The violence was shocking but not surprising: Britain’s economy makes it ripe for far-right thuggery | Larry Elliott

Labour is right to get tough with rioters. But that won't solve the deep-seated problems stoking the disorder

Rachel Reeves has been in the US this week trying to lure investment into the UK. Good luck with that, chancellor. With racist riots occurring nightly, it is perhaps not the best time to be declaring that Britain is open for business.

Rather, the message likely to be picked up on the other side of the Atlantic is that Britain is awash with thuggery, that xenophobia is rampant and that the country's economy is broken. The government seems to have been taken by surprise by the far-right violence.

Larry Elliott is the Guardian's economics editor

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