The 2024 riots following the Southport stabbing were a sign of things to come. At the time, we said that the situation in post-industrial, post-Brexit, run-down Britain was like "a tinderbox which only takes a spark to set it on fire". In 2025 we saw sporadic protests continue, particularly outside hotels housing asylum seekers, like the one in Epping. In June 2026, the murder of Henry Nowak, the misguided response of the police, and a sustained far-right media campaign to capitalise on it, led to clashes in Southampton.