Ah, welcome to governing, Sir Keir.
It's gonna be a hot time in the town this weekend with the already-established newcomers who are remarkably similar to those you thrown the gates open for.
In the northern English countryside sits the second largest city in England - an ancient place called Leeds. Although, with its current boundaries, it only officially became the City of Leeds in 1974 when eleven local governments were scooped up into one as part of a national "local government" reform, the area has been "Leeds" since 1207.
Of the roughly 700K+ people who live within the city and its suburbs (2021 census), 4.5% of them are classified as Asian, which in British parlance usually includes those of Middle-Eastern origins.
Leeds also has a crime problem.
...The majority of people in Leeds identify themselves as Christian.[21] The proportion of Muslims is around National average.[21] Leeds has the third-largest Jewish community in the United Kingdom, after those of London and Manchester. The areas of Alwoodley and Moortown contain sizeable Jewish populations.[22] 16.8% of Leeds residents in the 2001 census declared themselves as having "no religion", which is broadly in line with the figure for the whole of the UK (also 8.1% "religion not stated").
The crime rate in Leeds is well above the national average, like many other cities in England.[23][24] In July 2006, the think tank Reform calculated rates of crime for different offences and has related this to populations of major urban areas (defined as towns over 100,000 population). Leeds was 11th in this rating (excluding London boroughs, 23rd including London boroughs).[25]
There are enough Muslim voters in districts to be able to elect representation on the city council, as witnessed by Muthin Ali's victory in May.
Muthin Ali, the British Green Party candidate who won the local elections in the city of Leeds in the north of the United Kingdom, with a majority of 3,070 votes, announced that his election was a “victory for Gaza.” pic.twitter.com/BJmJ4U5spF
— jad ibrahem (@ibrahem_ja98564) May 6, 2024
Last night, local time, police were called to what was described as a "domestic disturbance" but were also told of other "pockets of unrest" in the area.
It turned into a full-fledged riot with police under attack almost from the moment they arrived (to remove children who were reportedly in danger) by what's described as (heh) "migrants."
Police officers were attacked, missiles thrown and vehicles torched and flipped when trouble broke out in a Leeds suburb.
Residents were warned to stay indoors in Harehills on Thursday evening in what West Yorkshire Police described as a "serious disorder incident".
Witnesses said officers were initially called to reports of a domestic disturbance at an address in Luxor Street at about 17:00 BST, with further "pockets of disorder" then breaking out.
Large crowds gathered on the streets, with social media footage showing vehicle windows being smashed and items thrown at officers. No injuries have been reported.
This was the spark that set off riots in Leeds last night.
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) July 19, 2024
Social services and police remove children from an imported family, clearly a safeguarding issue.
So the other imported families, to prove they're respectable and responsible, burn down the area. pic.twitter.com/GniNrWRLmZ
Cops had arrived to take charge of some Roma (I'm assuming Gypsy) children who'd been reported as being in peril. But then bricks started flying, buses erupted in flames, and police cars came under attack before flipping. The West Yorkshire police came to a command decision in the middle of all the chaos and got the hell out of there.
...Footage shared on social media earlier in the evening shows a police car coming under attack with its windows being smashed.
One person uses a scooter to hit it, while stones and other debris are also thrown.
Riesa, a pharmacy dispenser who did not want to give her last name, told the PA news agency she saw people throwing items at police officers and cars.
"They were attacking police cars, throwing things at the police cars - anything they could pick up off the floor really," she said.
This was the last known attempt by the police to restore order in Leeds.
— Darren Grimes (@darrengrimes_) July 18, 2024
They were greeted by these fine fellas digging up the bricks that taxpayers paid for to fling at them.
They very quickly evacuated and haven’t been back since. pic.twitter.com/dPRnBcVmx9
The neighborhood "migrants" were off to the races after that.
It seems they're big on the "walkable city" concept. Buses offend them.
Immigrants burning buses in Leeds. They hate us. We need mass deportations. pic.twitter.com/2ZCGi5PuPX
— Europe Invasion (@EuropeInvasionn) July 19, 2024
It's only money.
Hundreds of Roma & Pakistani heritage people in Harehills, Leeds rioted. A £100,000 bus was gutted & businesses looted.
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) July 19, 2024
They were objecting to 5 Roma children taken into care by social services & police for neglect.
This gives you the sheer scale of the violence. pic.twitter.com/UDbzdYn7wJ
The Leeds City Council issued a statement today that, in the best, most soothing woke language, did nothing to condemn the wanton lawlessness and destruction. It merely urged everyone to calm down while the Council takes a good hard look at how they can ensure they NEVER upset the "migrant" communities living in their ENGLISH city ever again.
The council has agreed to undertake an urgent review of the case and work with Romanian and Roma led organisations, the churches, and the Honorary Consulate of Romania and other family representatives for the best interests of the family and wider Roma community.
We are asking all communities to remain calm and to ensure that we do not see further disturbances such as those witnessed last night, which brought fear and upset to communities in Harehills. Local people are devastated by what happened, and we want to ensure there is no repeat of the distressing scenes we saw. Such actions will have a long lasting and harmful impact on our community.
The Romanian and Roma community have played a fantastic role in the community and have contributed much to the diversity and richness of the Harehills. We want this work to continue, and develop further work that makes Harehills an even better place to work and live. The events of last night will not help our community or the family. We need to work together with the authorities to ensure that best outcomes for the community, and to ensure our voices are heard at the highest level so we can avoid such scenarios in the future.
Please help us by remaining calm, keeping yourselves and your children safe, and by avoiding a repeat of last night’s disturbances. This is in the best interests of the family and the wider community.
That's the way to handle it, by George. You only have to bend so far before they can take your head off cleanly.
In an interesting aside, the West Yorkshire police who beat a hasty retreat last night and issued this "everything's fine, no one's been hurt, chill out" afterward...
...But West Yorkshire Police, responsible for law enforcement in Leeds, hit out at what it called “incorrect information on social media”.
“Police can also confirm that no-one has so far been reported to have been hurt in the disorder and police are treating the matter as a serious public order incident.”
...is the very same police department that spared no effort - or the number of officers - to torment and arrest a teenage autistic girl for noticing a female officer looked like her lesbian grandmother.
🇬🇧 Yorkshire Police couldn’t stop rioters from burning the City of Leeds but they were able to send 6 officers to arrest an autistic 15year old who said “this police officer looked like her lesbian nan”
— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) July 19, 2024
This clip comes with a trigger warning ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/TXjG6uCTh2
Priorities are a tad skewed, I'd say.
But "cultural differences" and diversity are strengths, etc., etc.
Would the last Englishman in Leeds please take the flag?
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