Communal life in Britain is claimed to be under threat. This is the starting point of a new government-commissioned report The State of Us (2025) published by the British Future and Belong Network. Some of these threats, the report goes on, are driven by long-term trends that have undermined connections within UK communities over many decades. These include the decline of community infrastructure and institutions, weaker family units, growing inequality, declining trust in institutions, and chronic neglect from policymakers.
This is quite a list. But what is making matters even more difficult, the report asserts, is the recent mismanagement of immigration, cost-of-living pressures and social-media-driven extremism. The bonds that typically hold society together – civic participation and a shared sense of belonging – are under growing pressure. Sociologists have noted the rise of public protest and the rioting that has scarred the UK in recent years. But they also ask: ‘What exactly is going on here?’
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