Middlesbrough MP Says "Rampant Inequality" Opened The Way For Violent Riots

The Labour MP for Middlesbrough has said that a legacy of “rampant inequality” opened the way for “terrible behaviours and abuse” to take hold in Teesside.

In the past week, hundreds of rioters have violently clashed with the police, shouted racist and threatening slurs, and damaged vehicles and property across the UK. Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire was one of the worst affected towns, where dozens of people were arrested and one video showed rioters blocking traffic to check if drivers were white or English before letting them pass through.

Andy McDonald, Labour MP for Middlesbrough since 2012, told PoliticsHome that the government and police would first have to “deal with what’s in front of them” and make those who engaged in criminal behaviour face the “full force of the law”.

However, going forward, McDonald said it was an “urgent” task to “turn around” the country and address deep inequalities, otherwise “manifestations” of violence in areas like Teesside could multiply.

“Over these years of rampant inequality, our public services have been so appallingly resourced that it leaves the way open to terrible behaviours and abuse,” he said.

“And this was such an opportunity, an excuse for those who know about just how weakened we've been over these years to really indulge themselves.”

He argued that the way frontline emergency services of fire and police are funded across the country is “grossly unfair”.

“We have a police and fire service that is stretched to the limit in one of the most dangerous environments, and yet we're the most poorly resourced, as well as Tyneside and Merseyside – now that tells you everything you need to know,” he said.

“These things do not happen in a vacuum, and if you do not resource your public