Poverty leaves hardest hit areas of UK 'open to civil unrest', warns new report

Experts told how libraries, parks, sports clubs, and community centres act as “democracy’s immune system”. They 'build relationships that prevent extremism'. Areas with fewer public spaces were more exposed to extremism

Poverty and the loss of sport and leisure facilities leave the hardest hit areas of the UK exposed to civil unrest, a new report warns. Experts Dr. Adam P. Coutts and Dr. Diego Mauricio Díaz Velásquez told how libraries, parks, sports clubs, and community centres act as “democracy’s immune system”. They 'build relationships that prevent extremism'. Following the 2024 riots after the Southport tragedy, the review looked at how communities with fewer public spaces were more exposed to extremism. Dr. Coutts warned. “We must invest in the everyday places where people meet,