Damp Squib Summer

No uprisings, but something ugly.

There is a chill in the air. The leaves are gradually browning. The nights are now longer than they have been for months. It is clear – autumn is here, and summer has subsided. With that, it becomes the appropriate time to call bullshit on the predictions that this summer was to be one of great unrest, as some long-ignored faction of British politics reared itself into spasms of violence.

Back in the spring, countless commentators on the right were calling it. There was a breathless, “one-handed typing” enthusiasm for the prospect of riots and disruption. Many of those who would normally baulk at ruffians and disorder were wish-casting about political violence, revolution and street politics. For most people, it was absurd – and so it has proven to be.

While the far right was more noticeable this summer than it had been before, its appearance and impact are still less than many had anticipated. The anti-hotel protests remained small and isolated. When they turned violent, they lost rather than gained support. Ultimately, they failed to move beyond the appearance of being a few coked-up thugs spoiling for a fight.