There was a certain inevitability about what happened in Dover on Saturday. Several hundred protesters, many masked, blocked roads around the port, traffic backed up, the police arrived and engaged with them and, after a few hours, everyone went home. No arrests were made. The immediate temptation is to treat this as another example of the disruptive protest which has become familiar in Britain over the past decade, except this time coming from the Right rather than the Left. There is some truth in that, although it misses the more interesting point. What happened at Dover was a reaction, in both senses of that rather unfashionable word, and it has been a very long time coming.
The Lesson of Dover: When the Establishment Teaches Disruption, It Shouldn’t Be Surprised Who Learns
