With the July General Election and August far-right riots in such recent memory, it is hard not to feel like 2024 could be a real turning point for the UK. Perceptions of multicultural Britain are negative, and although local identity is stronger than national identity, overall resilience is low.
Fear and HOPE 2024 makes the case for a programme of work based around community resilience that builds on our findings across policy, research and communities. Crucially, this work must be approached collaboratively, across departments, sectors and with local government and stakeholders as key partners.
How can we tackle harmful and divisive rhetoric about marginalised groups?
As well as tackling hatred at the community level, we must challenge the top-down construction of a ‘permissive environment’ which has normalised anti-multiculturalism, as well as anti-Muslim and anti-migrant hatred.
How can policymakers and the third sector deliver meaningful change to boost resilience?
Changing people’s perspectives on their community will be more successful and sustainable if it is actually accompanied by material difference in their lives. Structural change is needed to better deliver for people and communities and tangibly meet their needs and address the current deficits across the broad range of issues this report has touched on – migration, multiculturalism, cohesion, democratic satisfaction, economic scarcity, and more. The Government’s current approach to addressing these issues is in need of transformative change.
Who can lead a cross-sector, cross-governmental approach to tackling community resilience?
Given the scale of community resilience work, someone who can provide cross-departmental oversight is needed. We call on the Government to make the short-term appointment of a Community Resilience Czar who has expertise in overseeing cross-departmental working. The appointed Czar will assist with the creation and implementation of the cross-sector and cross-departmental strategy, setting up processes and mechanisms through which collaborative planning, action, monitoring and reflection can occur.
The following recommendations vary in their level of specificity and detail. Collaboration with experts across a number of sectors is required to get them off the ground, but with the right partnerships and cross-departmental government buy-in, transformation is well within reach.
How can we create trust and mutual understanding across communities?
The Government urgently needs a community cohesion strategy that addresses both the short and long term threats to social cohesion. In the short term, the strategy should address community flare ups following trigger events. For the longer term, initiatives that proactively build up social connectedness should be pursued in order to strengthen resilience.
Within each of these timeframes there must be a two-pronged approach to engagement. Firstly, amplifying trusted, sensible voices to distribute narratives of inclusion, connection and tolerance will help keep the moderate middle united and strong. Simultaneously there must be efforts to target the extreme fringes with interventions that address the root cause of their hatred towards other groups.
How do we stop people feeling like they are competing for the same resources?
Developing a way of talking about difficulties with accessing resources that builds solidarity across struggling groups rather than pitting them against each other is essential: the cost of living can no longer be the elephant in the room when it comes to community resilience. Fixing the economy and lowering the cost of living are already central and local government priorities, but connecting the dots between treasury decisions and community resilience through messaging would be helpful.
How can we make people’s voices heard?
The 2024 General Election turnout rate shows that deeper research is needed into the intricacies of people’s dissatisfaction with voting and its political impact. Our research has shown that people feel stronger connections with their local than national community; repairing relationships and satisfaction with politics at the local level is the first step in addressing the wider anti-politics movement.
How do we take the sting out of migration and stop it from being exploited?
We need to take advantage of multi-tasking policy solutions which are already being developed by organisations in the migration sector, as they give migrants dignity and treat them with compassion but also contribute to community resilience.
Cross-sector work on class solidarity. Organisations across the progressive sector should develop a shared language around need. This is crucial to preventing a wedge from being driven between immigrants and British people.
Our latest report identifies the drivers of fear and hope and the triggers that push people from one to the other. This year, we look at 2024 as a pivotal point for the UK, with the General Election in July and riots in August. We look back at the archive of Fear and HOPE reports since 2011, seeing how public attitudes have changed under 14 years of Conservative governments. Download the full report today.