We in Scotland have been a tad reticent this week in intruding on the private grief that has overtaken London and other major cities in England. Professor Tom Devine says we are a more conservative (with a small c) society, not given to civil unrest. How can he be so sure? The best way to alleviate poverty has long been to heave a brick through a designer shop window, and if poverty is the cause of the rioting, then we have communities every bit as materially poor as Tottenham. Ken Roy in Scottish Review warns against complacency. The same inequality he sees in London Society – ‘rich Tory boys’ versus the ‘rule of the mob’, may well still surface here “… we should be frank with ourselves: the most disaffected of the marginalised in London and other English cities are young black men, of whom there are few north of the border. We specialise instead in marginalised young white men, from whom we may be hearing at some stage, perhaps as the Commonwealth Games – our own bread and circus – draws nearer. What we are seeing is not so much a breakdown of law and order – that is merely the visible symptom – as a breakdown of trust in those set in power over us. It's as true here as it is on Clapham Common.” Meanwhile we cast around for explanations and someone to blame so that we can tidy it all up and go back to dealing with the collapse of western economies. John McTernan in the Scotsman blames Boris Johnson for his slow reaction to the police shooting of Mark Duggan. Johnson was on holiday in America and should, says McTernan, have realised the importance and taken the first plane home. Ken Livingstone, his Labour rival for the post of Mayor of one of the major world cities would not have made the same mistake. “It may seem unfair to blame the mayor of London for the conduct of police officers on the streets of London, but he started it. Boris was proud to take personal control of policing when he became mayor. The political control of policing is controversial, but it is mainstream Tory policy. But with actions come responsibilities. Once you take over, you own the lot: good or bad.” McTernan may have a point. Most commentary is agreed that Johnson is now, in the current vernacular, toast. In yesterday’s Telegraph, David Green [from think tank Civitas] blamed a culture that has increasingly emasculated police forces. Successive investigations into police conduct, he says, from Brixton through MacPherson to kettling have left the Met in particular wary of contact for fear of being called racist, mindful of taking any initiative without orders, frightened of repercussions. We should welcome the fact that the ethos adopted by our police is to use only the force necessary, but, says Green, when force is needed, it must be used… “The present generation of police leaders gained promotion by mastering the art of talking about “issues around” racism or bearing down on hate crime “going forward”. Learning the management buzz words of the last few years has not produced leaders able to command men in a riot. The injuries sustained by officers show that we have plenty of men and women prepared to be brave when needed, but they are lions led by donkeys who listened a bit too intently to the sociology lectures about “hate crime” at Bramshill police college”. You think this is an occasion when our hapless and apparently helpless political leaders might rise above tribalism? Prepare to be unsurprised. . Last night Newsnight [32minutes in] put Michael Gove on the same platform as Harriet Harman. According to Harman, those who looted Currys and burnt down a five-generation family carpet business were merely reacting to the government’s policy on tuition fees. If you have tears to shed… |
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