Middlesbrough’s Council meeting on Wednesday 11 September was a chance to pass a seemingly innocuous motion condemning the far right, racist riot in the town on 4 August and to praise the many townsfolk who cleaned up the streets the following day.
Proposed by the deputy mayor, Councillor Philippa Storey, the motion reaffirmed the council’s “commitment to a safe, inclusive, and tolerant society”.
The motion described “completely unacceptable acts of violent disorder” which included “… disgusting racist acts, indiscriminate and senseless criminal damage to residential properties and local businesses, and police officers being attacked.”
The Liberal Democrats supported the motion.
Dissent from one councillor
But a voice of dissent came from one councillor, the Independent Tony Grainge, who stood resolute in the face of reality.
With a page from the Farage songbook, he claimed: “People aren’t frustrated about immigration. They’re frustrated about illegal immigration.”
He went on to describe a frustration with “two tier policing” as well as “two tier reporting”. There were, he said, incidents recorded on social media but ignored by mainstream press. He claimed it was important to report racist violence against white people.
He said he had seen online “a gang of ethnic minorities” beating up a white man, and “the most violent attack” against a 70-year-old white man, among other alleged incidents on Parliament Road.
That’s the same area where rioters stopped cars demanding “Are you white? Are you English?”
In the Middlesbrough riot, he said, the damage was done by 14-to-16-year-olds, and not the protestors.
“I’ve never heard of a single Pakistani Muslim being attacked by himself”, he added.
So there you have it. Black on white violence, frustration at illegal immigration, two tier policing and media, and protestors as pure as the driven snow. Who knew?
*See comment at end
Conservatives absent
The Conservatives were silent on the matter – being absent. They had staged a walkout over an amendment to an earlier motion. It’s a pity that Tees Valley Mayor Lord Ben Houchen was not present to see Cllr Grainge in action. Houchen handpicked Cllr Grainge as a member of the Middlesbrough Development Corporation Board.
Note that Cllr Grainge claims that ”it wasn’t the people who were protesting” who were responsible for the violence and destruction, ”it was people riding on the back of that” No evidence is offered.
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