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Initially the riots began in Tottenham, after a protest in which another black man dies in Police presence under suspicious circumstances, but it is unlikely that a large number of the rioters were friends with this young black man or were associated with him in any way. So why would they take to the streets in the manner that they have, and why was it not immediately after his death?
It is my belief that the treatment of the protesters was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. Still reeling from the death of Smiley Culture in police custody, and not believing the official line that he committed suicide, yet another black man dies shortly after and his family are not being given clear answers or information regarding what happened. When there is a peaceful gathering outside of the police station to protest the treatment of this family, the police then respond in a heavy handed manner and thus throw a lit match onto the volatile combination of suspicion, mistreatment, poverty and injustice - both social and legal. And it is perhaps the latter of these ingredients that can address why the unrest has spread so far and into so many different communities in London.
Due to the recent government cuts, Haringey Council has seen its youth services budget slashed by 75%. Given nothing to do, and no where to go to have questions answered or their views heard, resentment and frustration was bound to grow, and it was a matter of time before it was expressed. That it was expressed with such destruction and vehemence should serve as a wake up call to the government that the social repercussions of making cuts in the manner they have done will only alienate youth and minorities in a similar manner to that of the 1980's. There is a burning question in many peoples minds as to where the parents of these youths are, and although I cannot answer that, I will say that in the growing poverty and hardships that many are facing, they are possibly working two and three jobs just to make ends meet. In 2008-09 22% of the British population was living below the poverty threshold with a greater proportion of those in Inner London in the low income bracket. Government cuts have placed an even greater strain on families and support services aimed at assisting those that need help the most.
A crucial factor in this I believe is the recent wide spread vilification of the police in the media and in the halls of Westminster, for their role in the phone hacking debacle. The fact that the wide spread corruption has now been outed, it only reinforces in the minds of youths and minorities that they cannot trust those that are supposedly meant to protect them. No matter how much the Metropolitan Police may talk about a few bad apples among their ranks, the truth is their image and reputation has not been tarnished as much as it has been completely destroyed. In the wake of the McPherson report the Police force was found to be institutionally racist, an accusation they could in large parts claim ignorance to. But to now be found not just institutionally racist but also knowingly and willingly corrupt is a wound that may be so great, that among ethnic minorities, the Metropolitan Police may never recover from.
In large parts the Government of the day has also played its part in encouraging these riots. (In Egypt, in Syria, in Libya, William Hague calls them protesters, but in the UK they are known as rioters). By encouraging people to rise up against a government that is un-elected and refuses to listen to the people, the British government has only itself planted the seeds of revolt in the minds of its own people. The current coalition government that finds itself in power in Britain is not elected, and for an example of refusing to listen to the will of the people one need think back no further than December 2010 and the student protests and the heavy handed crackdown and response to them. There will be those that say that the circumstances are different, because people's lives are not at risk, well that is clearly not true, and further to the black men that have died at the hands of the police, think Ian Tomlinson.
This is only a brief outline of some of the possible reasons for the events taking place in London today, but it is by no means an attempt to diminish the suffering that many people have had to endure, and sadly will endure because of these riots. I only say with regret that I do not believe this to be the end of the riots as the systems and policies that gave rise to such discontent still endure.
