Normally, you have a bunch of grievances that get ignored, the true “will of the people,” and what is a basic human desire for some freedom and self determinism.
It’s normally a bunch of issues over a longer time which build up the firewood to make a really big fire.
Then comes the spark, some event which in all reality by itself isn’t even that big of a deal (sorry to say it that way, but it’s true), but with the backdrop of all these other grievances becomes the spark which sets off a fire.
The last thing you want to do now if you’re the PM is to be heavy handed and go after people who in reality have broad support across much of society and already feel like they are getting shat upon. That is pouring gasoline on that fire.
Rishi Sunak is the luckiest man in the world. If I were him, I'll move to California. The UK is a mess. He's rich so he can live the good life in the Bay Area. He was the PM only a month ago.