Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has taken Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to task for his response to the disorder following the deadly mass stabbing of a number of young girls by a migration-background teenager in Southport, England. Starmer, of the leftist Labour Party, has promised a draconian crackdown on the “far right” in response to the disorder, contrasting with his disinterest in contemporary riots and disorder involving ethnic minorities.
“[Starmer’s] conclusion [is] very simple, it’s all the far right, as if they’re causing all of the problems. No, the far right are a reaction to fear, to discomfort, to unease that is out there, shared by tens of million of people,” Farage said.
“Let me be clear: I don’t support street violence. I don’t support thuggery of any kind,” the Brexit leader stressed. “But I am worried not just about the events in Southport, but about societal decline that is happening in our country. Law and order, folks, on our streets, is breaking down.”
“This Prime Minister hasn’t got an earthly clue how to deal with it,” Farage added, calling for tougher prison sentences for knife criminals and more use of stop-and-search powers by police, without being afraid to use them against people who are not white.
“Mr Starmer, just to blame a few far-right thugs, to say that’s the root of our problems, doesn’t work,” he concluded.
WATCH:
My message to Keir Starmer. pic.twitter.com/GkGsEb4Wkd
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 1, 2024