3 out of 4 Brits worried about far-right rise in UK: Poll
73% of Brits express concern about right-wing extremism, an increase of 11% from the same questions in March of this year.
Research shows that following anti-immigrant riots, nearly 75% of Brits are concerned about right-wing extremism, and a rising proportion are worried about societal tensions.
The poll also revealed that although most people thought politicians did not respond particularly well to the wave of unrest, they thought Keir Starmer did, while Nigel Farage did not.
Public services and the economy continued to be the top concerns in the section of the survey where respondents were asked to list their issues; 84% and 83%, respectively, said they were extremely or very concerned about these issues.
Below this, 73% of respondents expressed concern about right-wing extremism, an increase of 11% from the same questions in March of this year.
In all, 85% of individuals surveyed said they thought British society is extremely or fairly divided, which is the biggest percentage to say that since 2019. Only 11% disagreed.
57% of respondents indicated they thought the police handled the riots well, while 19% disagreed.
For politicians, the verdict was 21% in favor of their reaction and 42% against; however, for Starmer, the results were more in favor, with 39% stating he had done a good job and 29% believing the contrary.
Meanwhile, 21% of respondents said they thought Farage responded well; 48% disagreed.
Even more harsh was the verdict for social media platforms: Only 12% of respondents defended their activities, while 60% of respondents said they had performed poorly in relation to the riots.
75% of UK's Muslim women in fear
When asked if crime and antisocial behavior are a big problem across the UK, 86% said this was the case, up from 79% in June. But when asked about the situation where they lived, this fell to just 40%, 1 percentage point lower.
Similarly, when asked if they believed crime had risen in the past 12 months, 72% said this was the case nationally, against 41% locally.
According to Sky News last week, up to 75% of Muslim women in the United Kingdom are concerned about their safety following rioting in the country.
Prior to the riots, just 16% of people polled were concerned about their safety, according to the research. According to the research, around one-fifth of respondents reported experiencing hostile attitudes following the incident.
More than 700 people have been arrested as of Friday, with over 300 charged for their suspected participation in the anti-Muslim riots and over 30 have been indicted with online crimes. These offenses consist of sharing footage of the ongoing violent riots or posting content that the Crown Prosecutorial Service describes as inciting "violence or hatred."
Earlier this month, violent clashes took place between far-right protesters and police in central London following the spread of misinformation on social media determining that the Southport knife perpetrator was a Muslim man.
The violent protests initially sparked on July 30 in Southport after extremist far-right social media users falsely reported that the assailant in the July 29 knife attack that killed three young girls and wounded multiple children at dance class was a Muslim immigrant.
Clashes between the demonstrators and the police were incited by members of an anti-Muslim xenophobic fascist group known as the English Defense League (EDL), who provoked protesters by attacking a local mosque with projectiles.