So much for the "summer of rage"

AS THE late September sunshine gives way to the darkening nights and the chilly autumn winds, it seems a good time to reflect.

Back in February, there were dire warnings from the police of mass protests from the general public in a "summer of rage" faced with a deepening recession.

Superintendent David Hartshorn wrote in the Guardian that established activists "would be good at motivating people" who would not normally protest.

Supt Hartshorn added: "Obviously the downturn in the economy, unemployment, repossessions changes that... Suddenly there is the opportunity to for people to mass protest.

"We've got G20 coming and I think that is being advertised on some of the sites as the highlight of what they see as a 'summer of rage'."

But, if nothing else, the aftermath of the G20 meeting in April centred on the tactics of the police, not the protestors.

While there were undoubtedly a few numpties in the crowd, who put out a window and looted the Royal Bank of Scotland, the decision of the police to employ kettling tactics on a 'peace camp' was rightly condemned for being excessive.

Worse followed in the days which followed after footage emerged of an apparently innocent man, Ian Tomlinson, being knocked to the ground by an officer. He died of a heart attack.

There was also video footage of officers failing to display ID numbers on their uniform, despite this being a requirement under Met Police rules.

Just a few weeks after the G20 controversy, the MPs were then involved in a huge scandal regarding their expenses.

The story unfolded in daily instalments, brought to us by the Daily Telegraph.

While the vast majority of us suspected that politicians were bending the rules as much as they could, I am sure I was not alone in being stunned by the extent of their cheek.

Flipping homes, avoiding Capital Gains Tax, and claiming for anything from swimming pools and moats to trouser presses, dog food and - of course - soft-core pornography. It was quite astonishing stuff.

But, again, the public response was markedly restrained.

There were some letters from disgusted of Tunbridge Wells in the newspapers and a kicking at the ballot box for the major parties in the European elections which caused a chaotic reshuffle in the government.

But nothing more than that - it would seem that the mass unemployed, now at 2.47 million, have largely suffered in silence.

For the rest of the summer, there have been the traditional moans about exams getting easier and MPs having too much time off - nothing out of the ordinary, though.

If anything, the police warnings in February just go to show how easy it is nowadays to put out a scaremongering story in the current society.