Prof Tim Newburn suggests we need a public inquiry into the recent riots (“Racism? Poverty, drink and social media? We still don’t know why Britons rioted a month ago – and we need answers”, 4 September). This is expensive and unnecessary. Misinformation via social media played a part, or why would people have started attacking asylum seekers in the false belief that they had committed murders? Rightwing rent-a-thugs seized on the opportunity to blame their favourite scapegoat. But these things channelled an anger that was already there. Why are so many people so angry at life in this country that they are prepared to riot, and scapegoat others for it?
There has been considerable research into the effect of economic inequality on social cohesion, crime and health. What it shows is that economic inequality makes all of these evils worse. This is not simply about being nice to the poor. The research shows that in highly unequal societies even the better off have a poorer quality of life than they would in more equal ones. Recent polls have shown that people are in favour of increasing taxes on the rich, and this includes the rich themselves.
