Keir Starmer, the newly appointed prime minister of the United Kingdom, is facing a "gilet jaune" moment. The early months of Emmanuel Macron's administration in 2018 were marked by these yellow-vest-wearing anti-fuel tax rallies in France. He paid a heavy price for his failure to grasp the situation at the time. To prevent a repeat of the past, Starmer must utilize his political power to push for quicker justice and bigger prisons.
The violence started last Tuesday in Southport, the seventh-largest city in the UK by population. A crowd assembled when internet rumors falsely claimed that the person responsible for the fatal stabbing of children at a dancing class was an undocumented immigrant. Far-right figures urged their supporters to attack immigration offices and law companies in the streets during the ensuing days. With thousands of pro-immigration protestors in the area, however, things were more under control by Wednesday evening.
This will give Starmer more time to come up with a more comprehensive plan for jails and law enforcement. The jail system in the United Kingdom is already at capacity. To relieve overcrowding, the administration had set free thousands of prisoners ahead of schedule, even before the riots. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will need to support the Crown Prosecution Service with more money in order to expedite justice, build more jails, and combat violent outbreaks.
However, that will require bold ideas and substantial funding. According to the National Police Chiefs' Council, the police force will require an extra 3.2 billion pounds in order to put more officers back on the streets and provide steady service. It will be expensive to build new prisons. Reeves has just 9 billion pounds in further spending from now to 2028 under the nation's present fiscal constraints. She will need to increase taxes or take on more debt because she has promised not to alter the fiscal rules.
However, if the violence is not stopped, Starmer's premiership might suffer. Macron's failure to rein in the yellow vests damaged his reputation, which never fully recovered. Politico polls show that his approval rating is still below 30%.
Starmer does have a sizeable political stash after his Labour Party won the July 4 election with a resounding majority. Currently, business looks relaxed. Large multinational company representatives said that they continue to believe that the UK is a better bet than nations like Germany and France, where far-right groups with more radical immigration policies are a greater threat to economic stability. According to Starmer, spending money on riot defense is worthwhile.
