Author Archives: Adrian Sanders

I have never not been proud of my country, but there have been historic events and current unrest that has made it difficult with my daily international contacts to promote all the wonderful things the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has to offer.

My work brings me into contact with people across Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America and since Brexit, that was seen as a massive own goal by people overseas, our image and reputation has been damaged. This past week only reinforced an image of decline that the previous 9 years with 5 Prime Ministers, one referendum and three general elections had imprinted on the minds of many looking in from outside.

These most recent events have worried everyone, and yet the violence was a consequence of deliberate misinformation, lies and political opportunism by the likes of Farage and others with an agenda to disrupt and divide.

The very descriptions of the riots the mainstream media has used have themselves misled. These were not far right riots. Far right inspired yes, but most of those taking part wouldn’t know the difference between right, left or centre.

The local politicians who then pop up to claim this is all the work of outsiders, and their community is not like this, were also misleading, mostly themselves, because the people arrested have largely turned out to be local to the riots.

The reality is every community has a few extreme right-wing nutcases, and a much larger number of people, disgruntled, upset and failed by the system who for years now have been wound-up by irresponsible media outlets and politicians blaming foreigners and people of difference for the very real challenges they have to face.

Add in social media massaging, reinforcing and heightening prejudices and you have a tinder box waiting to be ignited, and all it took to light the fuse was a false name and back story circulating within minutes of the dastardly and tragic incidents in Southport.

John Stuart Mill is often quoted as describing the Tories as the stupidest party. The modern Conservative Party is many things, but at the top where they consider parliamentary and electoral strategy they are anything but stupid.

Those who think the withdrawing of the Statutory Instrument to amend the Hunting with Hounds Act is a victory for those opposed to any watering down of animal welfare legislation are cruelly mistaken.