As I live in the south west of England, I feel I'm in a good position to speak about the events that took place in Bristol (which is the biggest city in the South West).
First of all, it's important to note that Bristol is a left leaning city. It's a labour stronghold. It's a city that has one of the biggest universities in the UK. Jeremy Corbyn was a popular figure in Bristol, Greta is a popular figure in Bristol - in fact Greta graced the city of Bristol with her presence not too long ago (she was welcomed with open arms).
Bristol is the home of Banksy and various gifted graffiti artists... It has a lot of gentrified communities... It has art, it has music, it has festivals galore, it has street food and pop up markets, it has highly opinionated people (feminists, environmentalists, vegetarians etc). It is quite multi cultural and is a bit of a mixing pot. In short, it's the main hub of the south west.
A few controversial points in the city are to do with its honouring of some of its past patrons who were slave owners. This has been a running issue in Bristol for years from what I gather.
From 1999
Mark Rowe is both fascinated and horrified by what he learns from following Bristol's slave-trade trail
www.independent.co.uk
What I'm trying to say is that it was only a matter of time before statues were taken down or buildings renamed - it was inevitable given the nature of the city and its alignment with activism of all sorts.
I know people who went to the protest on Sunday and from their social media feeds and from talking to them, it was a typical Bristol protest i.e. an excuse for people to get out and be activists. From the few protests I've witnessed personally in that city, they tend to have a festival type vibe to them, especially if the sun is shining.
For example, here are 2 photos I took last year from the extinction rebellion protests I happened to see whilst in the city for work.
As you can see, more 'festival like' than anything else - this is pretty much how that city operates!
Bringing it back to this whole George Floyd thing, I highly doubt the City would descend to the sort of anarchism we've seen in America or London.
Today they protest this, tomorrow they'll be protesting something else.
Protest is in the DNA of the city.
As such I wouldn't read too much into them - like trying to find a deeper meaning or something like that - there really isn't much of that to be found. All these is just an excuse for people to virtue signal and have a good time whilst doing it.
The cops even know this and that is why confrontations between police officers and protestors here are virtually non existent.
Having said all the above, right wing protests are definitely not allowed in Bristol. Those get driven out of the city pretty quickly.