With cars being torched and mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers under attack, the riots that swept Britain over the past two weeks have posed the first direct challenge to the new prime minister, Keir Starmer. But even if the violence has subsided, for now, at least, the shocking scenes of disorder have underscored the scale of the task facing his government. That, analysts say, includes defusing tensions stoked successfully by far-right groups — over immigration and fraying public services — particularly in areas of Britain that have long been in economic decline. While opinion polls show the public clearly supports Mr. Starmer’s crackdown on violent protesters, “a lot of those people who see the rioters as thugs want immigration brought down,” said Steven Fielding, an emeritus professor of political history at the University of Nottingham.

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Persons: Keir Starmer, Starmer’s, ”, Steven Fielding Organizations: University of Nottingham Locations: Britain