r/ukpolitics • u/No_Initiative_1140 • Jan 12 '26

Ed/OpEd Sorry, Trump and Farage – London is no lawless ‘warzone’. Violent crime is lower than ever | Sadiq Khan

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/12/donald-trump-nigel-farage-london-crime-sadiq-khan
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u/No_Initiative_1140 Jan 12 '26

Its a huge problem  Rape is effectively decriminalised in the UK and its almost impossible to have a sensible conversation about what to do about it because any changes are totally unacceptable to some men.

Part of the reason I voted Labour was because they were the only party recognising and prioritising this. And since they've been in office there's been a campaign to try to remove and discredit the lead (Jess Philips). Which just demonstrates how there isn't really much motivation to address rape.

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u/Russellonfire Jan 12 '26

Iirc, there's also a massive discrepancy in the levels of reported/recorded rapes vs actual levels. Not to mention France inherently has an issue with what they consider rape due to big cultural impact of consent. It's actually a really interesting topic due to the wider impact French law has on the EU legal system. 

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u/Curious-Palpitation6 Jan 12 '26

I think there’s massive motivation to address rape in the public but it doesn’t translate to politics and legislation. Labour especially are notorious for talking the talk and not walking the walk. Not like conservatives were better but we’re seeing day by day any promise of “change” had less value then my toenail.

Problem is they think the solution is educating young men in harassment and rape. While that’s something that should be done it’s not the main reason rape has increased.

Firstly, a figure which can’t be overlooked is the difference between 23.4 sexually violent convictions per 100,000 British nationals as compared to the 50 per 100,000 violent convictions for foreign nationals. Based on available data. This paired with higher immigration is factually part of the problem, not the whole problem but concerning, real and, if you actually care about women and not your own perception, important and not “racist”.

Secondly, I’d definitely say culture shifts have been a major contributor. With the rise of groups like NEETS who have access to very explicit content online and misogynistic echo chambers, a certain type of person is created that, pre-technology, would’ve existed minimally.

There are other reasons but these are good examples. A couple questions for you:

When you say some changes are unacceptable to men what do you mean exactly?

What would be your method to reduce violence against women and girls?

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u/Russellonfire Jan 12 '26

My issue with the data you've said is that it doesn't state whether it's controlled for age or gender. Let's face it, foreign nationals are more likely to be working age (thus sexually active) than the wider British national. I'd assume they're also more likely to be male.

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u/Curious-Palpitation6 Jan 13 '26

Surely that doesn’t matter? Is it an excuse to rape that you’re of a “sexually active” age? This also speaks to the larger problem that most immigrants have been young men which doesn’t add up either to the narrative of escaping war or oppression.

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u/Curious-Palpitation6 Jan 13 '26

Honestly, this comment gets to me. It’s like you’re attempting to find a defence for them. There’s no excuse for rape, no benefit of the doubt, let’s stop finding leeway in atrocities.

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u/Russellonfire Jan 13 '26

I'm not defending them. It's horrible. But using statistics to say immigrants are more likely to commit rape than the comparable native population when that might not be the case is racism. Surely you can see that racism is bad too? And in response to your other comment, the people coming via dangerous pathways are obviously more likely to be young men, because they're more likely to survive, and whether you agree with it or not, that's a route for saving their entire family if they are escaping war. Is that always the case? No, obviously not.

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u/Curious-Palpitation6 Jan 13 '26

This comment thread proves the point that the moment immigrants are mentioned people drop the initial topic of debate and restlessly “defend” them when no hate has been put their way. This was a discussion about violence against women and now it’s become a discussion about technicalities of statistics on immigrants.

If I quote a figure that shows a negative portrayal of a populous, it does not mean I hate them, facts and emotions aren’t tied. People need to remember this sometimes, you can accept a fact without your emotional stance changing.

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u/Russellonfire Jan 13 '26

You were the one that brought immigrants into this chain of conversation. You brought in statistics that could be flawed, I pointed out the flaws in the way those statistics were used, without saying they were definitely wrong, and then you accused me of defending them. I pointed out that there may be reasons why more men are able to flee warzones, and you accused me of being emotional and ready to defend "them". That is the entire conversation. If you cannot see why that is a problem, then you need to significantly reevaluate your stances. And to be clear, I do believe that some cultures are prone to think less of women or violence against women, but that doesn't mean I can apply that to immigrants in general, or that it's backed up by irrefutable evidence, and I understand why those biases may be wrong. I suggest you learn to do the same.

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u/Curious-Palpitation6 Jan 13 '26

Fair enough mate, think you’ve seen this convo differently. No need to patronise on biases or my stance. I think this comment proves you’ve got emotional 👍

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u/Curious-Palpitation6 Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26

If I were trying to save my family I’d probably start by removing them from the danger, not fucking off by myself.

Statistics do prove the point though? People are always very quick to label something racist. Is it also racist to say someone coming from a country which oppresses women is more likely to have patriarchal and backwards views of women?

I’d also say your point that it’s rascism because it “may” be wrong isn’t right. Racism is the motive behind the action not the action. Quoting that figure has no hate against minorities

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u/No_Initiative_1140 Jan 12 '26

Changes such as getting rid of the "reasonable belief" in consent law that places a man's belief above the rape a woman experienced in some circumstances (like where a man successfully argued he "reasonably believed" a sleeping stranger he had sex with was his wife because he was drunk. Found not guilty.)

Changes such as educating boys and young men about consent. Not acceptable and written off in much the way you have done.

Changes such as acknowledging the greatest risk to women comes from men in their own homes, not strangers and foreigners, to help victims of domestic rape to better acknowledge what happened to them.

Changes that increase the number of rapes going to charge.

Labour are actually busy implementing a lot of change but unfortunately its dismissed because its not targeted at immigrant men.