Mirna Fahmy – Diplomatic Inside

The United Kingdom (UK) is facing deepening political turmoil, with mass immigration, crime, and free speech restrictions fuelling national unrest. In the past year, right-wing protests have surged as public frustration grows over what critics describe as unchecked illegal immigration and rising violence.

At the center of the debate is Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government, which faces accusations of failing to control borders, covering up child exploitation scandals, and suppressing free speech. Meanwhile, the rise of Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, suggests Britain’s political landscape is shifting in response to mounting public anger.

But the question is: what’s happening in the UK that leads to all of this?

 A Surge in Immigration & the Right-Wing Backlash

Immigration has become one of the most divisive issues in the UK. In 2024, over 36,800 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats, according to a BBC report. By January 2025, 1,098 crossings had already been recorded for the year. Many of these individuals come from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, and Sudan, with a majority likely qualifying as refugees under international law.

This rise has become a focal point of public discourse, particularly as net migration figures have reached unprecedented levels. Recent statistics indicate that net migration peaked at 906,000 in the year ending June 2023, before dropping to 728,000 in the following year. This trend has significant implications for the UK population, which is projected to grow by nearly five million over the next decade, primarily driven by immigration rather than natural population growth.

Right-wing political party Reform UK has capitalized on this frustration, with Chairman Zia Yusuf stating that “the number of military-aged males who have entered the UK illegally now exceeds the total number of British Army soldiers.” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has criticised Starmer  for not taking strict actions to deport the illegal immigrants.

However, Labour officials reject these claims, stating that the UK is fulfilling its international obligations to asylum seekers while working to tighten immigration controls. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a new policy to expedite deportations and has defended Labour’s record, arguing that the majority of migrants qualify for refugee status under UK and international law.

Yet, public confidence in Labour’s immigration policy remains shaky, with recent polls showing growing support for Reform UK among working-class voters, a demographic historically aligned with Labour. Reform UK’s main aim is to pledge tougher policing, immediate mass deportation of violent offenders and illegal immigrants especially from Muslim-Majority countries, and harsher sentences for knife crimes.

Child Sexual Exploitation Scandals: A Political Time Bomb

The Rotherham, Telford, and Rochdale child sexual exploitation scandals have reignited outrage over police and political failures in tackling child abuse. These scandals were labeled as “Misinformation” by many British outlets while The Telegraph is the one of the fewest media that threaded these crimes in depth when they were revealed in late 2024 and early 2025.

The Rotherham scandal, exposed in 2014 by Professor Alexis Jay’s report, revealed that at least 1,400 children—some as young as 11—were groomed, raped, and trafficked between 1997 and 2013 by predominantly “Muslim British-Pakistani men”. Despite repeated reports, Rotherham Borough Council and South Yorkshire Police failed to act, fearing accusations of racism and damage to the town’s reputation. This negligence allowed offenders to evade justice for years.

In response, the National Crime Agency launched Operation Stovewood, an ongoing investigation into the abuse. By January 2025, seven men had been sentenced to a total of 106 years for crimes committed in the 2000s, signaling continued efforts to hold perpetrators accountable.

Similar patterns of abuse emerged in Telford, where over 1,000 children were reportedly exploited between 1989 and 2013. A 2018 report exposed local authorities’ failure to protect victims, echoing the systemic negligence seen in Rotherham.

The Rochdale scandal, uncovered in 2012, saw nine men convicted for running a grooming gang that preyed on young girls. Investigations into Telford and Rochdale revealed that police and social services repeatedly ignored or downplayed abuse allegations, failing to safeguard vulnerable children.

Starmer’s name was brought up amidst all of this on X, inserting him under tonnes of questions and accusations because during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions (2008–2013), he did not take decisive action in situations involving grooming gangs due to political sensitivities.

The eruption of these rape scandals infuriated many Brits requiring a national inquiry into rape gangs. Matthew Goodwin, a British political scientist stated that “a stunning 76% of Britons want a full national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal, reflecting widespread outrage and a demand for accountability. 77% also support deporting dual nationals convicted of grooming children.”

However, British parliament members (MPs) rejected this inquiry into the rape gangs’ scandal with 111 Yes and 364 No. Goodwin posted on his X account that “not a single Labour MP voted for a national inquiry into the Pakistani Muslim rape gangs.”

Despite survivors begging for answers, The Telegraph reported that Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has nixed a broader investigation into Oldham’s rape gangs. This comes after years of councils and police turning a blind eye to abuse, often to avoid “appearing racist.” The result was that hundreds of thousands of children’s lives shattered and zero accountability.

Former Police Officer Dion Miller stated that “former chief crown prosecutor mister Nasir Afzal, said in an interview to the BBC, Radio 4, that in 2008, the Labour government, under Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, sent a circular to all police forces in this country saying that: as far as these young girls who are being exploited in towns and cities, we believe that they have made an informed choice about their sexual behavior, and therefore, it is not for you police officers to get involved in.”

Adding to the controversy, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, Star-link and X tuned in on X accusing Starmer of ignoring working-class victims while pandering to political correctness. Musk commented that his grandmother, a working-class girl during the Great Depression, may have been abducted in present-day Britain due to her poverty and lack of protection.

Some people are thanking Musk for opening this discussion without any censorships on X unlike other social media platforms because their voices aren’t heard and are covered up for six years without any move.

Starmer has dismissed calls for a new inquiry into grooming gangs, labeling them as ‘far-right rhetoric’.

The series of Stabbings:

Besides, rape gangs’ incidents, knife crime (stabbings) has become a significant issue in the UK, particularly in England. The statistics for 2024 reveal a concerning trend, with nearly 50,000 serious knife offences recorded between July 2023 and June 2024. This figure reflects a 4% increase from the previous year, indicating a persistent rise in violent incidents involving knives.

Approximately 50,510 reported incidents in the year ending June 2024. London, Cleveland, and South Yorkshire have the highest crime rates, reinforcing fears that public safety is deteriorating.

A particularly shocking case was the Southport dance studio attack in July 2024, where 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana stabbed three girls to death. He had previously been flagged for violent behavior but was not considered a serious threat. After this stabbing incident he was jailed for 52 years. Right-wing figures, including Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage (MP) and Paul Golding, have seized on such incidents to push for tougher immigration laws and deportations of criminals after information claiming that the criminal was a Muslim. Many British and non-British media falsified this information and labeled it as a rumor. But the far-right wing members accused the media as a biased legacy.

Two-Tier Policing:

Right-wing activists argue that British law enforcement applies different standards based on race and ideology naming it as “Two-Tier Policing”. 

Several events in 2024–2025 have reinforced this perception. Pro-Palestinian protests in London were largely tolerated, even when some demonstrators called for violence. Meanwhile, anti-immigration protests faced swift police crackdowns.Rage was at its peak among many Brits when a video of the British police started their greetings with “As-Salaam-Alaikum” in Arabic, meaning in English “Peace be unto you,” instead of the regular English way of greeting.

The police have demonstrated grave concern for Muslims and Mosques that they set up patrols outside the mosques countering any attack from any far-right supporters to a Mosque. That was in response to a might-happen attack from rioters who believed that the SouthPort criminal was a Muslim because of misinformation.

Later, tensions between the police and many Brits started to escalated intensively after a march led by the British anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK’s most prominent far-right activists Tommy Robinson in Trafalgar Square in central London in late July 2024 demanding for a mass deportation. Then the series of arrests stroked in even for social media posts.

Hundreds of British citizens, including journalists, were reporting that they’ve been visited by the police regarding X posts. Taxi driver, Andrew McIntyre, was jailed for seven and a half years over Southport social media posts. A video of police spanned the social media arresting an elderly man for commenting on a Facebook post. The police’s arrests were planning to extend beyond the UK that London’s Metropolitan Police Chief, Mark Rowley has said they will extradite and arrest US citizens over their social media posts if they violate their rules about political speech online.

Memes around the police and Starmer’s reactions to what’s going on are circulating on X.

The government has defended its approach, arguing that there was hate speech and a huge spread of misinformation on social media and laws are  applied equally across the political spectrum. Also, they highlighted that Islamophobia was rising, inciting more violent behavior from the far-right supporters towards Muslims.

More criticism has been overwhelming the current government and the police for Robinson’s arrest in October 2024 and jailed for 18 months after he admitted to being in contempt of court by repeating false accusations about a Syrian refugee, according to court documents. Musk and all of Robinson’s allies have been shouting for his release on X. On Feb 1, 2025, huge marches were shoveled in London protesting against Robinson being in solitary confinement. In one of the rallies, someone burnt the Quran in Manchester city in honor of Salwan Momika who was an Iraqi famous for burning the Quran in Sweden and Norway, but he was later killed in late January 2025. That man was later arrested.

UK Reform:

The political landscape in Britain is shifting, with the emergence of Reform UK reshaping voter dynamics and challenging both Labour and the Conservatives. Reform UK is now leading with 29% in comparison with the other political parties. Labour is 25%. Conservatives are 18%. Liberal Democrats are 14% and Green is 9%.

Musk endorsed Reform UK tweeting on his X that “Only Reform can save Britain.”

Farage is strongly criticizing the election delays on X saying that “Starmer has started canceling elections in May in places where Reform UK is expected to perform the best”. Some councils in England have announced on February 5 to delay elections which were to take place this May, due to a reorganisation of local government. Nine councils will have their May 2025 elections postponed until May 2026.