For a few hours on Wednesday evening, tension pulsed through Britain’s streets. Shops and businesses closed early in dozens of cities and towns, boarding up their storefronts and getting out. Police descended on high streets and residential roads, and locals showed up too, ready for the worst. But then the counter-protests started. Anti-racism rallies stole back the narrative and kept away far-right antagonists, and a nervous country breathed a huge sigh of relief after a night that could have felt very different. Wednesday felt like a turning point after a string of violence that had put a country on edge and thrown its new government into a sudden crisis. Large crowds gathered at an anti-racism protest in Walthamstow on Wednesday, where far-right violence had been expected.Reuters But the government says it remains on high alert for more unrest this weekend. The fury simmering in a subset of White Britain remains…
