A year on from last summer's riots, the UK remains a 'powder keg' of social tensions, with a third of people rarely meeting anyone from a different background, according to a new report from the thinktank British Future and the Belong Network. The research warns that without urgent action to address polarisation and division, unrest could be reignited.
The report, titled 'The State of Us', found that 31% of adults rarely or never have opportunities to meet people from different backgrounds, and a third do not frequently get a chance to meet other people in their local community. Former Conservative chancellor Sajid Javid and Labour politician Jon Cruddas, who chair the new Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, wrote in the foreword that 'the bonds that hold society together are under growing pressure'.
The report is based on the views of 177 UK organisations, 113 written submissions, a nationally representative survey, and eight focus groups. It warns that successive governments have failed to take sustained, proactive measures to address social cohesion, leading to a 'doom loop' of inaction. Half of respondents said they did not always have enough money to go places where they would meet other people.
Separately, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found more than 4,300 posts in the past year promoting violence against Muslims and immigrants, sent in reply to tweets by high-profile accounts including Tommy Robinson, Andrew Tate, and Laurence Fox. CCDH chief executive Imran Ahmed said X remains a 'crucial hub for hate-filled lies and incitement of violence'.
The report follows a warning from MPs that the Online Safety Act contains 'major holes', as it does not currently identify misinformation or disinformation as harms. The government said it includes an offence of false communications 'to target the spread of disinformation online when there is intent to cause harm'.
