Closure of community spaces fuelled ‘tinderbox’ for far right to spark Southport riots, says report

The loss of community spaces created “tinderbox conditions” for violence ahead of last year’s far-right riots, a new report has found.

A paper published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that the loss of shared community spaces – from youth clubs and leisure centres to high-street pubs and piers – is leaving communities more vulnerable to far-right influence.