What do Britons really think about the riots?

For almost two weeks, Britain has seen a sustained outbreak of disorder with riots blighting towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland.  New research by More in Common explores whether the disorder reflects the unease of millions across the country as some have claimed, or the actions of a handful of thugs as others have suggested. 

The findings based on polling of 2000 people last week suggest that the vast majority of Britons condemn the riots without hesitation and do not believe they are a valid expression of popular concern.  

Public’s starting points on the riots 

The public see the events over the 10 days as riots. The public are more than five times more likely to describe the disorder on Britain’s streets as riots (74%) than protests (14%). This includes a majority in all segments holding this view - although Reform UK voters are more than twice as likely as average to see the events as ‘mostly protests’ 

When asked what the riots have been borne out of, the public are most likely to say it stems from a desire to engage in violence and criminal damage (46%) or far right ideology and racism (32%) rather than legitimate concerns from those worried about immigration to the UK (23%). This is a pattern that largely holds across the three major parties - Reform UK voters are more likely to see the riots and protests borne out of legitimate concerns from those worried about immigration to the UK (56% v 23% average), and Green Party voters who are more likely to see it drive by far right ideology and racism (56% v 32% average). 

On whether the rioters represent Britain, clear majorities across all parties see those involved in helping to clean up the riots as representing the real Britain - 87% of the public hold that view including 69% of Reform UK voters. However, when asked another way, on whether rioters are standing up for or shaming Britain - while the public at large hold a clear view (73%) that the rioters are shaming Britain, a majority of Reform UK voters (50%) see rioters and protestors as standing up for Britain. 

Four reactions to the riots 

Broadly speaking, our research identifies four groups who need to be considered when explaining the riots of recent weeks. Instead of two contrasting camps or a country riven down the middle, our research finds that the public cluster together on the riots in a more Russian Dolls-style model - smaller groups who are willing to condone the riots, contained within much bigger groups who condemn violence without hesitation but with diverging opinion as the motivation for the violence. 

The supporters

The first group is a group who actively share the rioters' views or have sympathy for rioting and violence against refugees. This is around 10 per cent of the population (or slightly less than that). The Southport attack caused them to go out and riot, but really any similar event could have done the same.  

This group includes people who say they are ashamed that Britain is a multi-ethnic society (7%) of the country, people who say that violent protest outside refugee accommodation is justified (8%), and people who say that the people participating in the riots and protests speak for them (14%).

About a fifth of Reform UK voters fall into this group - 23% of Reform UK voters are ashamed to be in a multiethnic society, 17% justify violent protests outside asylum accommodation. 41% of Reform voters say that people at the protests and riots speak for them.

This group is slightly more male than the general population - 17% of men say the protestors and rioters speak for them, compared to 11% of women, 11% of men justify violence outside refugee accommodation versus 5% of women.

The group mostly comes from our Disengaged Traditionalist and Loyal National Segment - 24% of Disengaged Traditionalists say the rioters and protesters speak for them, and 17% of Loyal Nationals.

It is worth highlighting however even those who might share the rioters views do not believe criminality should go unpunished - only around 1% of Brits think that those who engage in criminal damage or arson should not face punishment 

The sympathisers 

The second group are the sympathisers - a group who might oppose rioting and lawlessness but say they have sympathy with their concerns. This group is roughly 20% of the population. 

This group are more willing to believe that two tier policing exists - 18% of the country say that the police treat ethnic minorities more favourably than white people; 24% of the country say that the rioters and protesters represent the views of ordinary Britons; 15% of the country disagree that a person can be British regardless of their ethnic background.

This bigger group includes those who believe rioters may have legitimate concerns but oppose violence and rioting as a form of protest, and have a strong belief in law and order.

This is a small group - but people in this group tend to think their views are more widespread than they actually are. Of the people who say the rioters speak for them, 58% think that the rioters’ views are held by more than a quarter of the country, compared to only 11% of those who say the rioters don’t speak for them.

Like the Supporters, the sympathisers are more Reform voting, more male, and draw more from the Disengaged Traditionalist and Loyal National segments.

The word ‘far right’ has less meaning with this group of people. While 64 per cent of the country say it is far right to vandalise and attack mosques, only 44 per cent of this group do. And while 60 per cent of the country think it is far right to intimidate asylum seekers at their accommodation, only 36 per cent of this group do.

The concerned 

The third group is a bigger group, which represents around two thirds of the country, who are concerned about immigration, but don’t have any truck with these riots and are strongly opposed to violent rioting.

This week, both crime and immigration reached record highs in our issues tracker. Many members of the public are disillusioned with politics and politicians’ inability to deliver on promises to introduce a more controlled immigration system and to lower numbers, but strongly oppose violent protest.

While the majority of the public think that immigration needs to come down, the overwhelming majority think that violent protests is not justified: 68% of the public think that rioters deserve jail time of more than a year (with the most common response being that they deserve more than five years), 73% of the public think that rioters are shaming Britain rather than standing up for Britain.

And asked to describe the people taking part in these protests and riots, the top words used to describe them are “thugs” and “idiots”.

The worried  

The fourth and final group are those who represent more or less the whole UK - regardless of their views on immigration, they are worried that the UK is becoming more divided and less safe, and they want the police to be harsher on protestors. 

76 per cent of the public say that the country feels divided, and only 11 per cent say that the country currently feels united (a view tested before any specific prompting about the riots). 

Three quarters of the country (76%) say that far right extremism is a serious issue facing the country; 75% say that division between religions is a serious issue, and 74% say racism is a serious issue, numbers which have grown since we started tracking it in November 2023.

More than half the public (53%) now say that the country is unsafe for Muslims - a much higher number than we have ever recorded.

The public wants the police to take a tough approach to the protesters. Half of the country wants those who have committed criminal damage to get more than two years in jail, and 68% want more than a year. 42% of the country think the police have been too soft on the rioters (32% think about right, 7% think too harsh). 73% support the use of water cannons against rioters, 70% support tasers, 65% support tear gas.

How politicians and institutions are faring in their riots response 

The police and TV news companies are the only organisations or individuals who the public are more likely to think have responded well rather than badly to the riots. Overall, the government’s net performance on the riots is minus 13 points, the Prime Minister’s performance approval is at minus 5 points and the Home Secretary’s performance approval is at minus six points. 

The leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak and the leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage have more negative performance ratings at minus 14 and minus 22 respectively. The most negative score however is for social media companies at minus 45.

Public blame social media 

Not only do the public think social media companies have performed badly in response to the riots, they also see misinformation on social media as one of the key reasons for why riots and protests took place in the past week - the top reason identified by the public. 

The public also has a negative approval rating for Elon Musk of minus 30 - as unpopular as Rishi Sunak (-30), a much more unpopular than Keir Starmer (-7) or the Labour Party (-8). 

The public want social media companies to take a clear line against those using their accounts to respond using hateful language or inciting followers to attend riots. Lifetime bans command most support among the public (58% support) followed by temporary bans and shadow bans. Only 6% think that social media companies should not respond at all. 

Methodology