The far-Left mob has seized control of Britain’s streets – and its borders

Police officers surround a bus that was to be used to carry migrants from a hotel in Peckham – Carl Court

At best, Britain’s asylum system is inefficient and ineffectual. At worst – and I fear this is probably closer to the truth – it is incredibly dangerous, studiously working against the country’s best interests from economic flourishing to public safety.

Whatever your views about the system might be, however, or how you think this country should treat those who arrive on its shores, your passions and opinions on the matter ought to be expressed in writing, in talking, in lawful protest and ultimately at the ballot box, where they can be reflected by those the people elect locally and nationally.

In a civilised country, which – in comparison with most others in the world, at least – Britain still is, citizens vote for elected officials based on policies. When they don’t like those policies, they can lobby and campaign to change them. But they remain beholden to the law, and subject to its enforcement. In other words, we do not yet live in a direct action society where we are ruled by the whims of the mob.

I fear this may not be the case for much longer. Britain is now watching in horror as a strange phenomenon unfolds: the seemingly total capture of the police and weary, popularity-starved officials and politicians by the agenda and diktats of far-Left loons. These would-be radicals seem only to have to turn up with signs, chant slogans and block things (roads, entryways, airports) for the state to fold.

This abject surrender by authority has much the same effect on the Left as indulging or pleading has on a rude and boundary-pushing child: they get worse. We’ve seen it for years, with the soft touch applied to ever-more obnoxious climate-change protests, and with the indulgence of the illegal Covid-era Black Lives Matter protests. And since October 7, the police have blatantly pandered to increasingly intimidating anti-Israel protests. The louder the mad brats holler, the more likely the police are to simply relent.

Now we might finally be cutting out the middle man, with the Home Office itself giving up on its job. This, at any rate, appears to be the situation with the attempted transfer of hotel-dwelling migrants to the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset.

In late April, led by Margate mayor Rob Yates, it took a little over 100 protesters with placards reading “block the barge” to stop a transfer, with the mostly Afghan group of asylum seekers allowed to remain in their Margate hotel, in what appeared to be a Home Office climbdown.

“I’ve been clear with the Home Office,” boasted Yates: “if they send more coaches tomorrow we will be here, and every day after that.”

Last week, as police once again tried to remove illegal migrants to the Bibby Stockholm from the Best Western in Peckham, south-east London, there was another embarrassing spectacle of submission to the mob, whose assembly was organised in part by Black Lives Matter and the “Southwark and Lambeth Anti-Raids network”.

Hundreds congregated near the hotel where the migrants were staying. Some of the protesters appeared to sport the hallmark of the ruling lunatics of the moment: the pro-Palestine keffiyeh. They stuck Lime bikes under the wheels of the coach, made a general ruckus, and screeched from the usual script about human rights, the community, mental health and on, and on and on.

But instead of roughly herding them off the highway, as one imagines the French Gendarmerie might have done, our police allowed this stupid rabble to delay the departure of the coach by seven hours. And when it left, it did so with no migrants on it. Abject surrender from the state. Total victory for the mob. Some 45 people were subsequently arrested for charges including obstruction of the highway, obstructing police and assault on officers. It’s hard to think they’ll be anything other than thrilled by this result.

We should not be. We must not allow control of these issues to be handed to a mob drunk on woke ideology, or trivialised by their media supporters. The endless stream of migrants arriving in traffickers’ boats is no laughing matter. It costs the taxpayers a fortune to house them in hotels, money that could be used to bolster the NHS or cut taxes. And then there is the uneasy sense that these are unvetted migrants, many with dubious claims to asylum, who might not be the most desirable addition to our “communities”.

While there are no doubt many wonderful people who arrive illegally, in recent years we have seen too many grisly murders and attacks by those claiming asylum, often motivated by their belief in fundamentalist Islam.

I would personally welcome a policy of admitting anyone who arrived to Britain if they were properly vetted, shown to be truly keen on embracing life here, working hard, and uninterested in simply furthering nasty cultural habits where women and Jews are concerned.

But the point, again, is that this is not for me, or for the placard-waving mob to decide. If we disagree, we should persuade others of our views, not impose them by force. But those who shout the loudest – from the most deranged Leftist standpoint – now have the whip hand to rule the rest of us. For this group, protesting has become a favoured hobby, like street fighting used to be for hooligans.

Such violence is no longer common. We declared that the law was the law, and insisted on upholding the basic standards of civilised life. When it comes to the far-Left, however, we have decided to allow their vulgar tactics and “demands” to drive policy. This foolish choice is as insane as it is scary. We must undo it.

In a free society, lawful protest should be protected, but to let such vulgar, violent tactics and “demands” drive actual policy and policing is as insane as it is scary.

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