Sheffield leaders condemn ‘far-right hate’ violent disorder – but praise city response
Sheffield Council leaders condemned the “far-right hate” that hit the country and resulted in a week-long violent disorder at the beginning of the month.
At a strategy and resources policy committee meeting at Sheffield Town Hall, Cllr Tom Hunt said that what “we saw was racist and Islamophobic” and “it was an attack on what we stand for as a city” in Sheffield.
In a statement he read out before the meeting, he added: “I utterly condemn those who tried to divide us by targeting asylum seekers, Muslims and minority communities and I condemn everyone who engaged in criminal acts of violence and hate on our streets and online.”
Cllr Hunt also added that he was proud of the response from the people of Sheffield and thanked everyone who rejected racism and hate to “show that it has no place in our city”.
He also thanked staff at the council, partners in the voluntary, community, social enterprise and faith community, as well as South Yorkshire Police and the criminal justice system.
The council leader told the members that the city could be proud but there was no place for complacency.
He said: “People are still fearful and there is much to do to work with our partners to strengthen and develop community cohesion in our city.
“We will continue to celebrate our diversity and to stand firm against all forms of racism and Islamophobia, discrimination, and violence.
“We must work in partnership with the voluntary, community and faith sector, the police, health organisations and with the government to engage with communities, promote unity, bring people together and ensure that Sheffield remains a welcoming city. ”
It comes as the Green Party submitted a motion to the next full meeting of Sheffield City Council on Wednesday (September 4) saying “divisive rhetoric” by politicians fuelled the recent racist violence.
At the strategy and resources policy committee meeting, Liberal Democrat Cllr Kurtis Crossland said “the country has rightly been appalled and outraged at the despicable actions of a tiny minority who rioted and carried out racist and Islamophobic attacks”.
He added: “Thugs, riots and racism will never triumph in this country. It is heartwarming to see so many people of all backgrounds and all walks of life standing peacefully together in solidarity against racism, Islamophobia and violence.”
Cllr Crossland thanked the police as well who, as he said, “put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities, our friends, and our families safe.”
He finished by saying: “People from all backgrounds and all walks of life have come together to condemn these riots and clean up the damage.
“It is they who truly represent Britain. They are the best of Britain and we should all thank them.”
The third speaker was Cllr Douglas Johnson from the Green Party who said the behaviour that “we saw was so disrespectful, so upsetting and caused fear and terror across our communities”.
He added it was a real test for the people of Sheffield “to stand up against those values of violence, intimidation, hurt that we saw”.
Cllr Johnson said: “And people did stand up for that.”
He said he knows that those turning up at “the anticipated far-right demonstrations” later on went there worried knowing anything could happen.
Cllr Johnson said he had experience attending demonstrations and normally they “don’t go there thinking, actually, things could go violent”.
He said: “We are used to peaceful demonstrations in this city.”
He said the anticipated so-called far-right demonstration had not happened and the people of Sheffield prevailed.
Cllr Johnson brought up what austerity did to communities and added people in South Yorkshire have been left behind, “socially excluded”.
He criticised mainstream politicians and mainstream newspapers for their part in singling out vulnerable communities.
“That is disgraceful”, Cllr Johnson said.
Cllr Dianne Hurst from the Sheffield Community Councillors Group said Sheffield was “rightly proud” to be the first city of asylum and to have developed a multicultural society.
She said what had happened showed leaders that they cannot stop in building “a genuine, multicultural, supportive society where one can thrive”.