Former Tory PM Rishi Sunak standing on a podium with the slogan: "Stop the boats."The Conservatives have been accused of stoki anti-migrant rhetoric – now used by the far-right extremists – after one of their more provocative election campaign videos resurfaced.
A wave of unrest has rocked the UK in the last week, fuelled by social media misinformation over the Southport stabbings.
False claims that the suspect was an asylum seeker acted as a catalyst for the far-right groups, who then began rioting all over the country.
As the government continues to grapple with this emerging crisis and minorities grow increasingly fearful of persecution, people are looking for an explanation for this sudden explosion of violence.
Many are pointing the finger at the Conservatives and their divisive rhetoric towards the migrant crisis.
The Tories ramped up their core messaging during their six-week election campaign only earlier this summer.
They claimed Labour would allow even more migrants to arrive via small boats, because they were scrapping the supposed deterrent of the Rwanda deportation scheme.
One Conservative campaign video in particular, released on X on June 20, shows a red carpet and a large “Welcome” sign on a British beach ahead of the arrival of a migrant boat.
The caption reads: “Don’t wake up to this on 5th July.”
Don't wake up to this on 5th July. pic.twitter.com/SQ4m71dqyZ
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) June 20, 2024
And, after a week of riots, people on social media began to pull out these clips from June – and subsequently blamed the Tories for sending such a message.
I wonder what kind of political environment could have emboldened these morons to attempt to burn down hotels full of asylum seekers. https://t.co/tD8qZ0J1KU
— HENRY MORRIS (@mrhenrymorris) August 5, 2024
Remember who did this https://t.co/dyniKBbbQ5
— Harry Gray (@H_H_Gray) August 5, 2024
Rioters now screaming ‘get out of our country’, ‘Go back to where you came from’ to anyone that is black or brown… Setting fire to hotels with asylum seekers in, and some setting up race checkpoints.
— KWAJO- Social Issues Campaigner (@Kwajotweneboa) August 5, 2024
Let’s not forget the way in which political parties ran their election… https://t.co/4eqspCfxj0
This is far from the only provocative, anti-migrant moment from the Tories in recent years.
Tory shadow cabinet minister Lord Byron Davies claimed the anti-immigration riots are “politically justified” only earlier this week, before later apologising.
Former Tory home secretary Suella Braverman once referred to the arrival of asylum seekers to British shores as an “invasion”, said it was her “dream” to see the plane deporting migrants to Africa and claimed multiculturalism in the UK had failed.
Meanwhile, former PM Rishi Sunak made “stopping the small boats” one of his five priorities for leading the country.
That slogan has now become one of those used by the far-right during their violence demonstrations, according to the Hope Not Hate charity.
