We must be the party of hope, unity, vision and delivery

Unmesh Desai is London Assembly Member for City and East, covering Barking and Dagenham, the City of London, Newham, and Tower Hamlets. He is London Assembly Labour’s spokesperson on policing and crime

This summer saw the first racially motivated disturbances on our street on a scale not seen since the infamous Notting Hill riots of the late 1950s. These riots were racially motivated with a clear Islamophobic and anti asylum angle, fed with misinformation following the tragic murders of three children at a dance class in Southport.

Any analysis of what lay behind the riots should look at how we go forward from here. We must start by clearly condemning the actions of the rioters. This behaviour and racism is never acceptable. In the words of our Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, “thugs and extremists do not speak for Britain and they never will.”

We must also recognise the role of the blue light services which was commendable to say the least. We salute their bravery and steadfastness in the face of sustained attacks in which they were very often outnumbered.

In spite of accusations of a two-tier justice system from far-right commentators, the government dealing with arguably its first major crisis acted decisively in coordinating an effective criminal justice system response. Speedy hearings and effective deterrent sentencing played a role in curbing the spread of the riots by sending a clear message to potential future rioters that the government would not just standby and let mayhem loose on our streets.

It also showed the increasing and insidious social media influence. The Prime Minister was right to warn the keyboard warriors that they did not operate in a law free zone. Actions have consequences, even words posted online. False information, disinformation, call it what you will, the false rumour that the Southport attacker was an asylum seeker to other lurid reports about hotels used to house asylum seekers quickly gained currency. It is clear that social media was a tool used to coordinate and mobilise rioters.

The response to the riots also showed the good in our society. This offers us hope to build upon as we recover from a summer of upheaval and look at how to build a more cohesive and integrated society. Those local residents from all backgrounds, who came out to rebuild the damaged mosque wall in Southport and the Middlesbrough community who raised funds to replace a car belonging to a Zimbabwean care worker after it was torched by far-right rioters, show that their attempt at division did not succeed.

We have also seen a multi-faith response to the Islamophobia we saw during the riots. Extraordinary courage was demonstrated by imam Adam Kelwick who kept the mosque doors open in the face of around 50 people that intended to vandalise the mosque. Along with people from all faiths and none, the rioters were invited in and offered food. Most importantly, they talked. This is important when we try to forge a positive way forward.

But it is not solely down to our religious communities to shoulder the burden of bringing our communities together. It is incumbent upon all of us to do so.

We know that issues we face in housing and work are exploited by far right and neo-nazi groups for their own ulterior and anti democratic agendas. We must tackle this head on. As Mike Tapp, MP for Dover and Deal, said “we must not allow extremists to own the narrative on immigration, secure borders are vital and concerns on immigration are valid.”

If we do not talk about issues relating to immigration, the legal as well as the abuses as I have argued over the years, others will. If we do not publicly discuss the pressures on our public services, patriotism, security and defence, the debate will be shaped by those that do by default. It’s important for all progressive forces to take this opportunity that now presents us to shape the debate going forward. Talk we must, no matter how uncomfortable it may feel. It is the language we use that is important, how we conduct the debate and how we build a more cohesive and integrated society.

We must not get the two confused, they are different. We are more cohesive than many other countries as seen by communities supporting each other after the riots and by large, we have avoided the race riots that have occurred elsewhere. But do we still live in a country where, as Professor Ted Cantle’s report on community cohesion following the riots in our northern towns in 2001, people live in ’parallel societies’? He warned fifteen years later in 2016 that Britain had become more divided and segregated.

Next, we need to look at whether we are genuinely integrated and how we can enable new and existing residents to adapt to each other, have a sense of belonging and be able to take part in society. What does it mean to be British today? What binds us together as a society and of that, what holds us together? How do we now go forwards and build a singular civic identity whilst recognising and respecting the diversity of our country in modern times?

In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan got the ball rolling with his ‘London is Open’ campaign in 2016 and his Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy updated in 2022. This has developed into the recent ‘London For Everyone’ campaign, designed to bring Londoners together during dividing times at the end of last year.

But now is the time for tangible actions.

A starting point for me is recognising that we have more in common than what divides us. Drawing on my own experiences as an East End community activist, twenty years as a Newham councillor and now in my third term as an Assembly Member, I see the following as the next steps in building a more cohesive and integrated society.

1. Councils are on the front line and have faced severe financial constraints due to years of austerity. In spite of these pressures, there are things they can do to build from the bottom up and lead the way. As a Newham councillor I organised the celebration of all our various Independence Days but as Newham British citizens. In another part of my London Assembly constituency, Barking and Dagenham Council promote a ‘One Borough, One Community’ message to ensure that no section of the community feel left behind. These are examples that we could extrapolate elsewhere. Giving councils powers to enforce minimum wage, to stop ruthless employers from exploiting migrants and driving down wages, are things that as Newham Council we lobbied the government for and which should be considered by this new government.

2. It is easier said than done but we must ensure in our messaging and actions that all sections of our community feel valued, have a stake in the system, feel represented and are listened to. The underachievement of white working-class boys in our education system was as important to us as Newham Council as tackling institutional racism in our housing services. When the BNP marched in the streets of East London in the late 1980s/early 1990s under the seductive message ‘Rights For Whites’, the local antiracist message was ‘Rights For All’. We need through all avenues available and at all levels, to popularise this message and put it into practice. The Mayor of London’s message ‘London For Everyone’ is a good exemplar.

3. Hope not Hate do great work. But they cannot substitute for a much-needed wider civil alliance rooted in local communities. The bringing together of faith groups, trade unions, community groups and political parties is needed more than ever.

4. Trade unions with their six million strong membership are especially important. Some years ago, London United, an alliance of London trade unions, was set up to offer a message of hope and solidarity and draw on the best traditions of the labour movement of unity and solidarity. This movement sought to fight back against the growth of street-based Far Right movements such as the Democratic Football Lads Alliance inspired by Tommy Robinson. Backed by the London Labour Party, this needs to be revived and expanded into a national movement. Social media can play a role here to counter hate, promote positive narratives and increase trade union membership.

5. Revisiting the national curriculum to increase emphasis on civic education in schools and what binds us as a society. History, including some uncomfortable truths, provides the knowledge and the transferable skills which will allow young people to effectively understand and challenge racist and xenophobic attitudes. Moreover, understanding how and why our society has developed over the years will also challenge the perspective that diversity is a new phenomenon. We know that Britain has a long history of migration, and it has been government policy to encourage it as seen post war when people from Commonwealth countries were needed to rebuild a war-ravaged UK.

6. The importance of our sporting and cultural institutions cannot be overemphasised. I have seen this first hand as ex-director of West Ham United Foundation and now Essex Cricket in the Community, as well as in the work of groups like Capital Kids Cricket and ‘Daggers For Diversity’- a initiative of Dagenham and Redbridge Football Club- in my constituency. Working with our sporting community is an effective way to bring young people, from different backgrounds, together and provide a sense of cohesion.

7. A common identity that we can all get behind is important and we again need an increased emphasis on promoting a unified culture and common language that promotes Britishness in practice. An increased emphasis on promoting English language learning by increasing ESOL provision, national festivals and days as we see in Trafalgar Square, and strengthening our civic institutions and culture. For this to be effective we need to ensure participation in political processes, symbolism and pride in our public services and servants, from front line blue light services to our armed forces and the voluntary sector.

8. One of the barriers to cohesion and inclusion is the growth of extremist ideologies which is not just confined to the Far Right. It is important not to stereotype whole communities but there is a need to stand firm against both violent and non-violent extremism, an argument as relevant now as when I made it in a Guardian article over a decade ago. They are different sides of the same coin. This is where faith groups working together have so much to offer. Tackling hatred and racism is not a race to the bottom, us and them. There is not a hierarchy of hate. Hate to be fought on all levels.

9. Whilst measures like the Border Security Command are welcome, we need to have a global view of migration movements. This goes beyond the arguments about safe routes, being firm on the gangs and those exploiting asylum systems. We need to examine the reasons why people migrate, whether for political or economic reasons, and address these issues at source through our foreign, trade and international development policies and partnership agreements, working with other countries.

10. And finally, it means rebuilding our public services. This means tackling the housing crisis and giving people the dignity of work through training and apprenticeships, skilled and secure well-paid jobs.

These are issues that our Labour government recognises and plans to act upon. We need to recognise that Reform polled 4.1 million votes and came second to the Tories in 92 seats. A recent poll found that 26 per cent of recent Labour voters would seriously consider or consider switching to Reform which has now made clear its intention to target them.

We therefore must be the party of hope, unity, vision and delivery, and we need to rise to these challenges. Inspired by the good side of our society we saw in the riots, we must provide the environment to enable us to talk about issues no matter how uncomfortable they may be. I am encouraged by recent comments from our Prime Minister, the front bench and many MPs, especially those representing areas where these concerns are very much at the heart of local debate and which sometimes don’t have the same resonance in metropolitan areas. The time for action is now – and electoral results here and on the continent should be a wake up call.

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