Panicky PM tries to write off marchers as violent minority

THE response from the establishment to the Unite the Kingdom protest in central London last Saturday reveals politicians are shaken. And they should be. What was largely a peaceful outpouring of patriotism and free speech is being framed as a “far-right” gathering of troublemakers attacking the police.

- Tim Newark

The PM doubled down on this earlier this week when he described it as “plastic patriotism”. In an interview with Channel 4 News, he said: “It sent a shiver through so many of our communities, who now feel more scared than they did before.”

But the only community who should be scared is our political elite. The vast gathering of ordinary people showed just how out of touch the majority of those in the Westminster bubble are with what Britons think.

The undermining began immediately, with media estimates of around 110,000 people taking part. In fact, some analysts have put the number closer to a million. These later estimates make the number of troublemakers - and make no mistake, every single one of them must be condemned — even less representative.

EQUALLY, attacks on the police were seized upon in much of the mainstream media coverage. Yet while every incident is appalling, there were just 25 arrests compared to 528 at this year’s Notting Hill Carnival, which was deemed a “success” by left-leaning commentators.