Angela Rayner has issued an ultimatum to Sir Keir Starmer, warning that the UK faces a repeat of last year’s summer riots unless “the government shows it can address people’s concerns”.
In a dramatic intervention in the final cabinet meeting before the summer recess, the deputy prime minister said economic insecurity, immigration, the increasing time people spend online, and declining trust in institutions were having a “profound impact on society”.
She warned ministers that it was “incumbent on the government to acknowledge the real concerns people have and to deliver improvements to people’s lives in their communities” amid growing concerns that there could be a repeat of the unrest that scarred communities in the wake of the Southport murders last year.
Her words come days after violent protests broke out in Epping, Essex, over an asylum hotel, which has put the community “at boiling point”, according to local Tory MP Neil Hudson.
Calling on the government to deliver improvements to people’s lives, Ms Rayner noted that 17 of the 18 places that saw the worst of the disorder last summer ranked at the top of the most deprived.
She added that “while Britain was a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith country, the government had to show it had a plan to address people’s concerns and provide opportunities for everyone to flourish”.
The deputy prime minister highlighted her own Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)’s Plan for Neighbourhoods would deliver billions of pounds of investment over ten years in hundreds of the most deprived places, “to restore pride in people’s local areas and improve people’s lives”.
It is understood that she has been working on a community cohesion project for some time in the wake of the riots almost a year ago.
Concerns have been raised over the way that Reform UK and Nigel Farage have sympathised with protesters around the Bell Hotel, in Epping, which houses asylum seekers.
The intervention also comes as Ms Rayner’s position in the government has been strengthened in recent weeks after she played a pivotal role in negotiating a deal with Labour rebels to prevent defeat on the welfare reforms.
While she has repeatedly denied wanting to be prime minister, she is regularly discussed as the favourite to take over from Sir Keir if he is forced out as a result of poor elections in May next year.
She is also expected to get an official Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in any government reshuffle after the summer.
Responding to Ms Rayner, the prime minister’s official spokesman said he was “focused on taking action to ensure that we address people’s concerns, people’s very legitimate concerns”.
“And we start by acknowledging that those concerns are legitimate, and we start by dealing with the underlying causes of those concerns,” they added.
Meanwhile, as violent scenes have continued in Epping, local Conservative MP, Neil Hudson, warned that outside groups are stoking up trouble.
He said: “People quite rightly have the right to peaceful protest, but these violent scenes are not us, they are not Epping, and they are not what we stand for. It is deeply disturbing that people from outside Epping are coming to these protests not to support the real concerns of our local community, but to disrupt and cause violence.”
But he warned: “This is a crisis that is boiling over, and for the safety of our community, the government must get a grip on this situation now, and they must listen and act quickly to close the hotel. I continue to call on the government to immediately close the Bell Hotel.”