed it wouldn’t, as I said to DP111 in a different comment the Moslems and the left are getting desperate, the ordinary people are waking up to the danger of Islam and unless both the Moslems and the left manage to take over the West soon they won’t be able to. I doubt they will be able to take over the US no matter how violent they get but don’t know what the attitudes in Britain are. I don’t know what percentage of the people will support the government and what will support the left, I don’t know how much violence each side is willing to endure and thus can’t make a good guess on what the chances the left has of taking over Britain. I will say that given what the world situation is I doubt they would be able to remain in power much longer then 5 to 10 years before they lost control and were removed from power.
A very good comment, Richard – agreed!
It would be ***extremely dangerous*** for the U.K. if the leftists gained power. It would mean that they would give the Muslims carte-blanche to do whatever they wanted.
It would in fact be better if the **right-wingers** gained power. They would completely gut the legal system of anything that favoured Muslims.
They’d probably also bring in an “anti-P.C.” law as well, banning the kind of bending-over-backwards for Muslims that we’ve seen in the last 20-30 years.
you don’t seem to understand…..were ever the Left has risen its ugly head there were ditches full of body’s. In England you have some serious gun laws. How are you going to defend yourself…I am sure the Muslims have their guns imported a long time ago and are the “storm troopers” of the Left.
If the left rebels the Moslems won’t be their storm troopers, they will be fighting to take over them selves, the left is hoping that they can use the “student” riots to force the government to its knees and take over. Then they would use the military (if they would obey the orders) to suppress the rest of the public. The Moslems are armed and would be out fighting, but their goal would be to take over and kill the left and the right while disarming the military. Don’t get stuck on a two sided war, it would have at least three sides and possibly more.