Who and what was to blame for the riots?

[anotheoldgit]

People quizzed who said a cause was 'important' or 'very important'

Poverty - 86%

Policing - 85%

Government policy - 80%

Unemployment - 79%

Shooting of Mark Duggan - 75% (pictured above)

Social media - 74%

Media coverage - 72%

Greed - 70%

Inequality - 70%

Boredom - 68%

Criminality - 64%

Moral decline - 56%

Racial tensions - 54%

Poor parenting - 40%

Gangs - 32%

Source: Guardian

Interesting to note that 'Poverty' heads the list.

Did they pillage the supermarkets for food to feed their poverty stricken families?

No it was the free 'big tellies' that attracted them.

[exdc]

Here is a recent admission,

"claimed he was 'a bystander that got caught up in the heat of the moment’

"‘I think in the back of my mind I was thinking everybody is doing it and I literally got sucked in"

http://www.dailymail....on-riots-looting.html

[sp1814]

I'm currently reading 'State Of Emergency' by Dominic Sandbrook (excellent modern historian - I recommend him).

Did you know that the winter of discontent wasn't actually created by the Labour administration?

That's something Sandbrook spends quite some time on. It's astonishing how many people believe that - but it's simply not true. The winter of discontent was created by both the Tories and Labour and by the system of 'consensus politics' throughout the 50s, 60s and 70.

If you want an idea of what was happening - read up o. How Heath capitulated to the miners in '72. Read up about the social contract, and how the unions' wage claims forced inflation to spiral. But most of all, remember that this was happening under BOTH Labour and Conservative administrations.

[ludwig]

Poverty and government policy had sod all to do with it. Everything else on the list I can agree with to some extent.

[Kayless]

I knew that sp, you will often here me *** off Heath as much as the Labour government. The issue was that the unions got too powerful and governements of either side failed to sort it out. In fact it was a common cross party belief that the rot could not be stopped merely managed into what would become little more than a Soviet puppet state.

[oldbillbuck]

This was a survey carried out by LSE and The Guardian, interviewing 270 of the rioters. It seems to me that the interviewees have had sufficient time to fall in line with all the social excuses that have been put foreward for them by certain sectors of the media to give the answers recieved, rather than just pure oportunistic theft

[naomi24]

The only people to blame are the people who rioted. Demonstrate against what you see as injustice - yes - but there can be no justification whatsoever for wanton destruction and sheer greed - which was exactly what those people who damaged cars, and smashed, burned and looted those businesses displayed. Small shopkeepers working hard to make a living in difficult times were ruined as a result of their actions, and unless you support the principles of outright anarchy, that can't be right whatever your politics. People have to be made to take responsibility for their own actions - and society should insist that they do. No one should be making excuses for them.

[anotheoldgit]

Steve.5

/// In answer to your question, the people who created thos situation. And the so called beloved Tories have a very long history of creating social unrest & upheaval That is one lesson they never learn because their arrogance & ignorance defy any logic. ///

Typical,

"Keep the Red Flag flying high"

The reason that there is social unrest & upheaval when the Tories are in power is because the 'Left' create the unrest, because they have always wanted a one party state (their's), it is a communistic thing.

[anotheoldgit]

birdie1971

Excellent post.

[Philtaz]

'Woefully inadequate Police response' doesn't appear on the list for some reason, nor does 'Police commanders were too busy fretting over upsetting the sensibilities of the broad spectrum of ethnic minorities in London'.

Hey-ho.

[scowie]

Weak-minded people who follow the herd and have an anti-establishment sentiments are to blame, imo

[atrollope]

If I remember the order of events...the spark that lit the first powder keg in Tottenham was due to the insouciance,and misreading the seriousness of a situation by police sat in the local Police Station.Initially,a small group of female relatives of Mark Duggan went to their Police Station seeking answers.
No Officer came to meet them.Who knows? may be they already knew that the armed Officers at the Duggan incident had acted contrary to the Law?
They kept these women waiting so long.without one word of explanation,or any assurances,that a crowd steadily gathered.When nighttime came,the numbers had swelled.It just needed a few with violent intent,to whip up a crowd becoming increasingly angered at being ignored and treated Shabbily.

For creating that spark,on that night in Tottenham..The Police must take a long,hard look at themselves.An explanation and a profound apology on that afternoon,may have prevented the ensuing orgy of Destruction and mass Theft imo.

[anotheoldgit]

atrollope

/// They kept these women waiting so long.without one word of explanation,or any assurances ///

Similar situations can happen all the time to the vast numbers of other communities, but they don't wildly take to the streets and riot and loot, why did this lot?

[venator]

The interview which summed it up for me was when a reporter followed a woman with a bag of loot, and she said "Well, I just been down the free shop".

There was a riot at the start, but all the lowlifes got on their Blackberries and Facebook, and the word went round - the police are busy, help yourselves.

Of course, to all the Lefties, this was quite excusable as a demonstration of how deprived these poor deserving citizens were.

They would borrow a few more billions to give them all big tellies.

[atrollope]

I still maintain that the local Police at Tottenham could have summoned up a trained Police Liaison Officer...who would no doubt have pointed the Duggan relatives to the relevant agency,or done the work himself...y"know ,to take the heat out of confrontation/controversy.

[atrollope]

The way I heard it,the small delegation of women arrived early in the day at Tottenham...that was the time,or soon after,to nip things in the bud.
Tottenham is a difficult place to Police,no -one would deny that.
Thus the Police and the local community have seperate Grapevines,that filter information quickly...The Police were acutely aware of events,but sat on their hands...a crowd slowly gathered,some curious,others with deep-seated enmity toward the Police...the many young people routinely stopped for"stop&search"...The Police are known to use robust tactics ,and strip searches on people that do not immediately comply.You blame the rioters birdie..there were none,until the powder keg was lit at Tottenham..then all kinds of copy-cats came out the woodwork..all over England.