However, I will endeavour to create a balanced account. I invite you to be the judge.

First of all, I don't think I can recall a time when there was more pent-up anger than there currently is over here in the UK. It seems rife these days, especially in urban settings. We’ve become a pretty grumpy, ill-mannered lot. You can barely put a foot out of line without encountering tyrades of verbal abuse. Even a minor motoring misdemeanor can result in a fellow citizen becoming disproportionately and dramatically incensed. Seemingly perfectly reasonable people are losing it over the slightest things.

So much for ye olde “British values”. We're a far cry from the mild mannered, well spoken British folk of yesteryear. Perhaps it’s because too many of us live in too close proximity. There's not as much by way of personal space available and people are consequently a lot more reactionary.

That aside, I haven't quite managed to work out when, precisely, this current spate of underlying anger came into such ubiquitous prominence. I seem to veer towards the theory that it might have bubbled over during the divisive Brexit campaign?

OK, people could be pretty angry creatures before all of that but Brexit (as well as the Hillary vs Donald campaign) seem to have normalised vitriol. There seems to be little by way of sensible and dispassionate discourse going on these days without there being a large dollop of vitriol thrown into the mix. It seems that we can be ridiculed for something as trivial as eating meat or choosing to go vegan. Things that used to be personal choices are now the subject of thorny debates.

You might recall a time when elections and referenda used to be a sort of necessary drudge. We’d endure the tiresome campaigns but nevertheless dutifully plod our way to the nearest polling station, often through the murk and the mist to do what we had to do and hope (against hope) that our life choices might somehow lead to some form of national betterment. Everyone accepted that for five years following a General Election, what would be would be. If, collectively, we didn't approve of how those we elected into office performed, we’d get the chance to vote them out again in due course.

Of course, Brexit wasn't supposed to be the sort of decision that could be reversed by five-yearly ballots. In reality, the effects of Brexit would be far more permanent. Perhaps this factor is what instilled such passions on both sides of the political coin? Everyone knew that whatever decision was made, we'd be stuck with it.

The Brexit campaign and its aftermath brought about unprecedented scenes never before witnessed in British politics. There was little desire amidst the remain camp to give up their European passports and identity. Equally, there was certainly no room for compromise on the leave side either. Hence, the UK faced a divisive four year political stalemate which came complete with all the venom and vitriol of the preceding campaign. This venom permeated through society. Life-long friendships ended, families fell out at the dinner table as Mount Brexit spewed its super heated discourse, engulfing all in its path and changing the political landscape forever.

So, it must be fair to suggest that millions of voters felt disenfranchised after the Brexit debacle. But, in all elections there are winners and there are losers. That's just the nature of the beast. Brexit appeared on the ballot paper as a binary choice. Remain or Leave. Middle ground was difficult to find despite the pleas of the remain camp.

It's difficult to apportion responsibility for the current violence and unrest purely on the politics and the subsequent shortcomings of Project Brexit. If we stand back and grant ourselves a little bit of artistic perspective, I can certainly see that there may well be “causes and effects” stemming directly from the immigration side of the Brexit debate. It does seem extremely odd that immigrant numbers have actually grown since the UK left the EU - rather than being somehow curtailed.

I think it's reasonable to accept that large scale post Brexit inward migration has played a huge role in fostering disquietude. This factor has definitely led to protests and violence. There's absolutely no doubt that mass immigration has been a catalyst in the smoldering tinderbox of post Brexit Britain. Being in any sort of denial of this purely in order to foster certain narratives (in preference to facing the cold, hard facts) is a non-option. It's even dangerous. An angry looking rash needs treatment, otherwise there's a risk it might spread.

Treating this rash needs to be done forensically. It can't be simply blamed on last night's curry. It’s all too easy to play the petty blame game whilst inanely ignoring the hoofing great elephant in the room.

Inward migration is all well and good when everyone is doing OK. But to see the numbers increasing as they have been during more austere times is definitely an issue for many people.

Most British people absolutely accept that the current immigrant workforce is an essential component of our modern economy. We all appreciate the diversity these people bring. We see how the NHS, the care sector and hospitality relies on the resourcefulness and skill of overseas workers.

However, massive numbers of new arrivals (greater than the entire population of Coventry arriving each year) won't make life any easier for the likes of the NHS. Even migrants don't have access to the fountain of eternal youth. None have imbibed its magical elixir, so there’s little doubt that one day an already beleaguered health service will eventually snap under such unprecedented stresses. It's a time bomb.

When migrant numbers are cited in political debates, we only hear of current numbers. Somehow we can muddle through and cope with those. But what I think people fear is the unknown. How many are waiting to follow if the UK gives out the signal that it's a soft touch?

There’s already a well documented UK housing crisis. The struggle to provide affordable housing for all is something that exists right here and now. Labour’s pledge of 1.5 million new dwellings in 5 years won't even scratch the surface. If current trends prevail, the UK population will have grown by another four million in five years - and that's by immigration alone.

Local councils, such as Peterborough, recently bought up over 40 new properties specifically to be used by Afghan and Ukrainian refugees. Whilst these beleaguered people clearly need our help, this willingness to help anyone other than them has been seen as grossly unfair by local people who have often been on the waiting list for housing for many years. The notion that British taxpayer resources are being used to prioritise foreign nationals whilst the needs of those who have actually paid the taxes are put on the back burner hasn't proved popular to say the least.

Much needs to be sorted. Hoping it all melts away won't butter the parsnips this time around.

Author

Douglas Hughes is a UK-based writer producing general interest articles ranging from travel pieces to classic motoring. 

Douglas Hughes