Closure of community spaces fuels 'tinderbox' for Southport riots

The closure of community spaces fuelled a “tinderbox” for the far-right to spark Southport riots, a think tank has suggested.

Youth clubs, leisure centres, pubs and piers shutting down have led to a weakening of the social fabric of local areas and leaving communities more vulnerable to far-right influence, the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Dr Sacha Hilhorst, author of the paper, said: “The Southport riots were a wake-up call – a stark reminder of what can happen when communities lose the places that once brought people together. In the absence of shared spaces, misinformation and hate can fill the void, creating tinderbox conditions for violence.

“Rebuilding local infrastructure isn’t just about nostalgia – it’s a vital bulwark against division and the dangerous pull of the far right. But communities are not apathetic. They are crying out for places to gather, to organise, and to belong. We need a new generation of institutions to help them do just that.”

Some 50 pubs in the UK close permanently each month while an estimated 600 youth clubs shut between 2012 and 2016, the IPPR said.

It added that only one in 40 Britons are now part of a social club, compared to one in 10 when Labour was last in power.

Dr Parth Patel, associate director at IPPR, said: “Where shared spaces are lost, a sense of decline and disconnection takes root – and with it, dangerous alternatives thrive. The far right is exploiting the void where solidarity used to live – they capitalised on Southport’s disrepair to sow disorder.

“If we’re serious about social renewal, we must rebuild the civic infrastructure that once helped people support each other and shape their communities. That means going beyond short-term funds or token participation – and investing in shared spaces people can call their own.”

The paper has been published one year on from the riots that began in Southport and spread across the UK last July.