UK riots: we're dealing with thugs, not activists; four days of drastic change

FOUR DAYS: Of drastic change in the UK's political system. Although I recognise that there are issues that need to be addressed politically, it is of unparalleled importance that we overcome the delusion that these thugs – violent and unprovoked – should be treated so kindly as to have their actions labelled as politically motivated. The violence we have seen projected upon television screens, and, for some of those reading, in neighbouring streets and suburbs, is not the product of politics but of ignorance. Cameron, for a few faults, is utterly correct on this most unpleasant of issues. His words were both appropriate and politically transcendent.

What builds society, what encourages civility, is people taking responsibility. Putting each other before themselves. Parents understanding that it is their responsibility, not the school's responsibility, to bring their kids up with the right values. Neighbours understanding that it is their responsibility, not just the council's responsibility, to look out for each other. Business people understanding that it is their responsibility, not just the government's responsibility, to think about the social and environmental consequences of what they do.

Although many people might look at these remarks and simply think, 'conservative', my sentiment on the issue couldn't be more remote from this most parochial of perspectives. Ideological thinking doesn't have a seat at the table in a time of crisis. It would truly be a source of great shame if either party politically profited from the deplorable thuggery we have witnessed, albeit from far-away countries, in the until-recently-peaceful streets of the UK. It's not a political issue now; it's one of morals. But if there is one thing to remember, it is this: we're dealing with thugs, not activists.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Those lashing out – randomly, cruelly and violently – feel they have nothing to lose. They do not feel bound by the moral code of the rest of society because they do not feel part of the rest of society. We cannot live in a society where the banks are 'too big to fail' but whole neighbourhoods are allowed to sink without a trace. The polarisation is not between black and white. It is between those who have a stake in society and those who do not." – David Lammy, Labour MP.