'Regardless of what the rioters believe they are representing, their actions are not supported by the British public, with 85% of Britons opposing the unrest at recent protests'

An overwhelming majority of the British public believe that the disorder and violence which has taken place at far-right demonstrations over recent days is unjustified, with the vast majority of people opposed to the unrest.

The findings come after YouGov carried out a poll to understand what the public make of the riots and those taking part in them.

Over recent days, violent far-right demonstrations have taken place in towns and cities across the country, with mosques targeted, police officers attacked, and hotels housing asylum seekers stormed and set fire to.

The riots occurred after misinformation on social media accusing the perpetrator of last week’s mass stabbing in Southport of having been a Muslim asylum seeker. Three young girls were killed in the attack which took place during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Eight other children suffered stab wounds and at least two were in a critical condition, alongside two adults.

In the wake of the attack, rioting broke out in Southport, with a mosque attacked, resulting in 27 police officers being taken to hospital. Police have said they believe the men involved are part of the far-right English Defence League.

Within hours of the horrific attack, the far-right were spreading misinformation about the identity of the attacker, claiming that he had arrived in the UK via a small boat with a number of far-right social media accounts claiming that the attacker was Muslim, a migrant, refugee or foreigner.

The attacker has been named as Cardiff born Axel Rudakubana, 17. He has now been charged with murdering Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, along with 10 counts of attempted murder.

Further far-right demonstrations are expected to take place today but they do not have the support of the majority of the public.

YouGov finds: “Regardless of what the rioters believe they are representing, their actions are not supported by the British public, with 85% of Britons opposing the unrest at recent protests and just 7% saying they support the violence. Even the broader protests only hold the support of one in three Britons (34%), with more than half (54%) opposed.

“Opposition to the riots is near-universal across every part of the public, with Reform UK voters being the only group showing any substantive levels of support, at 21%. Even this is a clear minority, with three-quarters of Reform voters (76%) opposed to the riots. Support among other voters is far lower – only 9% of Conservatives, 3% of Labour voters and 1% of Lib Dems favour the outbreak in violent disorder.”

Furthermore, just 12% of Britons think that the recent disorder at the demonstrations is justified, compared to 82% who think it is unjustified.

Only one in eight Britons (12%) feel the rioters are representative of the views of most Britons, with three-quarters (76%) saying they do not represent the majority of the public.

When it comes to how the public feel about those taking part in the riots, ‘thugs’ is the most popular description for those causing the unrest, with two-thirds (67%) feeling it is appropriate based on their actions.

Around 65% of Britons would describe them as ‘rioters’, with six in ten (58%) believing the rioters are ‘racist’ and a small majority (52%) agreeing with the prime minister’s label of ‘far-right’, according to YouGov.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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