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tamworth hotel being attacked by racists setting fire to it:
I missed this at the time amongst the many things going on.
It is so upsetting to see. I can't help wondering if BoJo's waste of money water canons may have actually served dual purpose in crowd dispersal & fire extinguishing here.
What a mess this country is in.
rhb
i think peoples reaction to this only really only shows us the solidification of right wing immigration policy within center left governments. normalising the rhetoric and ideals to which the outcome will be allowing parties like reform or the tories to score further concessions on immigration narrative and policy. there isn't even token mention of safe and legal routes, support for those in what's known to be a violent immigration detention system and nothing which even so much as changes labours line that "immigration takes away from your local community and resources" they manifested in the election.
labour extending detention facilities, expanding immigration raids and harrassing businesses over worker status's only damages communities. such expansion disproportionately targets raids in black and brown communities, often catching many citizens in the crossfire under police and immigration harrassment. anyone who's had an immigration raid in their neighbourhood will tell you this. expanding the running of detention centres, which already see high rates of abuse and violence towards assylum seekers does nothing to protect vulnerable people. this just sews the sort of tentions that saw racist rioters targetting vulnerable assylum seekers and then spilled over into racially attacking british citizens.
labour mp asking for tamworth hotel back "for locals" and its "damaging effect on the local economy", "preventing tourism":
https://x.com/SarahEdwardsTam/status/1818240122103484735 now deleted
tamworth hotel being attacked by racists setting fire to it:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c97882r2729o
mays flagship policy was creating an environment unihabitable for those without documentation, that ended up also targetting those who had the right to be here. if your issue is undocumented people being at risk of exploitation by employers or criminals, you'd address this by giving them better rights and protection to work, housing and access health care while their claims are processed or documentation is provided. something labours race equality act proposal recieves recieved criticism for actively avoiding (https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2024/02/05/labours-promised-race-equality-act-draws-scepticism-from-campaigners/). further criminalisation only stregnthens the criminals hand as well as increasing pre established structural racism in enforcement. like all criminalisation of vulnerable people it pushes them further out of mainstream life, ever more relient on criminal and exploitetive people. it is a hostile environment.
as it stands, this policy is dissapointing and not very progressive, nor is it a large departure in approach from the tories in anything but tone. the violence it creates for those trying to immigrate, legally or illegally, remains the same. the violence it causes for those who are citizens here, remains the same.