The St Paul's Riot

THE ST PAUL'S RIOT

Following their victory in the 1979 General Election, the Conservative Party had vigorously set out on its mission to not only save Western Europe from the threat of Russian communism but to save Britain from itself. Thatcher viewed the post-Second World War years as an experiment in democratic socialism that had failed miserably, resulting in the UK being seen as 'the sick man of Europe' and its residents as being lazy, welfare State-dependent, and in thrall to the Unions. The cure for this 'British disease' was the implementation of the free enterprise economy where money to the public sector would be slashed whilst giving the private sector free rein to capitalise, profit and exploit. Gas and electricity prices were immediately increased along with prescription charges as the process of privatisation, Trade Union reform and property ownership was put into action.

Whilst promising to roll back the power of the State, pay increases for the police and the army were immediately implemented, thus increasing and ensuring its strength. Whilst promising to cut taxes and increase jobs, unemployment rose to an estimated two million mark. And whilst promising peace, the chance of war was increased dramatically by giving the go-ahead for America to site Cruise missiles on British soil.

Life in Britain was already ugly but was quickly becoming uglier and nowhere was this more pronounced than in the inner cities and out on the council estates where the brunt of the Conservative's economic policies were being felt, particularly by those already disadvantaged. Whole communities were rapidly becoming surplus to requirement, causing many to reject the system that was rejecting them. The first real signal of a growing anger and resentment being felt within these communities came in April of 1980 when a full-scale riot exploded on the streets of St Paul's in Bristol, sparked by what at the time was viewed as a so-called routine police raid on a local café.

The Black and White Café in Grosvenor Road, St Paul's, had been raided many times before by the police in searches for drugs and the illegal selling and consumption of alcohol but on this particular occasion a large crowd gathered to watch. Having arrested the café owner and loaded quantities of alcohol into a police van, bottles and stones started to be thrown from the gathering crowd at the police, prompted by plain-clothes police openly displaying to the crowd some bags of weed they were confiscating. As the police van drove away followed on foot by other officers clutching even more cans of confiscated alcohol, remaining officers took refuge inside the café and radioed for back-up.

Reinforcements duly arrived, marching upon the café in a military-style column but this attempted show of strength, rather than causing the crowd to disperse simply served to provoke it, causing even more missiles to be thrown.

The riot had begun.

Police officers were pelted with stones and chased off by the growing crowd, whilst abandoned police cars were overturned and set on fire. Sporadic but selective looting of various shops and businesses erupted including most notably a branch of Lloyd’s bank that was attacked, broken into and set alight. So sudden and all out was the assault upon the police that the Chief Constable in charge, seeing that even his dog handlers were failing to have any impact and fearing for the safety of his men, decided to completely withdraw all police from the area to await further reinforcements from neighbouring police forces.

By retreating like this, the police were conceding defeat and for them - at least until later that night when they returned with massive reinforcements, including a firearms team - St Paul's had become a no-go area. The police had lost their position of authority and now it was the crowd that was in control. The St Paul's mob was in power.

For years, St Paul's and other similar communities throughout the country - under both Labour and Conservative governments - had been made to feel useless, worthless and undesirable. Whole communities had been thrown upon the scrap heap and held there through inequality and lack of opportunity. If resident within any of these communities there was more than enough reason to be angry and what better way of venting anger than by attacking authority? The police, in inner city and on council estate alike being the most obvious, visible face of authority.

While politicians shook their heads in disbelief, wondering how such a thing as the St Paul's riot could happen, more pertinent questions went unasked and unanswered: If the police were meant to be serving and protecting a community but that community was rejecting them, what then was their role? Who were they actually serving? What were they actually protecting?

St Paul's was sending out a message and setting an example. In total, 22 police officers were injured that day and 21 police vehicles severely damaged, six being burned and destroyed. Along with a Lloyd's bank.

A way of saying 'No' had been found and St Paul's was saying it very loudly.

Riot was a weapon held by all that the police were afraid of. Riot was an expression of inarticulate rage. A tool at everyone's disposal. Riot for the hell of it and riot as a means to an end.

People in similar circumstances everywhere heard, saw and understood that if St Paul's could do it - then so could they.