‘After the Riots,’ Building The Foundations For Social Cohesion. Policy Priorities For Cohesion and Resilience

By Jill Rutter and Sunder Katwala, British Future; Andrew Dixon and Jamie Scudamore, Belong; Emeka Forbes and Brendan Cox, Together.  

Trying to move on from the violent disorder without addressing its causes or putting in place the foundations to address them, the publication says, could “risk recurring episodes of the kind of disturbances we have seen, and increased polarisation and social conflict in future.” Instead, “Central government needs to provide leadership and a policy strategy, empowering local stakeholders to take action,” with a national social cohesion strategy and resources supporting and empowering local strategies from councils. The report includes recommendations for increasing social contact between people from different backgrounds in communities; piloting restorative justice programmes; pressuring social media companies to tackle hate speech and mis/disinformation and helping children to identify misinformation; and ensuring that asylum accommodation does not become a focus for community grievances. 

London: British Future, Belong and Together, 2024. 16p.