Loss of community spaces fuelled riots, report claims

Research by think tank suggests isolation makes people more vulnerable to misinformation spread online by the far right

- ATHENA STAVROU

The loss of community spaces created “tinderbox conditions” for violence ahead of last year’s far-right riots, a new report has found.

A paper published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that the loss of shared community spaces - from youth clubs and leisure centres to high-street pubs and piers - is leaving communities more vulnerable to far-right influence. It said the closure of these spaces is forcing people into isolation, prompting them to spend more time online and pushing them towards the far right.

The report warned of a “pincer movement of abandonment and gentrification” that has gradually led to the loss of community spaces - such as the Southport pier, which closed in 2022 - and an increase in isolation in many areas.

Referring to previous research, the report said that 50 pubs permanently close in the UK each month, while an estimated 600 youth clubs shut down between 2012 and 2016. It noted that London lost almost 10 local authority-run community spaces a year between 2018 and 2023.