What we’ve witnessed in the past few days in Ballymena and across parts of Northern Ireland is horrifying - mobs appearing to torch homes, destroy community centres, and boastfully pose across social media.
There is no justification for this. Violence is wrong, whatever the grievance. But if we really want to stop this chaos, we have to ask: why are so many people this angry in the first place?
There is an ever increasing chasm between electors and the elected; the people and the politicians who are supposed to represent them.
Many voters feel ignored, dismissed, and misled - not just by individuals, but by an entire system.
Jacob Rees-Mogg
GB NEWS
When someone like Rachel Reeves is seen to be dishonest, it only deepens that sense of betrayal.
When taxes and the cost of basic necessities go up, yet quality of life goes down; people repeatedly ask for immigration to be cut, and yet it continues to rise, those same people feel less and less as though the powers that be care or take their wishes seriously. So what are the political consequences?
Into that vacuum of trust steps Nigel Farage and Reform, amongst others promising straight talk and real change.
People want to be heard. They want the truth. They want leaders who are close enough to the ground to understand what’s happening in their own communities — like rising crime, like children walking into shops and stealing with no consequences, like the erosion of law and order that makes people feel like no one’s in control.
And let’s not ignore what’s happened to young people. This is a generation who were locked in their homes away from basic socialisation during formative years because of the pandemic: isolated, anxious.
These were the decisions of politicians, and society is paying the price.
Meanwhile, politicians make grand promises, but rarely seem to listen. That distance between electors and the elected has become a breeding ground for distrust.
And distrust, left unchecked, becomes anger. That anger is now being exploited by the worst elements of society, stoking fear, pushing hate, and turning young people into foot soldiers for chaos.
None of this excuses what’s happening on the streets of Ballymena, but we do have to understand what is happening.
Politicians need to be honest. They need to tell the truth, even when it's hard. And they need to stop talking at voters and start listening to them.
Because if that divide keeps growing, we’re going to see more unrest, more fear, and more communities ripped apart; not just in Northern Ireland, but across the UK.
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