Published: July 15, 2025
Tensions risk being reignited one year on from riots, warns major new report
A “powder keg” of social tensions and grievances – including polarisation and division, declining political trust and economic pessimism – remain unaddressed across the UK, according to new research published today (15 July). One year on from last summer’s riots, unrest risks being reignited unless urgent action is taken to address these issues, the authors warn.
Successive governments have failed to take sustained, proactive measures to address these challenges, the report says. Instead, it argues that “A ‘doom loop’ of inaction, crisis and piecemeal response has failed to strengthen the foundations of communities across the country.”
Lack of social contact is one key issue. Three in ten adults (31%) – 15 million people – say they rarely or never have opportunities to meet people from different backgrounds. A similar number (30%) say they don’t frequently get a chance to meet other people at all in their local community. One reason is money: half the public (50%) say they don’t always have enough money to go to places where they would meet other people. The research finds that those who ‘often’ get to meet others from different backgrounds are significantly more likely to feel that people from different backgrounds get along in their local area (80%), compared to those who ‘rarely’ do so (54%).
The new report, ‘The State of Us’, by independent thinktank British Future and the Belong Network, offers an authoritative picture of cohesion and community strength in the UK. The report is a foundational input to the new Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, chaired by Sir Sajid Javid and Jon Cruddas, which held its inaugural meeting of Commissioners last month.
The research finds widespread public concerns about declining public services, inequality and the cost of living; worries about the impact of social media; and a lack of trust in politicians and institutions to help put things right. It also identifies immigration and asylum as a salient issue raised by research participants, often focused on integration and pressures on housing and public services. Three in ten respondents (30%) in the Focaldata poll selected ‘Divisions between people who have migrated to the UK, arrived as refugees or sought asylum, and people born in the UK’ as the top issue negatively affecting how people from different backgrounds get on in their local area.
Research for the report incorporated the views of 177 UK organisations working on social cohesion and community development, through regional roundtables, as well as 113 written submissions of evidence. A nationally representative survey by Focaldata and eight focus groups in towns and cities across the UK, including in areas that experienced riots, assessed public opinion.
Kelly Fowler, Chief Executive of the Belong Network, said:
“Good work is happening across the UK on cohesion and community strength – we see this in our work at Belong across the UK, 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.”
The research also found reasons for optimism that change is possible. There are strong foundations of cohesion at neighbourhood level, with 69% of people feeling their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together. Many participants recalled moments of togetherness and community strength in adversity during the Covid-19 lockdowns. The research also highlights numerous examples of impactful work across the UK. These were often led by local authorities and civil society, to empower communities, build shared identities and strengthen relationships between people from different backgrounds.
The report consciously avoids making detailed recommendations, as it is a foundational input to the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, but does identify key priority areas for action. The Commission aims to develop recommendations for policymakers and a collective vision for the future of our communities. Phase Two of the Commission’s research will feature a UK-wide ‘national conversation’ designed to hear directly from the public about how they experience connection and belonging, and the changes they want to see. The Commission is supported by the /together initiative, which acts as its secretariat.
For media enquiries on this story please contact alex@belongnetwork.co.uk
More details on the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion can be found at www.livingwelltogether.org.uk.