Recession could spark riots and civil disorder, minister warns
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:14 PM on 29th April 2009
The recession could tip Britain towards riots and civil disorder unless
voluntary organisations are handed extra resources, Communities
Secretary Hazel Blears warned today.
Promising to come up with sustainable sources of funds by the summer, Ms
Blears said the economic downturn could either drive communities apart
or bring them closer together.
‘Economic recession has the power to do one of two things to a society,’
she told Community Service Volunteers (CSV) in the Edith Kahn Lecture.
‘It can either drive people apart, with an increase in distrust between
individuals, more naked competition for jobs, and a fracturing of
community spirit.
‘We witnessed this in the 1980s and early 1990s, and at its most
extreme, it culminated in cars and buildings burning on the streets of
Brixton, Birmingham, and Liverpool.
‘In some wards in my own city of Salford, we had 50 per cent male
unemployment, and it has taken a decade to repair the damage.
‘Or economic recession can be the catalyst for communities to come
together, for neighbours to construct new forms of collaboration, and
for citizens to discover new reserves of courage and kindness.
‘Which end of this spectrum we tilt towards will depend on a decisive
factor: the role of the government in valuing volunteering, in creating
space for local action, and in promoting innovation and
experimentation.’
As well as transferring assets such as disused buildings, markets and
leisure centres to community groups, they needed to be assured of the
funding needed to make proper use of them, she will say.
She had asked her officials to ‘bring forward by the summer a package of
measures to give communities sustainable sources of income, through the
recession, and into the recovery.
‘In the wake of our mistrust of global financial institutions, there are
new opportunities now for community shares and bonds, U.S.-style
community reinvestment programmes and a much closer look on how we
measure the social return on public investment.’
‘The US Community Investment Act, whereby financial institutions must
plough some of their profits into communities, might serve as an
interesting starting point,’ she will suggest.
‘My conviction is that our route through this recession must be
characterised by greater devolution of power, and more opportunities for
communities to take control.
‘Not “on your bike” like previous recessions, but how can we help you
open a bike repair workshop, start a social enterprise to encourage
cycling, start a bike-share scheme in your neighbourhood.
‘In the light of the failure of the institutions of the free market,
these institutions of co-operation are truly in tune with the spirit of
the age.’
She will concede that the row over MPs’ expenses and the ‘smeargate’
scandal were ‘as corrosive to our democracy as the row over bankers’
bonuses and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, Woolworths and so on is
corrosive to our economy’ but will express hope that they will prove a
turning point.
‘My hope is that the public’s response to the crisis of legitimacy
characterising our politics will be as constructive as at the moments of
fulcrum in our democratic development: when rejection of the Rotten
Boroughs led to the Reform Acts, or when women’s demands led to us
getting the vote.
‘I am optimistic that the long, loud howl of outrage at the state of our
politics can find practical expression through positive reform of the
political system.’
Liz Atkins, director of public policy at the National Council for
Voluntary Organisations said: 'Hazel Blears is absolutely right.
'As we have always argued, voluntary and community organisations will
play a critical role in supporting communities through the recession.
'Our organisations bring people together and help to tackle unrest. But
to do so they need to be properly resourced.
'We will work with her department to ensure that the resources she has
promised can be used to best effect.'
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