THE violent riots that broke out following the shocking fatal stabbing of three young girls in the seaside town of Southport were truly distressing. The mass disorder rapidly spread across the country with incidents taking place in Southport itself and in cities as far afield as Plymouth, Sunderland and Belfast. They were confined to England and Northern Ireland, with no outbreaks recorded in Wales or Scotland.

What became clear from the outset was that the incidents took place in areas of extreme social deprivation, where communities have the feeling of being left behind and not sharing in the prosperity enjoyed elsewhere in the country; long-term unemployment, deindustrialisation, urban decay and long-term neglect of local infrastructure are characteristics of these areas.

Indeed, during radio phone-in discussions about the causes of the riots, several contributors cited the government’s removal of the winter fuel payment for pensioners and the retention of the cruel two-child benefit cap as factors that added to existing discontent.