Like most of those leaping on the flaming bandwagon of Tottenham, I have no idea what lay behind the weekend’s disturbances. It may well be, as some have suggested, that the chaos represented a realisation that the idyllic existence enjoyed by black inner-city youth during our years of plenty is now drawing to a close. Perhaps the Metropolitan Police is now so cash strapped it is no longer able to deploy significant manpower to low priority targets such as the prevention of a full blown riot. Or maybe we’ve simply been made aware of the full length to which London’s drug gangs are prepared to go to defend their lucrative trade.
Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
