Social work organisations have roundly condemned the racist rioting that has hit towns and cities across the UK over the past week.
The British Association of Social Workers (BASW), Social Workers Union (SWU) and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) lambasted “far-right agitators” for stoking hatred against Muslim people, asylum seekers and minority ethnic groups, which has spilled out onto the streets.
Multiple riots since Southport killings
They also highlighted the role of social workers and other sector staff in supporting communities affected by the disorder, though the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) Leads Network raised concerns about the safety of staff.
The violence was initially triggered by online misinformation and disinformation spread about the killer of three girls on a Taylor Swift-themed holiday camp in Southport, Merseyside, on 29 July.
According to anti-far right campaign group HOPE not hate, the rioting has hit 30 towns and cities, including Southport itself, Hartlepool, Rotherham, Sunderland, Hull, Stoke, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Tamworth, since 30 July, with more disorder planned.
Incidents so far have included attempted arson attacks on two accommodation sites for asylum seekers, the targeting of multiple mosques, physical attacks on people from minority ethnic groups and the widespread chanting of racist slogans.
Condemnation from social work bodies
In a joint statement, BASW and the SWU said that they “[condemned] in the strongest possible terms the appalling acts of violence, disorder and racism that have terrorised communities across the country in recent days”.
“This violence and disorder has caused huge damage and fear amongst our diverse communities,” they added. “Nobody in our country should be harmed, threatened, abused, or made to feel unwelcome based on their race, religion, nationality, other protected characteristics, or place of birth.”
Their sentiments were echoed by Association of Directors of Adult Social Services president Melanie Williams.
“Stoked by disinformation spread by far-right agitators, attacks have been targeted towards citizens of diverse faiths, Muslims, asylum seekers, immigrants, and other minority groups. Attacks in our cities and towns have caused widespread distress and fear,” she said.
Targeting of asylum seekers ‘particularly shocking’
For the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), president Andy Smith also condemned the “abhorrent acts of violence, disorder and vandalism”, adding: “The deliberate targeting of asylum seekers, many of whom have fled war torn countries seeking safety, has been particularly shocking.”
The AMHP Leads Network said that its members were “united in their condemnation” of the disorder, adding that “racist violence and extremism are abhorrent and have no place in our society”.
For Social Work England, chief executive Colum Conway said: “We condemn the violence and racism that has taken place across England in recent days.
“We are all concerned about what is happening. Everyone living, working and visiting this country has the right to feel safe and secure in their own communities.”
PSWs’ concerns about long-term impact
In a joint statement, the co-chairs of the networks for children’s and adults’ principal social workers voiced concern about the long-term impact of the riots.
They cited the “effects this will continue to have on relationships, interactions and trust between families, neighbours, services and support providers, notably people providing direct care”.
“The PSW networks are united in their determination to collectively promote and encourage dialogue, challenge and purposeful activity that enables effective social work with, and across, diverse communities,” they added.
Diversity in social work ‘is our strength’
While most of the disorder has been in England, it has also afflicted Northern Ireland.
The region’s social care regulator, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, said: “Everyone living and working in Northern Ireland has the right to do so without fear or intimidation.
“Social workers and social care practitioners are critical to the delivery of care across health and social care services, as well as in justice and education. They work in our care homes and in our communities from early in the morning until late at night to provide services to our most vulnerable citizens. Diversity in social work and social care is our strength.”
Northern Ireland’s chief social worker, Aine Morrison, said: “The violent scenes we have witnessed in recent days are nothing short of shameful. Social care and social work colleagues who may be feeling anxious by what is happening, please know that you have my full support, and the full support of the entire health and social care family.”
‘Solidarity against racist violence’
Social Workers Without Borders, a practitioner-led charity that supports and campaigns for asylum seekers and refugees, joined BASW and the SWU in voicing their “solidarity” with the victims of the “racist violence”.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), it said: “This violence is the direct result of years of racist, dehumanising, anti-migrant rhetoric & policy, enabled by certain politicians and mainstream media outlets. This has to stop. We must keep people’s humanity at the centre of all of our thinking, words and action.”
Meanwhile, Coram Children’s Legal Centre’s Migrant Children’s Project, which campaigns for the rights of child refugees, highlighted the impact the riots were having on the group.
“Many of the children, young people and families whom we work with have fled persecution in their home countries and come to the UK as a fair and compassionate society,” it posted on X. “They and all refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in the UK must not be made to feel unsafe.”
Thanks to social workers and care staff
Highlighting the role of social workers, BASW and the SWU said: “We also thank social workers and our emergency services who have shown remarkable courage, care, and professionalism to keep our communities safe.
“We know that social workers will continue to be involved in these efforts, directly supporting individuals and families affected.”
For ADASS, Williams added: “We are grateful to social care workers in all our forms working to support people who draw upon care and support…in communities affected by violence, and [who] will continue to be part of the efforts to support individuals.”
Concerns over practitioner safety
However, the AMHP Leads Network raised concerns about the safety of practitioners and urged leaders to take safety precautions.
“We are especially concerned for our staff members who have been directly impacted and continue to work in potentially hostile environments,” it said. “The safety and well-being of our staff should always be a top priority.
“At this critical time, we encourage AMHP leaders to focus intently on reviewing existing arrangements to ensure comprehensive support for their teams’ well-being and safety. It may be necessary to consider staff safety, particularly where there are cross-organisational arrangements, out of hours working, lone working and where staff members are not always in direct line of sight of their organisations.”
The chairs of the PSW networks added: “We also recognise the further need to acknowledge the impact of racism on our colleagues and friends and both welcome and expect local authority employers to reiterate and review existing local staff safety measures and opportunities for continued oversight and responsive support.”
PSWs committed to ‘safe and supportive work environment’
In a message to practitioners, they said: “We recognise the vital role you play in promoting social justice and confronting issues of inequality and inclusion and your safety and wellbeing are of utmost importance to us. We encourage you to prioritise your safety while seeking support. We are committed to providing a safe and supportive work environment for you to carry out your duties.”
For UNISON, the union with the biggest social work and social care membership in the UK, general secretary Christina McAnea said it would support any members targeted by the violence.
“We will support our members who are attacked by racists whether that’s when they’re at work or walking through their local community,” she said. “We will defend migrant people in this country, many working in essential public services. They deserve thanks not racist attacks.
How the authorities are responding
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has so far charged about 150 people for offences including violent disorder and, in at least one case, using threatening words or behaviour to stir up racial hatred.
The CPS said it had deployed dozens of extra prosecutors and was working with the police and the courts “co-ordinating action to make sure prosecutions can progress quickly and efficiently”
“If necessary, this will include special emergency courts with dedicated prosecutors to support them,” said director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson. “It is important to note that people do not even have to be directly involved to commit crimes: inciting violence from your computer is also an offence.”
Meanwhile, the government said it had created a national violent disorder programme “bringing together the best policing capabilities from across the country to share intelligence on the activity of violent groups so the authorities can swiftly intervene to arrest them”.
It added that mosques were being offered additional protection that could be “rapidly destroyed” where a risk of violent disorder was identified.
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Where is Social Work England’s statement?
Social Work should be well placed to critically appraise the reasons and circumstances for this disorder. Doesn’t look like the sector is interested, which is a shame. If the man who tried to stop the attack in Southport can ask searching questions and make observations, why can’t we:
‘”I don’t think the trouble has anything to do with the Southport stabbings. There appears to be a strong undercurrent of discontent for sometime about the levels of immigration and this is just a trigger but I don’t think it’s the root cause.
“There’s an awful lot of unhappy people in this country who want something to be done, I don’t think this problem is going to go away until the government starts to address that.”
It’s easy to condemn without showing willingness to understand, and it will do little to improve the situation we are in.
the dualistic presentation of the issues is seated on, what? most certainly, not yoga or mindfulness, surely? …
… racism v anti-racism or, and as presented in the very early media coverage in Leeds, agency v non-agency or more broadly order v disorder ….
…. is it simply about doing the opposite of? …
… without but noticing that at a population level how the UK, post Brexit, has become about definitions of who is more deserving than ….
… the, now, computational ciphers are less easily and accurately made sense of, the articulation of an espoused value base less convincing than ever before and especially when there’s increasingly less practice evidence of the any of ‘doing’ in the delivery of the values espoused …
… it’s a shame, and I am speaking to the embedded felt use and acceptance of a systemic invalidation and moral injury as modus operandi peculiar to the protestant work ethic evident throughout ‘new’ purpose of welfare economics in shaping day-to-day life of the recipients …
… the counterbalance to shame is the grandiosity of claims of how abhorrent such and such is as if just saying it is enough when saying the right thing has been wholly commodities; it’s merely a product positioning exercise …
… social complexity and it’s management requirements now require something different and sufficiently different to make a difference (Ackoff) …
… and what’s more throughout Humberside and Yorkshire there are existing historical projects that have already been built and tested using Complexity Theory and Edge of Chaos approaches …
… Pete Fryers work called ‘Trojan Mice’ is both metaphor and model for approaches to self-organisation and literally at the edge-of-chaos …
… much has been said and added to Fryers work with the then Humberside TEC like using TSI throughout the NYP command…
… where’s the evidence of learning is all I asking …
… for illustrations of the the above see ‘Creative Holism’ by Michael C Jackson from the Hull University Centre for Systems Science ~ who very recently held an international conference on Child Protection at York University in 2022 …
… the geography of health and welfare is now within the scope of the ICB’s ~ Where’s their local engagement committments with their respective Councils who must sign-off on the planning…
… mere platitudes from the advocates of the existence of values doesn’t and won’t cut the mustard…
… just saying….
Statements are great, but Tory Councils actively discipline anyone with half a political opinion – trying to support social justice in local authorities like that is hard as they just want social workers to work with individuals and not push for wider changes. Since before BREXIT far-right politicians in the Tory party and UKIP – media like the Daily Mail and GB news and social media idiots like Tommy Robinson, all purposefully feed into white British frustrations by blaming the problems they (the above mentioned) created through austerity and other political decisions. Right-wing politics relies on voters in one of the main groups they targeted when austerity was ruthlessly introduced and implemented. Unemployment, benefitis cuts etc etc all decreased the quality of life of service users, especially those who use and need benefits and have done for generations. Reading around the subject the misinformation is HUGE. Bravermann and Patel, Boris and Farage, fail to mention that asylum starts at the British Embasies in the home countries of the seekers, once accepted they then travel to the UK and find a massive gap in resources (one office in Croyden) and a back log so so long that forces hotel use. So far not the fault of asylum seekers who are skilled and desperate to pay their way in society. The ball is firmly with the Home Office and government. But shush because politicians spouting racist lies win votes from the same people who started and took part in far-right riots. Middle-aged white men, those who rarely engage with social work as it threatens their masculinity?! Millionaire politicians like Boris and Farage should be arrested as they instigate hate. Britain has never been white but the most entitled and violent people in the UK seem to be…
https://theconversation.com/the-hypermasculine-far-right-how-white-nationalists-tell-themselves-they-are-protecting-women-and-children-when-they-riot-236250
https://theconversation.com/the-hypermasculine-far-right-how-white-nationalists-tell-themselves-they-are-protecting-women-and-children-when-they-riot-236250
https://theconversation.com/middle-aged-radicalisation-why-are-so-many-of-britains-rioters-in-their-40s-and-50s-236263
BASW – Get Wayne Reid back as the anti-racism lead – NOW!
Agreed. Let’s face it, he’s the only senior leader in social work with any innovative ideas.
The guy is a polemicist, he stifles not encourages debate.
One of the most misinformed comments I’ve read in a while. Maybe stop navel gazing and start factchecking?
The real question is do you have what it takes to engage in the debate Navel Gazer?
The ideology/ religion that all ills are related to institutional racism and that all white people and anything to do with ‘whiteness’ is racist (anti-racism/ critical race theory), isn’t much to do with ‘fact’. The last objective report by Tony Sewell concluded the UK was not institutionally racist, yet this is completely ignored as it is heretical, even though it is evidenced based.
Anti-racism and critical race theory is a deeply damaging and flawed theory that unfortunately many SW institutions have absorbed as gospel. BASW and Wayne are zealots of this ideology.
ALL??!! You really have shown your true colours by referencing the Sewell report AND CRT! Navel gazing is not doing you any favours. I suggest you refrain!
What does being an anti-racism lead at a subscription based organisation actually mean practically? BASW is a glorified talking shop that somehow has onvinced achunkof people that it represents social workers. It doesn’t. When I was a member it rarely took notice of us either. Its a top down organisation with a small cohort of like minded fellow travellers who are quick to crush if challenged. So again what does being the anti-racism lead in an anti-democratic airganisation actually mean? Polemic does not equate to power and influence really does it?
You must have a loose understanding of what power and influence actually means Sean.
Actually it’s because I understand what power is, who has it and who wields it to achieve and reinforce what they want that I can appraise the ineffectualness of most social work discourse. Blathering within predetermined parameters with like minded people where everybody agrees isn’t wielding power or influence. Agreeing on what’s “awful” and what makes “us” right is just chatter. SWE has power, it compels social workers to acquiesce with demands they don’t generally respect. Employers have power which they demonstrate daily with their ability to suspend, discipline, dismiss or restructure social workers into redundancy. If you can show what power BASW has used to change anything in social work, I’ll prostrate myself in absolute penance for my heretical views. Concrete change not words that induce self satisfied head nodding. Are social workers better treated in the work place because BASW asks that employers should? Are social workers of colour not subjected to racism, discrimination, restricted career progression, disproportionately subjected to disciplinaries because of BASW ‘action’ blueprints? Do social workers go to work feeling secure and confident that next time BASW makes a statement their experiences will become more positive, that they will feel empowered, that they will have a better work life balance because they will have more manageable workloads?That’s all.
Your opinion holds some water Sean, but it’s a depressing and pessimistic outlook that you convey. I hope you have a supportive team around you, as it cannot be easy carrying such negativity.
What has happened is abhorrent, and rioting and criminality has no place in our society. But, as the other commenter has stated, we must seek to understand why so many people in this country are aggrieved and feel that their views and opinions are not listened to. We cannot pretend that all of the people taking part in these protests/riots were far right, or that the only people spreading hate and fear were anti-immigrant protestors/rioters. It was just yesterday at a so called hope not hate rally, that a labour councillor called for people to have their throats slit and to be killed! Hate comes from all people, of all religions, backgrounds and cultures, and ignoring this does nothing to solve the problems of people who feel marginalized or oppressed. We also have an issue whereby people with left wing views feel that those their views of what is right and wrong, and moral and virtuous, take precedence over those with right wing views, and that anyone with views that aren’t in alignment with theirs are awful hateful people who shouldn’t be heard, when this is just plain wrong. All views matter, and all views should be listened to. Ignoring or shutting down opposing views just because you don’t agree with them is not the way to create a harmonious society. I come from a white working class background and the people who I grew up with and the people who raised me are not racist, not far right, and not extremists, they are frustrated that their communities have rapidly changed, but more so that when they express opinions about immigration they are shouted down and accused of being racists and fascists. As social workers we have a duty to foster good relationships in our communities and that is never going to happen when you don’t see the whole picture, and allow all people to be heard.
I am from a minority ethnic background and I completely agree with what you have said. I would like to add that there are good people and racists in every group of people, culture , and religion, and we cannot tar this as being a white issue or all of those protesters as being ‘Far right’, as the ‘Far left’ are pretty awful too. More needs to be done to bring people and communities together – lower taxes, more housing, shorter NHS waiting lists, better pay for social care staff and those in the helping profession. The two major parties – including Kier Starmer are run by the ruling liberal elites, who are wealthy, and out-of-touch with the average person in the country, they cannot even relate to the issues we are facing.
I grew up on a tenant farm in Northumberland. A more white and working class background would be hard to find outside of former industrial communities. Working class communities are not some amorphous collection. To my mind referring to a “white working class” is patronising. I grew up with, I went to school with, I socialised with and I associated with almost an hundred percent white cohort in the 1970’s. Some of these were racist National Front enthusiasts, some socialists, some run of the mill trade unionists, some communists. Unaccountably some were Tory supporting tenant farmers. That legacy hasn’t changed and as was then actually has little to do with people “seeing communities change” because of immigration. Disaffection with landowners, corrupt Labour councillors, de-industrialisation, ever reducing social housing, zero hours contracts, welfare dependance, poor educational opportunities, consumerism and the like al shape working class communities whether in rural areas or cities. This is as true for Southern England as it’s up here in the North. I was in Newcastle at the anti-racism gathering two days ago. We said than we support black and white and love brown. Cliche and perhaps a tad mawkish but never the less a working class Geordie sentiment. As is the less subtle racism against Asian Geordies. Both exist, but both aren’t what we should regard with equal merit. It matters if you think mosques should be burnt down, it matters if food banks are torched because “illegals” use them, it matters if black and brown people are terrified to go into town, it matters if rather than target the hedge funds and the tax avoiding corporations and the Non-dom Media proprietors whose interest is wedded to divisive community relations are your supposed legitimate white working class grievances. There is a reason why de-industrialisation happened, there is a reason why trade unions are emasculated, there is a reason why fascism is disguised as “our people are second class in our own country”. Not everything has to be seen through the usual wishy washy social work “on the one hand on the other hand” complacency. There are racist and fascist “white working class” people, we don’t have to legitimise them by some mythical left behind narrative. There are also some “white working class” people who are rose tinted about ‘diversity’ in their excruciating somersaults to depoliticise working class experiences. The “whole picture” isn’t a photograph, it has shapes daubed by who ever is holding the brush and the paint. I get accused of being a traitor to my race by self anointed patriots who’ve rarely if ever have set foot out of our village let alone seen a black or brown person, a Muslim, a Sikh, an Orthodox Christian, a Hindu, a Buddhist or would recognise a “white” immigrant. We don’t have to “allow all people to be heard” if some are just bigots who would struggle to recognise a rational argument or refuse to anyway however many times a patient validating social workers tries. Class solidarity is what really matters if you are genuinely interested in really tackling the root causes of the regurgitated fascism that some try to sell as “white working class” grievances. Oh and my grandma who is 89 years old is the Communist.
My partner was one of about 80 Chileans who found refuge in Newcastle after the coup. Like her most were tortured and saw family being tortured or murdered. The solidarity and welcome they got was overwhelming. But so was the hostility that they were getting homes, benefits, jobs and the like denied ‘locals’. 80 people Mark. The numbers are immaterial to bigots. Nationalism whippes up visceral viciousness that serves no working class person. These days actually it’s not racism that drives the ‘patriots’ but anti-Islam hatred. Equate a religion with terrorism and the job is done. To the point that even liberals can buy into the narrative of clashing values. So let’s debate if that’s still helpful but in this discourse our lives and our experiences are better reflected by Violet than Mark or Abdul.
Tony Benn said that every generation must fight the same battles again and again and that there’s no final victory and there’s no final defeat. Social workers would do well to remember that. Our real lives, our professional experiences aren’t defined by the latest inane BASW missive, corrosive SWE incompetence or the delusional grandeur of Leaders.
This rioting is exactly the sort of disorder warned about by Rachel Reeves during a Labour party conference fringe event nearly 8 years ago in 2016 (Independent, 28 Sept 2016)
I would be happy to discuss these issues with you Amy and other colleague in a mutually respectful way that doesn’t proffer cod psychology to dismiss legitimate opinion as cynicism. We can differ in our views but that doesn’t make one an optimist and the other “negative”. I’m far from negative but I have eyes and ears so am attuned to reality of action versus polemic. Actually by dismissing an opinion laid out respectfully makes my point about the malaise of social work churning in echo chambers of mutual affirmation very clearly. I’m neither depressed nor a pessimist. I reflect on my own experiences as they shape who I am as a person and as a social worker. I’m still interested to hear how BASW and it’s anti-racist proclamations have positively impacted social work practice and social worker experiences. Oh and one of the reasons some people think social work is a patronising and autocratic profession is because some social workers seem quick to pathologies those they don’t agree with. Not a big thing for me but rather crushing for users of services that. And the team I work in is fabulous. Hope yours is as confident in engaging in debate and discussions even when there is disagreement.
Amy, your condescending and incoherent responses illustrate the widespread inability to engage in a discussion where there are opposing views.