1981 England riots
Encyclopedia
In 1981, the United Kingdom suffered serious riots across many major cities in England. They were perceived as race riot
s between communities, in all cases the main motives for the riots were related to racial tension and inner-city deprivation. The riots were caused by a distrust of the police and authority. The four main riots that occurred were the Brixton riot in London, the Handsworth riots
in Birmingham
, the Chapeltown riot in Leeds
and the Toxteth riots
in Liverpool
.
(Liverpool
) and Chapeltown (Leeds
) were originally built as affluent areas of the city, however the relocation of industry, poor connections and the influx of migrant workers had led to a downfall in their fortunes and the large Victorian terraces and villas were divided up into low rent bed sits.
The Conservative Party
government elected in 1979 had instituted new powers for the Police under the Vagrancy Act of 1824 to stop and search people based on only a 'reasonable suspicion' that an offence had been committed — hence their common name of "Sus law
s". These were applied disproportionately to the black community, and caused widespread resentment amongst young black men. The majority of these were not immigrants, they were the British born children of immigrants, mostly born in the first half of the 1960s.
The election of the Conservative government in 1979 had also seen the implementation of monetarism
economic policies which were designed to tackle inflation, which stood at 10.3% on the defeat of James Callaghan's
Labour Party
government in May 1979. Inflation had rarely been below 10% throughout the 1970s and it had already breached the 20% at least once earlier in the decade.
It had fallen to around half of that level by the summer of 1981, but unemployment (which had stood at around 1,500,000 two years previously, having still been in six figures at the start of the decade) had now passed the 2,500,000 mark largely due to the mass closure of factories. This level of unemployment, not seen since the 1930s, had led to mass discontent in the working class areas of Britain most affected by the recession
.
The Asian community also felt isolated and vulnerable to racist attack. The Police were given new powers to question people about their immigration status. Resentment arose that these laws were applied, but the police were failing to protect the Asian community from violence. On 11 July 1981, the "Bradford 12" — a group of Asian youths, members of the "United Black Youth League" — were arrested for manufacturing petrol bombs, allegedly to protect their community from a threatened attack. At the subsequent trial, they were acquitted by a jury, on the grounds of self defence.
On 13 January 1981, thirteen Black youths died in the New Cross Fire
. The police quickly dismissed a racial motive for the apparent arson attack; and the local Black community were dismayed by the indifference shown in the press towards the deaths. 15,000 people marched demanding action to Central London, in the largest Black issue demonstration seen in the UK.
Racial tensions continued to rise in the early part of the year. On 28 March 1981, Enoch Powell
— by then an Ulster Unionist MP, but still an influence on the Conservative Party — gave a speech in which he warned of the dangers of a "racial civil war" in Britain. By 6 April, it was announced that overall unemployment had risen from 1.5 million to 2.5 million in 12 months; and that joblessness among ethnic minorities had risen faster, up 82% in the same period. During March and April, the Metropolitan Police begin Operation Swamp 81, a London-wide campaign against burglary and robbery. In Brixton, over only six days, 120 plain-clothes officers stopped 943 people, arresting 118 — predominantly Black youths. The police justified their heavy handed policing by statistics showing that while street robberies had increased 38% across London between 1976–80; in Brixton it had risen 138%.
The first disturbances began in Brixton over the weekend of 10-12 April 1981, and were followed in July by a series of similar disturbances in 12 cities and towns, especially Liverpool. In London, these included Dalston
, Stoke Newington
, Clapham
, Hounslow
and Acton
. Leech notes "Here these were not race riots - riots between races. Rather the conflict was with police as symbols of white authority, with state racism and criminalisation of black communities".
s and suchlike were brought in.
The Association of Chief Police Officers
, who develop police policy in England, produced their Public Order Manual in response to the riots. This was used subsequently used in training by police forces throughout Britain.
. The exact cause is unclear. 14 policemen and 5 civilians were injured, 20 arrests were made, and several offices inside the Town Hall were badly damaged with several trees being set alight outside.
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
s between communities, in all cases the main motives for the riots were related to racial tension and inner-city deprivation. The riots were caused by a distrust of the police and authority. The four main riots that occurred were the Brixton riot in London, the Handsworth riots
1981 Handsworth riots
The 1981 Handsworth riots were three days of rioting that took place in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England in July 1981. The major outbreak of violence took place on the night of Friday 10/11 July, with smaller disturbances on the following two nights....
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, the Chapeltown riot in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and the Toxteth riots
Toxteth riots
The Toxteth riots of July 1981 were a civil disturbance in Toxteth, inner-city Liverpool, which arose in part from long-standing tensions between the local police and the black community...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Context
In all four main cases, the areas had large ethnic minority communities, who had largely come from the Commonwealth in the 1960s and 1970s to do low paid jobs. All the areas suffered from poor housing, high unemployment and particular problems with racial tensions. Both ToxtethToxteth
Toxteth is an inner city area of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, Toxteth is bordered by Liverpool City Centre, Dingle, Edge Hill, Wavertree and Aigburth.-Description:...
(Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
) and Chapeltown (Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
) were originally built as affluent areas of the city, however the relocation of industry, poor connections and the influx of migrant workers had led to a downfall in their fortunes and the large Victorian terraces and villas were divided up into low rent bed sits.
The Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government elected in 1979 had instituted new powers for the Police under the Vagrancy Act of 1824 to stop and search people based on only a 'reasonable suspicion' that an offence had been committed — hence their common name of "Sus law
Sus law
In England and Wales, the sus law was the informal name for a stop and search law that permitted a police officer to stop, search and potentially arrest people on suspicion of them being in breach of section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824.-1824 legislation:The power to act on "sus" was found in part...
s". These were applied disproportionately to the black community, and caused widespread resentment amongst young black men. The majority of these were not immigrants, they were the British born children of immigrants, mostly born in the first half of the 1960s.
The election of the Conservative government in 1979 had also seen the implementation of monetarism
Monetarism
Monetarism is a tendency in economic thought that emphasizes the role of governments in controlling the amount of money in circulation. It is the view within monetary economics that variation in the money supply has major influences on national output in the short run and the price level over...
economic policies which were designed to tackle inflation, which stood at 10.3% on the defeat of James Callaghan's
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government in May 1979. Inflation had rarely been below 10% throughout the 1970s and it had already breached the 20% at least once earlier in the decade.
It had fallen to around half of that level by the summer of 1981, but unemployment (which had stood at around 1,500,000 two years previously, having still been in six figures at the start of the decade) had now passed the 2,500,000 mark largely due to the mass closure of factories. This level of unemployment, not seen since the 1930s, had led to mass discontent in the working class areas of Britain most affected by the recession
Early 1980s recession
The early 1980s recession describes the severe global economic recession affecting much of the developed world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The United States and Japan exited recession relatively early, but high unemployment would continue to affect other OECD nations through at least 1985...
.
The Asian community also felt isolated and vulnerable to racist attack. The Police were given new powers to question people about their immigration status. Resentment arose that these laws were applied, but the police were failing to protect the Asian community from violence. On 11 July 1981, the "Bradford 12" — a group of Asian youths, members of the "United Black Youth League" — were arrested for manufacturing petrol bombs, allegedly to protect their community from a threatened attack. At the subsequent trial, they were acquitted by a jury, on the grounds of self defence.
On 13 January 1981, thirteen Black youths died in the New Cross Fire
New Cross Fire
The New Cross Fire was a devastating house fire which killed 13 young black people during a birthday party in New Cross, southeast London on Sunday 18 January 1981...
. The police quickly dismissed a racial motive for the apparent arson attack; and the local Black community were dismayed by the indifference shown in the press towards the deaths. 15,000 people marched demanding action to Central London, in the largest Black issue demonstration seen in the UK.
Racial tensions continued to rise in the early part of the year. On 28 March 1981, Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
— by then an Ulster Unionist MP, but still an influence on the Conservative Party — gave a speech in which he warned of the dangers of a "racial civil war" in Britain. By 6 April, it was announced that overall unemployment had risen from 1.5 million to 2.5 million in 12 months; and that joblessness among ethnic minorities had risen faster, up 82% in the same period. During March and April, the Metropolitan Police begin Operation Swamp 81, a London-wide campaign against burglary and robbery. In Brixton, over only six days, 120 plain-clothes officers stopped 943 people, arresting 118 — predominantly Black youths. The police justified their heavy handed policing by statistics showing that while street robberies had increased 38% across London between 1976–80; in Brixton it had risen 138%.
The first disturbances began in Brixton over the weekend of 10-12 April 1981, and were followed in July by a series of similar disturbances in 12 cities and towns, especially Liverpool. In London, these included Dalston
Dalston
Dalston is a district of north-east London, England, located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
, Hounslow
Hounslow
Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area.-Etymology:...
and Acton
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
. Leech notes "Here these were not race riots - riots between races. Rather the conflict was with police as symbols of white authority, with state racism and criminalisation of black communities".
Aftermath
These riots by the unemployed called the Government to attention that strategies for helping young people into work were not working. The Youth Training SchemeYouth Training Scheme
The Youth Training Scheme was the former name in the United Kingdom of an on-the-job training course for school leavers aged 16 and 17, managed by the Manpower Services Commission...
s and suchlike were brought in.
The Association of Chief Police Officers
Association of Chief Police Officers
The Association of Chief Police Officers , established in 1948, is a private limited company that leads the development of policing practice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.ACPO provides a forum for chief police officers to share ideas and coordinates the strategic...
, who develop police policy in England, produced their Public Order Manual in response to the riots. This was used subsequently used in training by police forces throughout Britain.
Brixton
On the evening of 10 April, at around 17:15, a black youth who had been stabbed by three other black youths in an attack was being helped by a police patrol in Atlantic Road. As he was being helped, a large hostile crowd gathered. As they tried to take him to a waiting car on Railton Road, the crowd intervened. The police were attacked and the struggle only ended when more police officers arrived; the youth was taken to a hospital. The crowd is reported to have believed that the police stopped and questioned the stabbed youth, rather than help him. Rumours spread that the youth had been left to die by the police or that the police looked on as the stabbed youth was lying on the street. Over 200 youths reportedly turned on the police. In response the police decided to increase the number of police foot patrols in Railton Road, despite the tensions, and continue "Operation Swamp 81" throughout the night of Friday the 10th and into the following day, Saturday the 11th of April. During the disturbances, 299 police were injured, and at least 65 civilians. 61 private vehicles and 56 police vehicles were damaged or destroyed. 28 premises were burned and another 117 damaged and looted. 82 arrests were made.Handsworth
The first riot in Handsworth took place on 10 July 1981. The second larger riot took place between 9 and 11 September 1985. The riots were reportedly sparked by the arrest of a man near the Acapulco Cafe, Lozells and a police raid on the Villa Cross public house in the same area. Hundreds of people attacked police and property, looting and smashing, even setting off fire bombs.Chapeltown
The exact trigger for the riots is unclear, although much speculation took place in the local and national press. By 1981, Chapeltown was experiencing a high level of violent crime, tensions were high, particularly amongst the areas Caribbean majority. The high crime brought about a police purge and the riots took place in July 1981.Toxteth
The Merseyside police force had, at the time, a poor reputation within the black community for stopping and searching young black men in the area, under the "sus" laws, and the perceived heavy-handed arrest of Leroy Alphonse Cooper on Friday 3 July, watched by an angry crowd, led to a disturbance in which three policemen were injured.Others
The Sheffield riot occurred on 9 July in and around Sheffield Town HallSheffield Town Hall
Sheffield Town Hall is a building in the City of Sheffield, England. The building is used by Sheffield City Council, and also contains a publicly displayed collection of silverware. The current building, Sheffield's fourth town hall, is located on Pinstone Street. It was designed by the...
. The exact cause is unclear. 14 policemen and 5 civilians were injured, 20 arrests were made, and several offices inside the Town Hall were badly damaged with several trees being set alight outside.