Former Tory Home Secretary Sajid Javid has warned the UK is ‘sitting on a tinderbox of disconnection and division’ as a new report says tensions from last summer remain unaddressed
The UK is a “powder keg” at risk of more violence like the riots that broke out last summer, an alarming report published today(TUE) warns.
A “doom loop” of inaction and lack of social contact has left the UK deeply divided and mistrustful, researchers found. Former Tory Home Secretary Sir Sajid Javid said the UK is “sitting on a tinderbox of disconnection and division”.
The report, The State of Us, found the mismanagement of immigration, the cost of living and online extremism – alongside growing mistrust in government and rising equality – cannot be ignored. It said that a year on from the violence last summer, fuelled by misinformation about the Southport murders, these issues remain unaddressed.
Jake Puddle, senior researcher at British Future, who led the research, said: “We are facing a long, hot summer, with a powder keg of tensions left largely unaddressed from last year that could easily ignite once again. People are unhappy about their standard of living and the state of their local area, and don’t trust politicians to sort it out.”
The document warns that too little has been done to bring communities together. In a stark foreward to the report, Sir Sajid and former Labour MP John Cruddas wrote: “These forces are converging into something altogether more dangerous – leaving the UK sitting on a tinderbox of disconnection and division.”
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The report found that 15million people say they never or rarely meet people from different backgrounds. A further 30% say they do not meet people in their local communities.
Mr Puddle said: “Public concerns about immigration and asylum can also be a flashpoint. That’s only made worse when people have little contact with new arrivals, where public voices exacerbate division, and where governments fail to support or consult communities in their plans for asylum accommodation.”
People are more exposed to online hatred through social media, the report stated. Last year violent thugs attacked hotels housing asylum seekers as unrest spread across the country following the murder of three young girls in Southport.
The report states: “The visible lack of control in the Channel, along with tensions around accommodation sites and a highly polarised political debate, has contributed to more negative views on asylum. This is exacerbated by a heated media and online debate, along with limited opportunities for people to meet and interact with new arrivals.”
Sir Sajid and Mr Cruddas said there is hope, however – saying the UK’s local pride and commitment to fairness makes it “better placed than many other countries to weather the storm”. The pair are co-chairs of the new Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, which is looking at ways to tackle tensions and prejudice.
The study found 69% of people believe their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together. Kelly Fowler, chief executive of the Belong Network, one of the organisations behind the study, said: “Good work is happening across the UK on cohesion and community strength, but it is patchy and often confined to areas of high diversity or where tensions have spilled over into unrest.
“A lack of sustained funding limits its impact. It’s time this issue was treated with the urgency it merits, in every part of Britain. We must not wait for more riots to happen.”
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