What to do about England?
August 11, 2011 5:43 AM Subscribe
I would like somewhere to go to read the pros and cons to various approaches to dealing with the short, medium and long term problems related to the London and England riots.
I'm looking for something in the style of ProCon or PolitiFact but that covers the London Riots.
Some of the responses to the riots has been quite simplistic and short term ("cut their benefits" or "bring in the army"). I'd like to read about longer term solutions too, but in a format that summarises the various suggested solutions, and not in a format where things can be repeated and the discussion disintegrates.
I'm looking for something in the style of ProCon or PolitiFact but that covers the London Riots.
Some of the responses to the riots has been quite simplistic and short term ("cut their benefits" or "bring in the army"). I'd like to read about longer term solutions too, but in a format that summarises the various suggested solutions, and not in a format where things can be repeated and the discussion disintegrates.
Not quite what you're after, but the Archbishop of Canterbury's address to the House of Lords today proposes a long-term view: developing virtue, character and a sense of civic responsibility.
Said virtue and character development need not, of course, be based in religion.
posted by nz_kyle at 10:23 AM on August 11, 2011
Said virtue and character development need not, of course, be based in religion.
posted by nz_kyle at 10:23 AM on August 11, 2011
Also not really what you are looking for, but you might want to have a poke about the research reports on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation web site to read more about some of the long-term issues and long-term solutions.
posted by Helga-woo at 10:43 AM on August 11, 2011
posted by Helga-woo at 10:43 AM on August 11, 2011
Best answer: Responses to the riots are starting to appear on the websites of various thinktanks. The Institute for Public Policy Research (left-wing) has a short paper on 'What should be done with arrested rioters?', while the Centre for Policy Studies (right-wing) has a piece on 'Understanding and tackling the root causes of these riots' (based on a 2009 report (pdf) on 'the betrayal of white working class and black Caribbean boys'). It's also worth keeping an eye on the History and Policy website, although the current paper on 'Rioting in Georgian London and contemporary Britain' is a very superficial analysis.
While we're waiting for more considered responses to the 2011 riots, why not go back and read about the 1981 riots instead? The Scarman Report doesn't seem to be available anywhere online, but Wikipedia has a decent enough summary. Ed Vulliamy had an excellent piece in the Guardian last month on the Liverpool riots, highlighting the things that have changed since then and the things that have stayed the same. And Gabriel Gbadamosi has a short piece just up on the Granta website remembering the Notting Hill riots thirty-five years ago.
posted by verstegan at 12:13 PM on August 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
While we're waiting for more considered responses to the 2011 riots, why not go back and read about the 1981 riots instead? The Scarman Report doesn't seem to be available anywhere online, but Wikipedia has a decent enough summary. Ed Vulliamy had an excellent piece in the Guardian last month on the Liverpool riots, highlighting the things that have changed since then and the things that have stayed the same. And Gabriel Gbadamosi has a short piece just up on the Granta website remembering the Notting Hill riots thirty-five years ago.
posted by verstegan at 12:13 PM on August 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
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Give it six months.
posted by valkyryn at 6:46 AM on August 11, 2011