'Nigel Farage didn't cause the riots - but he can surely help settle them,' says Ben Habib

Has political discourse become so dumbed down that people really might think Nigel whipped up all that violence by asking a few questions, albeit provocative ones, on X?

The offending questions came in a one-minute clip he posted on July 30.

At the heart of the questions was the suggestion the truth about the motivations and identities of those who stabbed the poor girls in Southport and the army officer in Kent might be being withheld from the public.

Should Nigel have asked those questions? Frankly, it is irrelevant that he did so.

No right-minded individual would go on a violent rampage because Nigel asked a few questions.

Needless to say (though we are all now obliged by the thought police to state the bleeding obvious), I do not endorse in any way the violence which followed those horrendous stabbings.

But Nigel did not cause them.

Their root causes are born out of economic hardship and the apparent link between this and the rampant immigration to which the country has been subjected for years.

People are not stupid.

They can see the importation of cheap labour has undermined wage growth. They know there is a cost in housing, educating and caring for the millions of people who have come to the country.

They can make the link between NHS waiting lists and the rapidly growing population – all imported.

Their own inability to gain social housing is worsened by more people in the queue.

And they can see the cultural silos that have been created by rampant immigration. These cultural silos are deeply dangerous for all concerned: for those in them and those outside.

No effort has been made for integration.

Instead, their cultures have been celebrated and championed ahead of British culture. It has become so bad that people even challenge what it means to be British.

Our language and history are attacked to make foreign cultures more at home in the country.

Those of us who have a voice, like Nigel, are privileged. With that privilege comes the responsibility of being brave. No one can fault Nigel on that front. He is brilliant and brave in identifying problems and calling them out.

What we must also do is clearly set out the root causes of these problems and offer up practical solutions without inflaming matters.

Essentially there are three things which must be done, as a minimum prerequisite, to settle the country. Slash immigration, ditch progressive discrimination and integrate those who have settled in the United Kingdom.

Reform UK has policies to address all of this. I know because I helped write them.

The leadership of the Party must relentlessly drive home these policies.

I hear a lot about slashing immigration but not much about abolishing progressive discrimination and the need for integration.

All three must be promoted in tandem.

It is not good enough only to demand a reduction in immigration.

The cultural silos to which I refer above have been created by positive discrimination in favour of minority cultures.

As has the promotion of minorities into jobs ahead of the white majority in the country.

The regulatory framework used for this positive discrimination is the endemic practice of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion.

DEI makes a virtue of discriminating against the white majority in the UK. It is divisive, prejudiced and economically damaging. It must be cancelled.

Everyone is equal. We at Reform must drive that message home.

Interestingly, it was Coutts’ practice of DEI that encouraged them to cancel Nigel’s bank account.

They concluded Nigel’s views were not consistent with their own.

Their attitude had nothing to do with Nigel being a politically exposed person.

To the uninitiated, it may be surprising that one of the root causes of the riots was also a root cause for Nigel being booted out of Coutts.

As politicians it is our job to join these dots and advocate proper solutions. No, Nigel did not cause the riots. But he can surely help settle them.