Will the far right riots fizzle out after 'the night that wasn't'?

In brief…

• Wednesday night was expected to be one of the most violent we have seen amid the rioting so far.
• Lewis Goodall headed to Blackpool to cover another night of anticipated chaos, but like dozens of other locations across Britain, the anti-immigration demonstration failed to materialise into anything major
• It was no thanks to tens of thousands of counter protesters coming out in force in many towns and cities, warnings of “swift justice” from the government and police chiefs, and a strong police presence. But there could be more disorder to come…say The News Agents.

What happened on Wednesday night?

Lewis Goodall describes it as the “night that wasn’t”. Speaking on The News Agents, he says: “We had anticipated, partly through the interception of lots of telegram chats, these very well sign posted lists of events that were supposed to take place, perhaps as many as 100-strong across the country.”

With this anticipation in mind, Lewis headed to Blackpool to cover an expected night of more violent rioting.

At first, it looked like it could have been more of the same. There was a group of about 50 or 60 people, some who brought children as young as 11 or 12.

Locals were standing on their balconies waiting to see what happened.

“We all just said the same thing - this is going to kick off. There was this kind of atmosphere… it was so nervy, so tense.” But then, a police van came by, about a dozen officers got out and instantly took one of the ringleaders who had been “goading” the police to the floor.

“It felt really dramatic really quickly. And we thought, right, let's get over there. Us and the rest of the press ran over there. And then really weirdly, it just sort of fizzled,” Lewis explains.

“They just took over a roundabout, and that was it.

“It was a really weird evening. It felt almost as if they had gone up to the edge, and yet all of the people there decided to step back from it, for whatever reason.”

Blackpool turned out to be one of dozens of planned anti-immigration demonstrations that failed to materialise.

Around 25,000 counter-protesters flocked to Walthamstow, North Finchley, Brighton, Bristol, Sheffield and elsewhere in a huge show of force against far-right rioters. 

“In Brighton, which is a very progressive city, it ended up that the police had to protect the far right,” Jon commented. 

“In Walthamstow, a very multiracial area in northeast London, where it was thought it would kick off, there were so many people out on the streets that the far right just didn't turn up. And you think, well, that's a victory for society and people coming together and a sense of community.”

Who or what is responsible for the descelation?

Met Police chief Mark Rowley hailed Wednesday as a “very successful night” and put the quashed violence partially down to a strong police presence.

The government reportedly put 6,000 specialist officers on standby to crush any potential rioting.

Rowley said: “We put thousands of officers on the street and I think the show of force from the police and frankly the show of unity from communities, together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen".

But he points out that it was not just down to ordinary Britons taking action.

For Jon, the warnings of “swift justice” for the culprits had a major part to play.

Jon adds: “It was also the effect of the very disciplined messaging that we'd had from the government and from the police chiefs around the country saying ‘if you're here to cause trouble, we're going to come down on you like a ton of bricks.”

Police continue to arrest thugs who have taken part in the violent disorder, with nearly 500 made so far .

Is there more to come? 

There may well be, says Lewis Goodall. But he notes that out of the hundreds of rioters who have been arrested so far, some of the “most bawdy, most aggressive, most cantankerous characters” who have been at the forefront of the violence are now off our streets. 

Without them as “kind of leaders of the movement”, Lewis says it is “harder to keep coalescing around something”. 

He adds: “There is only so much energy they have. One of the great misnomers or myths about this is that a lot of these guys are motivated by some great, deep sense of politics.

A lot of them aren't. A lot of them are just looking for a punch up.”

That doesn’t mean there won’t be further surges of violence to come, Lewis notes.

And indeed, police are warning that we are not out of the woods just yet. 

In fact, fears are mounting that further violence could break out this weekend, with thugs allegedly planning to target areas across Newcastle, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham and other parts of the country.

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents on Global Player.