THE last word is never uttered on the vexed question of policing in 21st-century Britain.
We have a long history of riots, disturbances, insurrections and demonstrations in which the public discussion is continually diverted from the substantive issues at stake the repeal of the Corn Laws, the demand for a People’s Charter of democratic rights, the right to strike, the right to a job, against nuclear weapons and imperialist wars, against the imposition of the poll tax, anger at deaths in the hands of the police and so on.
The temper of the crowd and the tactical disposition of the police are always factors in determining what happens on the day while the attempt by authority always buttressed by an obedient and servile media to frame the principal issue as one of public order is always present.
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