To think there's got to be at least a couple of MNers involved in the rioting ?

[IdontlikePinaColada]

Based in the broad views seen here, I can't believe that there isn't someone who is involved either passively or actively.
If you are one of those, would you like to explain why?

I read Mners & instantky thought minors, either kids or arthur scargill doing his rounds. I really need my sleep!
A note off a colleague, Greek colleague, we voted for brexit to stop europeans coming in and "stealing our jobs" so now they recruit from non european countries & i guess occasionally you get 1 bad apple. Luckily i live in a sleepy town who haven't noticed, the 1 troublemaker i met told me he thought kier starma was nest buddys with jimmy saville. (Kier 60, jimmy would be 98... would you buddy up with a creepy guy 38 years your senior) i switched off at that point.
Anyway, bedtime for me. Night all.

First the government need to invest heavily in getting asylum seekers processed as quickly as possible. They can't work and are housed by the tax payer while they wait for their claim to go through.

Secondly, those on the small boats are only a tiny percentage of immigrants coming to the UK.

Third, there's been severe underinvestment in infrastructure by the government which isn't the fault of either asylum seekers or immigrants.

The asylum seekers are housed in often deprived areas with little support. They can't work, have very little money and are often traumatised.

The main problem is the amount of approved immigrants the government lets in annually. They are here as students or to fill roles in places like the NHS and the hospitality sector.

In order to cut down on immigration, the government need to push up wages so that Brits want to do those jobs and invest in training so that citizens have the necessary skills. Too many people go to university when they could be trained up.

edit I can point you to an Amnesty report from Autumn last which covers this question in quite good detail if you would genuinely like to know more on this specifically q. This might serve better than an enormous post here, since what i’ve typed is already big 😂

Similarly with some other resources providing context for eg: the apparent uneven balance of single male asylum seekers, etc. I don’t know how it works with posting links here but if it is permitted and you would like it, please let me know.

Ultimately, and for the sake of brevity, I think we can be frank about admitting that neither of us is going to change our overall perspective based on this conversation, which is ok. But I think it’s hugely important for both to be able to listen and take away facts from conversations like this. I firmly agree with you that asylum seekers should not ‘take away’ resources from established populations (I believe that they need not, either, with better governance). I can accept your perspective that there is a lot around UK immigration policy that needs be made far more transparent. I think that immigration, legal or not, and asylum issues are often conflated deliberately by bad faith actors and also by those in power for whom it is a handy distraction from an unwillingness or inability to resolve issues.

Ultimately, I think that, since the UK actually hosts less than 1% of the global refugee population, it is fair enough for the answer to “why are they here” to be “because we were there”, both in the sense of Britain’s colonial and military past, but also in the sense of the benefits our country has enjoyed by being the default language for global trade and industry. It’s not unreasonable to realise how a combination of both of these things makes the country an attractive prospect for people. What I will say, is that I think the ‘myth’of the UK being a tolerant, prosperous and welcoming place to rebuild a life has been hugely disestablished in recent years. Personally I think this is both a huge shame, and something for us to collectively feel shame for. Perspectives can, will, and do differ :)

I did watch a livesteam on tiktok of some of the rioting and looting. There were a few mums out and involved with little ones in pushchairs!

They’re rioting in my city tonight. Overwhelming amount of women there screaming at the police and the anti protestors.

These fireworks being thrown at police and protestors is horrendous. This is not a protest just mindless violence by drug fuelled thugs with nothing but hate in their heads .

I'll stick with illegal immigrant thanks.

Obviously there is nothing funny about people being hurt. The point is, it's ridiculous of the OP to suggest it's Mumsnetters out there doing the stabbing and rioting.

You can call them what you like but you'd be wrong. Asylum seekers aren't illegal. It's not illegal to claim asylum. Illegal immigrants are those who have outstayed their visa.

I agree. I can’t think of a least likely demographic. The obsession with ascribing ‘far right’ views to people on here is frankly demented. Either you’re a proud Corbynite or you’re a Neo Nazi who is a danger to those around you, with nothing in between. The lack of any kind of complex thought makes them look barely adult.

The rioters are far-right in what they’re doing: indiscriminate violence based on skin colour or religion. It’s not pearl-clutching to refer to them as the thugs they are.

No, but it’s pearl clutching to suggest anybody with concerns over immigration is a fascist, which is basically the stock response on here. The merest sign of not mirroring absolutely everything they say and it’s all ‘You’re clearly a far right apologist, I see you for what you are, you’re full of hate’. They sound utterly unhinged, totalitarian even.

Seeking asylum. You said yourself they were asylum seekers.You can't have legal asylum seekers because you can't get a Visa to the UK solely on the basis of seeking asylum.

Since we voted for Brexit the small boat crossings began, because we lost the ability to return people as well as rejecting the opportunity to process claims in France.

Illegal immigrants are overwhelmingly those people who've overstayed their visas or arrived on false documentation.

Maybe on paper but how many 25 year old Albanian men would you say actually need asylum?

This is not a debate about asylum . Just hate filled yobs who look high as kites .. not an ounce of kindness or logic between them

Nobody is clutching pearls ! How reductive and sexist your insults are .. They're literally doing nazi salutes?!

We are talking racist far-right thugs. Don’t try and downplay it. Do you remember the anti-Brexit marches? Those too were “legitimate concerns”. Attended by thousands of people & there was no violence or destruction. So don’t give me this legitimate concerns business. It doesn’t excuse racism , criminality, violence.

This is what I mean. Responding to a completely fictional, fantasy post where I said the rioting ‘isn’t that bad’ and the thugs ‘have legitimate concerns’.

Just mind blowing.

The Albanians coming over were economic migrants and were sent back.

What concerns about immigration are those then? Because half the things they are blamed for are false; our underfunded public services & housing crisis etc and the other half, a threat to our values, way of life & Britishness comes from a place of racist Nationalism.

It’s mind blowing to reply to a post about the far-right thugs by implying everyone thinks those with immigration concerns are far-right. You were conflating the 2, hence my reply.

Listen to this caller and why he drove from Harlow to Middlesbrough to "protest"

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/riots-protests-far-right-middlesbrough-tom-swarbrick-lbc/

Then explain why anyone needs to listen their "concerns".

I listened to that interview in the car. What a fool. A dangerous fool.

I’m sure there’s got to be some partners involved. I said to colleagues today if your DH / partner was involved wouldn’t you have their bags packed ready for their return? My colleague reminded me these people don’t think the same as us, so they probably don’t think it’s terrible. My 20yr old keeps asking me what setting fire to their local community is achieving and I’m thankful that he wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing

We don't have an independent press in the UK, we have media owned by a handful of right wing billionaires. For years, the UK has been hollowed out by the government and instead of reporting what is going on, the press have blamed the poor and immigrants. Immigrants have become very convenient scapegoats.