Real courage comes from those calling for calm after Southport horror

The murder of children will always hold an extraordinary power to provoke anger but add to this unbearably bleak story a suspect who’s the 17-year-old son-of-immigrants and the interventions of right-wing populists and an already volatile situation has become immeasurably worse.

The arrest and charge of a suspect shortly after last week’s attack in Southport on Merseyside did not mark the point at which a nightmare might be addressed. Rather, it was the trigger - or, perhaps, excuse - for rioting in some of England’s poorer communities.

With a 17-year-old in custody, charged with three murders and attempts on the lives of a further eight children and two adults, the duty of our political leaders is to try to calm tempers. But despite the best efforts of Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer and others to reduce tension, others have encouraged the anger that spilled over into chaos in Southport and, among other places, Hartlepool and Sunderland.

People look at floral tributes on Maple Street, Southport. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

I’m sure the drunken thugs who caused such chaos on in the wake of the murders of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva tell themselves that they were acting in her memory. They will convince themselves that they’re defenders of their communities or, perhaps, the British way-of-life (whatever that is).

That’s all nonsense. Those who brought chaos to the streets don’t care about justice or fairness. They care about revenge.

Of course, it’s not difficult to condemn the thugs whose response to tragedy was to inflame tensions and encourage violence. Even those cynical politicians who positively revel in the division we’ve seen over recent days have trotted out the expected words of concern (while all the while their dogwhistles screech) but what does real leadership look like, right now?

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been refreshingly uncompromising in this regard.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference in Downing Street, London, following scenes of violent unrest in Southport. Picture: Henry Nicholls/PA Wire

Over recent years, too many mainstream politicians have tried to accommodate the worst instincts of the right. Throughout the Brexit campaign, for example, pro-EU campaigners often found themselves on the back foot. Politicians who simply did not believe in the existence of a single good reason for the United Kingdom to give up its membership of the European Union would begin debate appearances with the lie that they could see why people might disagree with them.

Yes, a political campaigner who doesn’t at least try to understand the motivations of voters is unlikely to forge an enduring career but there is, surely, a balance to be struck between reacting to the desires of the electorate and speaking difficult truths? When, during the heat of the EU referendum campaign, pro-Europe politicians should have shown the moral courage to take on thinly-veiled racist arguments, too many played cautious games of “good arguments on both sides”. The consequence of this, unsurprisingly, is that the cynics and spivs who peddled Brexit as the solution to all problems have not, having achieved their stated objective, returned their focus to other policy objectives but have, instead, continued to foment division.

Starmer’s unequivocal condemnation of disorder as the result of “far-right hatred” and his announcement of a new “national capability” to tackle violent disorder are hugely welcome. If police can use previously gathered intelligence to restrict the movements of football hooligans on match days then they can surely do the same with those who encourage rioting, can’t they?

Tension around immigration continues to mount and the challenge for serious politicians of all parties now is to make the case for why it is not at the root of all of society’s ills.

Naturally, in the aftermath of last Monday’s attack, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage seized the opportunity to fan the flames. The recently elected MP for Clacton posted online a video in which he questioned the police’s assessment that the incident wasn’t terror-related. This wickedly reckless intervention came as false accusations spread that the alleged attacked was a Muslim refugee from Syria who arrived in the UK on a small boat last year.

Farage’s chums on the right wing talk about him asking “legitimate questions” about a terrible incident but that’s disingenuous nonsense and shouldn’t be indulged.

We Scots are, I’m afraid, somewhat complacent when it comes to the matter of racism. The political and media chattering classes narrative often has it that Scotland is fundamentally different to England on immigration. Scots are compassionate and welcoming while the English are cruel and racist.

But, while it is certainly true that the issue of immigration is not the hot topic north of the Border as it is south, attitudes in Scotland and England are not so very different.

A major study by the Scottish Centre for Social Research, published in 2017, showed that 46 per cent of Scots think immigration good for the British economy, while 47 per cent in England and Wales feel the same.

Scotland may not have witnessed scenes such as those across the north of England last week but it would be dangerously complacent to think that there is not tension ripe for exploitation by the next populist rabble-rouser to come along.

It’s hardly surprising that the deaths of three little girls in a dance studio last week are being used by some to build their story of a nation bitterly divided. That’s the coward’s response. Real courage comes from those calling for calm when anger threatens to further harm already damaged communities.