Britain’s social fabric is ‘fraying’, report warns

The social fabric of many British communities is ‘fraying’ with more people feeling isolated and alone, according to a new report.

The report by the Onward think tank warns that fewer than half (48%) of people in the UK are now members of a club or social group.

Just one in 10 people are members of a working men’s or social club and 6% are members of a tenants’ or residents’ association.

Regular church attendance has more than halved from 6.4 million in 1980 to 3.1 million in 2015, but membership of pensioner and professional membership groups, in contrast, has risen seven-fold and twelve-fold respectively since 1993.

The report found the places with the strongest social fabric are typically located in the South of England, especially in London’s rural commuter belt and parts of Scotland. Richmond upon Thames is the highest ranked area by social fabric, with Chiltern, South Oxfordshire, South Cambridgeshire, Rushcliffe, St Albans, Windsor and Maidenhead, East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire following closely behind.

But the places with fraying social fabric are typically found in the Eastern coast of England, South Wales and the M62 corridor from Huddersfield to Grimsby.

This includes post-industrial towns such as Middlesborough, Methyr Tydfil, Boston and Hartlepool as well as coastal communities such as Great Yarmouth, North East Lincolnshire and Blackpool.

Meanwhile, polling alongside the report reveals that just two in five (42%) of 18-24 year olds feel more connected to their community than they did a month ago, compared to 52% when asked the same question just after lockdown started in March.

And since March, the share of 18-24 year olds who trusted their neighbours fell by 10 percentage points (from 57% to 47%). In stark contrast, social trust among 55-64 year-olds has increased from 53% to 65%, and over-65s are now almost twice as likely to trust their neighbours than under-35s

‘We have instinctively known that communities have been fraying for decades but we have always struggled to measure how and in what ways,’ said Onward director, Will Tanner.

‘This has meant we have placed too much focus on what we can measure, rather than the social networks, institutions and norms which underpin our neighbourhoods and local places and give people a sense of belonging.

‘Onward’s Social Fabric Index fills that gap, shining a light on the decline of community in Britain and identifying the places which need greatest attention from policymakers,’ added Mr Tanner.

The full report – The State of our Social Fabric – is available to read here.

Photo Credit – Wokandapix (Pixabay)