Why does England riot? There are “complex political, social and economic factors” at work, most notably industrial decline and unemployment, exacerbated by irresponsible reporting and the widespread belief that policing is partisan. These were the conclusions of Leslie Scarman’s report into the riots in Brixton, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and elsewhere in the spring and summer of 1981. But he could have been writing about August 2024. England has again descended into violence – and this summer’s riots have come with their own scapegoats, hyperbole and missed opportunities for reform.
During the riots of 1981 – a series of racially aggravated clashes between black English youth and police – some politicians were keen to exploit and even celebrate unrest. “The street fighting was excellent, but could have been (and hopefully, will be) better organised,” said an editorial in London Labour Briefing, a party publication associated with the left of Ken Livingstone, Jeremy Corbyn and Ted Knight. Knight was the leader of Lambeth Council, which included Brixton, a district that he described as “under an army of occupation” due to the police response to the riots, with law enforcement using the “same apparatus of surveillance that one sees in concentration camps”.
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