Angela Rayner has issued an ultimatum to Sir Keir Starmer, warning that the UK faces a repeat of last year’s summer riots unless “the government shows it can address people’s concerns”.
In a dramatic intervention in the final cabinet meeting before the summer recess, the deputy prime minister said economic insecurity, immigration, the increasing time people spend online, and declining trust in institutions were having a “profound impact on society”.
She warned ministers that it was “incumbent on the government to acknowledge the real concerns people have and to deliver improvements to people’s lives in their communities” amid growing concerns that there could be a repeat of the unrest that scarred communities in the wake of the Southport murders.
Her words come days after violent protests broke out outside an asylum hotel in Epping, Essex, which has pushed the community to “boiling point”, according to local Tory MP Neil Hudson.
Calling on the government to deliver improvements to people's lives, Ms Rayner noted that 17 of the 18 places that saw the worst of last summer’s disorder ranked among the country’s most deprived areas.
Islamophobic claims circulating online about the Southport murderer fuelled violent far-right protests in Southport, Belfast, Manchester, Aldershot, London and Sunderland. A Holiday Inn housing asylum seekers in Rotherham was also set on fire, prompting Sir Keir to order a nationwide clampdown.
The violent scenes began less than a month after Labour won power, but Ms Rayner is concerned that continuing problems over immigration – with record numbers of small boats crossing the Channel – rising unemployment and a flatlining economy are laying the groundwork for a new series of riots.
The warnings were reflected in a recent joint report by former Tory home secretary Sir Sajid Javid and former Labour MP Jon Cruddas, who are chairing the new Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion. The report found Britain is sitting on “a powder keg” of social tension that could easily ignite again.
Ms Rayner told colleagues that “while Britain was a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith country, the government had to show it had a plan to address people’s concerns and provide opportunities for everyone to flourish”.
The deputy prime minister highlighted how her own Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods would deliver billions of pounds of investment over 10 years in hundreds of the most deprived places, “to restore pride in people’s local areas and improve people’s lives”.
It is understood that she has been working on a community cohesion project for some time in the wake of last year’s riots.
Her warning follows concerns over the way that Reform leader Nigel Farage has defended the protesters in Epping. The violent protests began after claims that asylum seekers in the hotel were responsible for sexual assaults.
Mr Farage claimed that the violent scenes were “some bad eggs” from the far right clashing with “Antifa” far-left activists. He also claimed “civil disobedience on a vast scale” will break out unless migrants stop arriving in the UK on small boats.
Ms Rayner’s intervention also comes as her position in the government has been strengthened in recent weeks after she played a pivotal role in negotiating a deal with Labour rebels to prevent defeat on the welfare reforms.
Allies claim she is best placed to take on Reform’s surge in popularity as a working-class champion within the cabinet who “represents traditional Labour values”.
While she has repeatedly denied wanting to be prime minister, she is regularly discussed as the favourite to take over from Sir Keir if he is forced out as a result of poor local election results in May next year.
She is also expected to get an official Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in any government reshuffle after the summer.
Responding to Ms Rayner, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said he was “focused on taking action to ensure that we address people’s concerns, people’s very legitimate concerns”.
“And we start by acknowledging that those concerns are legitimate, and we start by dealing with the underlying causes of those concerns,” they added.
Meanwhile, as violent scenes have continued in Epping, Mr Hudson warned that outside groups are stoking up trouble.
He said: “People quite rightly have the right to peaceful protest, but these violent scenes are not us, they are not Epping, and they are not what we stand for. It is deeply disturbing that people from outside Epping are coming to these protests not to support the real concerns of our local community, but to disrupt and cause violence.”
But he warned: “This is a crisis that is boiling over, and for the safety of our community, the government must get a grip on this situation now, and they must listen and act quickly to close the hotel. I continue to call on the government to immediately close the Bell Hotel.”
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