A paper released on the first anniversary of the Southport attack called for a tax on online sales to revive community spaces – as closures mean people are often isolated and alone
Closures of pubs and youth centres created a ‘tinderbox’ for the far-right to exploit online, an alarming study has found.
Experts have called for internet giants like Amazon to be hit with a tax hike to help revive high streets and community spaces. A paper published on the first anniversary of the sickening Southport murders says the loss of leisure centres, social clubs and sports facilities has led to more division as people become isolated.
As a result they spend more time online and alone, and more vulnerable to fearmongers and liars, think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found. The document found this was the case in Southport, where the pier shut in 2022. Far-right groups capitalised on Southport’s “disrepair” to sow the seeds of violence, the paper says.
Hundreds were arrested as violence broke out across the country in the days following the murder of three young girls, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine.
Thugs took to the streets, targeting mosques and asylum hotels and clashing with police after lies about the attack spread. The paper suggests a new Welfare Fund – with retailers paying a 2% levy on online sales, or a warehouse tax on firms like Amazon – could help revive high streets.
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Dr Sacha Hilhorst, author of the discussion paper, said: “The Southport riots were a wake-up call – a stark reminder of what can happen when communities lose the places that once brought people together. In the absence of shared spaces, misinformation and hate can fill the void, creating tinderbox conditions for violence.
“Rebuilding local infrastructure isn’t just about nostalgia – it’s a vital bulwark against division and the dangerous pull of the far right.”
It is estimated that 50 pubs close for good in the UK every month, while around 600 youth clubs shut between 2012 and 2016. Just one in 40 Britons are now part of a social club, the IPPR analysis found – down from one in 10 in the early 2000s.
Dr Parth Patel, associate director at the IPPR, said: “The far right is exploiting the void where solidarity used to live – they capitalised on Southport’s disrepair to sow disorder. If we’re serious about social renewal, we must rebuild the civic infrastructure that once helped people support each other and shape their communities.”
In June the Government pledged £5million to redevelop Southport’s Town Hall Gardens in memory of the victims of the attack. Evil Axel Rudakubana, who was known to security services before the vicious killings, left eight children and two adults seriously injured.
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