Both main political parties are offering their own version of society described by the Conservatives as the Big Society or by Labour as the Good Society. Interestingly, however, one quote from Martin Luther King is doing the rounds on Facebook right now by some young people that sums up how they see society: "There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society, with a large segment of people in that society, who feel that they have no stake in it; who feel that they have nothing to lose." Regardless of the odd graduate arrested or middle aged man, the most shocking element of the recent riots has been that the rank and file has been predominantly made up of young people - in particular teenagers.
It must be said that there is absolutely no excuse for the violence and criminal damage that has been witnessed; and the vast majority of teenagers in London and elsewhere have had no part in these riots. However, it would be gross ignorance to ignore some of the underlying factors that helped fuel these riots. In London, the Save EMA campaign estimates that over half of EMA recipients live in areas experiencing teenage led violence. After London, Manchester and Birmingham have among the largest amount of EMA recipients. Obviously this does not mean EMA is a link to teenage rioting, all this shows is the poverty levels of these areas, especially among the young. In places like Tottenham almost a quarter of the population has no qualifications, compared to 5 per cent in Richmond Park.
One just has to look under the surface at the demography of the major scenes of violence in London. Despite the odd flare up in more leafier parts like Ealing Broadway, the overwhelming majority of the riots have taken place in the poorest parts of London compared to the more affluent sections. For example, four out of ten children in hotspot areas like Haringey, Hackney, Camden and Islington are born into poverty, which rises to almost six out of ten if you catch a bus to Tower Hamlets. When we contrast that with Kingston-upon-Thames where it is 16 per cent or with Richmond-upon-Thames where it is only 12 per cent. Even more telling is the fact that the percentage of children living in families on benefits in Tower Hamlets is 43.1 per cent, compared that again to say Richmond-upon-Thames which has a more respectable 8.2 per cent. This is not just a list of faceless figures, but a list of lost chances.
There were some, like Telegraph columnists Toby Young and Katherine Birbalsingh, who said originally that this is solely a race issue, which has been dispelled by local MP David Lammy, and even further following images from other parts of England such as Manchester. However, there are indeed a large numbers of young black males involved across the country. What this initial kneejerk response could be showing is that almost half of young black people aged 16-24 in the UK are unemployed according to research by the think tank iPPR. Double that for young white people, which more mirrors the national average of 20 per cent. The report also highlighted that this rather large discrepancy spiked recently since the recession when it had been 35 per cent. Although it would be too simplistic to merely say it is solely due to unemployment, it is hard to ignore its influence on these area's young people.
In addition, when you bare in mind other facts, such as according to Shelter one in five children in London currently grow up in overcrowded housing, with one in three under-fifteens forced to live in small spaces. Then not only are some young Londoners born into poverty, facing unemployment, but they are also forced to live in inadequate accommodation. Obviously there are many who share this fate but choose more law abiding paths (I was one). However, is it hard to wonder why it's more likely to see more children from such areas feeling they can riot without worry in Brixton compared to Belgravia?
Clearly those who argue that there is not a socio-economic angle to the riots are in self denial or believe that there is some natural phenomena taking place, whereby masses of poor young people are by coincidence rioting. Some have said these riots are just about the greedy poor, well the poor are greedy and they would be foolish not to be.
Nevertheless, it is where we go from here. The Martin Luther King quote ends: "People who have a stake in their society, protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it." There is not one cause to the violence, as there are many. But surely we now realise that either a Big or a Good Society has to be one where young people feel they have a stake in it.