English riots

Barely was the metaphoric ink dry from my blog on Monday, that news emerged of unrest in the centre of Birmingham and then in other cities, even in Gloucester. As in the case of London, it was mindless thuggery, motivated by greed. There were sickening scenes of young thugs trying on sports gear and running off with electronic gadgetry; even food items were taken. In Birmingham, several mobile phone shops were looted. Three young men were killed in Birmingham, in an incident that is being linked to the riots. This could take a sinister, racial turn in the long run, but hopefully this will not happen, especially after the moving words of the father of two of the victims.

Walking through the centre of Birmingham yesterday, I noted that many stores were protectively boarded up. The city centre is normally a vibrant place, but yesterday it resembled a high street in decline.

Who is to blame for this mindless behaviour? Certainly there is no cause, even a remote one. There is no motive other than greed and destructiveness. The permissive society can take some of the blame. A decade of New Labour created a culture of irresponsibility and a sense of undue entitlement. Parental rights to discipline and control their children were eroded. The family has been weakened; a lot of these youngsters don’t even come from families composed of two parents. Household culture makes a huge difference.

Hopefully those involved will be tracked down and punished. Their faces should be publicised – naming and shaming should be part of the punishment.

London riots

It is a reflection of my age that I still remember the Handsworth riots of the late summer of 1985. The name Moledina brothers, two brothers who lost their lives during the troubles, is also vivid. This weekend’s trouble in London transported my memories back to that period. At the time, various reasons were offered for the riots, the most prominent of which referred to the bubbling racial and social tensions, poor police-community relations and general lack of opportunity. None of these reasons apply to the weekend’s trouble – it was mindless criminality pure and simple. The calm looting, and the trying on of looted attire, offers a miniature glimpse of anarchy and lawlessness.

That does not mean that social factors are irrelevant. Once all the cuts in social spending begin to bite, we may well end up in a situation similar to the 1980s. Paid for higher and further education means there will be a lot of young people who will be discouraged from studying, while the slump in the number of jobs available means there will be no ready jobs market to take them. A large number of young people with nothing to do is never a healthy sign for social stability.