Britain burns

It is a good rule of thumb that whenever you hear the word ‘community’ someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. We’ve heard it a lot recently regarding the recent riots. In Tottenham, north London, one part of the population is looting and burning the houses and businesses of another part. One thing it is definitely not is a community.

The disturbances are spreading to other parts of London, other cities. The causes are not racial, as David Lammy, Tottenham’s black MP confirms. So what is behind it?

How long have you got? The kids are uneducated, and that is our fault; they come from dysfunctional families – what sort of parents allow children as young as seven to be out all night, without knowing where they are?; they hear repeatedly of venal politicians, greedy bankers, bribed police; and there are no jobs. They do not feel a part of society; they have no sense of community.

The police response was late – people had time to try on shoes in shops they had broken into – and it is only now that they seem to be belatedly getting a grip as the Prime Minister and the Mayor return from their holidays, in the Mayor’s case, at least, two days late. But locking up the guilty – necessary though it is – is not the solution here. The problem started some time ago in the comprehensive schooling system, modern teaching methods, an indiscriminate welfare system. The family system, the very bedrock of society, has broken down. The sense of family pride in doing the right thing and the sense of shame which made people polish their front doorsteps have disappeared.  Instead, part of the population watches and sneaks on the other part, the councils film people going to their bins in case they break some minor regulation.

This will take years to fix and in the meantime there will be further outbreaks of violence. But we should at least start the process.