Cohesion
‘We’re fighting a broken system’
Cllr Hannah Clare says the system of using hotels to temporarily house unaccompanied asylum-seeking children urgently needs to change, and that the Government must work faster to address the underlying issues.
Let’s not stay silent
Baroness Claire Fox argues that while most of us will never have our lives threatened for our views, Cancel Culture can make cowards of us all.
Will steps finally be taken to protect public servants?
As Westminster contemplates the tricky tightrope of balancing safety and democracy, free speech and abuse, the same debates must be held for local government, says Heather Jameson.
Tackling obesity
Robert Sullivan shares his thoughts on how the success of England’s national team can be harnessed by councils to inspire people to play more football and lose weight.
Khan: Councils on the frontline of tackling extremism
Local authorities are on the ‘frontline’ of the battle against extremism, an adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
Strengthening solidarity for recovery
Strengthening trust and social connection will be vital for the rebuild and recovery programme, says Jo Broadwood. She looks at what can be learned from local areas that have fared better on this throughout the crisis.
A question of equality
Councils should ‘be consciously biased against those who refuse to see us as individuals beyond our skin colour’, argues Claire Fox.
Tackling inequalities is everyone’s business in Birmingham
Tomorrow’s report to Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet makes it clear that tackling inequalities is everyone’s battle and everyone’s business, says Cllr John Cotton.
We have been here before on cohesion and diversity
Blair McPherson says the only thing more detrimental to the causes of cohesion and diversity than doing nothing is doing a little and thinking it’s enough.
Devoting to diversity
Race continues to be a gatekeeper for preventing people from gaining promotion to senior council posts, says Gifty Edila, who provides recommendations for welcoming BAME staff at all levels.
Toppling statues is the easy part
Claire Fox asks: ‘Will black lives today be improved if local government becomes preoccupied by a war against inanimate objects and historical wrongs?’
Righting Wrongs
Anger and tumult have exploded around the world following the death of George Floyd. Ann McGauran reports on the effects of the waves of protest and how councils are working to ease tensions.
Government warned on cohesion threats
Whitehall has been warned that community tensions could erupt further as the concerns of Black Lives Matters protesters are fuelled by emerging coronavirus inequalities.
Call for extra counter-extremism funding
Councils have called for further funding for a network that shares experiences and good practice in tackling extremists.
Community tensions rise amid Coronavirus outbreak
Reports of increasing community tensions ‘across multiple areas’ have been picked up by the Government as the international Coronavirus crisis continues to worsen.
Working together to stop hate in Waltham Forest
Cllr Ahsan Khan outlines why Waltham Forest LBC is holding a Citizens’ Assembly to find practical local ways of stopping hate in all its forms.
Breaking down that segregation (a little)
It has not been the best advertisement for our democracy and most people will be glad it’s all over, writes Dan Corry. So why does he think the General Election process always does some good?
Brum wins battle to ban anti LGBT protests
Birmingham City Council has won a court battle to permanently ban anti-LGBT protests outside a local primary school.
Anti-extremism commissioner warns of far-right surge
Far-right extremists now account for almost half of people referred to a national intervention programme.
Former integration tsar says toxic views have become more normalised
The government has effectively abandoned community cohesion, with Muslim women remaining the UK’s most marginalised group, former integration tsar Dame Louise Casey has said.
