Press Release: Calls for a Government ‘Community Cohesion Action Strategy’ after Southport riot

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The events of this week have been horrific and we welcome swift action from the Prime Minister, including calls for a National Violent Disorder Unit.

However, policing is only one part of what is needed. The Government urgently needs to develop a new Community Cohesion Action Strategy to build community resilience and encourage a more cohesive society.

A combination of austerity, reallocating resources during Covid and political de-prioritisation has meant that we have not had a coherent Cohesion strategy for several years. However, given the challenges we are facing, a Community Cohesion Action Strategy is needed more than ever.

A failure to develop such a strategy will leave the Government inadequately prepared to address the many challenges we face and leave councils and – most importantly – local communities unprotected.