Illegitimate Concerns: Andy Burnham's Non-Response to the Thetford Pogrom Is His First Big Failure

Whilst happy to opine on 'vertical drinking' and whether bread rolls should be called 'barms', our new PM has had nothing to say about three days of horrific racist violence on our streets

The biggest failure of Keir Starmer’s premiership was his refusal to effectively take on the rise of the far right across the UK.

Andy Burnham now risks repeating that same failure.

In the past few days a large violent racist mob has taken to the streets of Thetford, Norfolk, where they have attempted to drag migrants and refugees from their homes, whilst calling for them to “have their f**king heads chopped off”.

At the same time, journalists attempting to report on the violence have been bombarded with rocks, whilst police seeking to stop them have been attacked and bitten.

Now you might expect that three nights of such unimaginable horror, taking place on mainland Britain in 2026 would have elicited a serious and punitive response from our Government and all of the main opposition parties.

If so, you will be disappointed.