LSE IQ Episode 27 | What can we learn from the 2011 riots?

Contributor(s): Professor Tim Newburn, Paul Lewis, Professor John Drury | Welcome to LSE IQ, a monthly podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where we ask leading social scientists – and other experts – to answer an intelligent question about economics, politics or society. In August 2011 England experienced the largest outbreak of rioting in a generation. The disorder began after the shooting of young man, Mark Duggan, by police officers in Tottenham. A protest two days later morphed into more widespread disorder. Over the next three days riots spread rapidly across London, and then other urban centres in England. In total, there were an estimated 5 deaths, 200 injuries, 3000 arrests and over 200 million pounds of property damage. Severe jail terms were imposed to deter future lawlessness. Politicians called the disorder acts of greed and opportunism, while others blamed austerity and inequality. Many years on, is it possible to state what actually happened? Since 2011 we’ve faced major public spending cuts, two elections, the Brexit referendum, the election of Trump and the rise of populism. Are any of these events connected? In this episode of LSE IQ James Rattee asks, what can we learn from the 2011 riots? This episode features the following contributors: Professor Tim Newburn, LSE Department of Social Policy; Paul Lewis, The Guardian; and Professor John Drury, University of Sussex School of Psychology. For further information about the podcast and all the related links visit http://lse.ac.uk/iq and please tell us what you think using the hashtag #LSEIQ.