The violent unrest that has caused so much damage in the UK has not in fact happened across the UK. It has almost been exclusively confined to England.

True, violent riots also took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but, interestingly enough, even there they were largely perpetrated by British loyalists, along with a few far-right extremists from Dublin.

The counter-protestors were seemingly mostly drawn from Northern Ireland’s Catholic community.

At least up until now, Scotland and Wales have remained peaceful. When considering why this is the case, we might look at how the English are positioned within the United Kingdom.

After all the mess has been cleared from the streets, it would be advisable for the government and society as a whole, to have a debate about what “England” and “Englishness” stand for in a Union profoundly divided by rising nationalism and in a world where Britannia no longer rules the waves.

  • Glasgow@lemmy.ml
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    4 months ago

    Glasgow is only 78% white and more diverse than many of the towns that rioted.

    Town/City % White Population
    Belfast 96.7%
    Tamworth 95.3%
    Blackpool 94.6%
    Plymouth 93.1%
    Rotherham 90.7%
    Hull 89.7%
    Liverpool 84.8%
    Glasgow 78.6%
    Bristol 78.1%
    Manchester 66.3%
    Birmingham 57.9%

    It also takes on more asylum seekers than any other council, and Scotland as a whole takes on more refugees per capita.

    “However, across the whole of the UK, only 1,960 refugees were brought to Britain through the scheme during 2020 and 2021 – meaning Scotland’s share totalled 13 per cent, well above the population share of 8.15 per cent.”

    https://www.gov.scot/publications/universal-periodic-review-2022-scottish-government-position-statement/pages/14/#:~:text=As of 11 July 2022,the Scottish super sponsor scheme.

    “As of 11 July 2022 a total of 21,256 visas have been issued naming a Scottish sponsor – more than 20% of the UK total, and the highest number per head of population in the UK. Scotland is currently providing sanctuary for over 7,000 people, two-thirds of whom applied under the Scottish super sponsor scheme. This exceeds the 3,000 the Scottish Government committed to welcome when the scheme launched in March.”