Oldham Riots
Encyclopedia
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
ing which occurred in Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, a town in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England, in May 2001. They were the worst racially-motivated riots in the United Kingdom since 1985, briefly eclipsing the sectarian violence seen in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
The Oldham Riots were the first of a series of major riots during summer 2001, which saw similar racially-motivated confrontation follow in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, 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 Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
.
The riots followed a long period of inter-racial tensions and attacks in Oldham, occurring particularly between groups from the local and wider White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n-Muslim communities.
The most violent rioting occurred in the Glodwick
Glodwick
Glodwick is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is south-east of Oldham town centre.Glodwick is a multi-ethnic residential area in the south of the Oldham, home particularly to a large community of Pakistanis and British Pakistanis....
area of the town which is a multi-ethnic district of Oldham and home to a large community of people of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i heritage. Here, up to five hundred Asian youths were involved, and one hundred police officers
Riot control
Riot control refers to the measures used by police, military, or other security forces to control, disperse, and arrest civilians who are involved in a riot, demonstration, or protest. Law enforcement officers or soldiers have long used non-lethal weapons such as batons and whips to disperse crowds...
reported to the scene in full riot gear and patrolled with dogs as helicopters circled overhead.
Riots
The race riots took place throughout OldhamOldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
and a small part of neighbouring Chadderton
Chadderton
Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...
, peaking on Saturday, 26 May 2001, and continuing on Sunday 27, and Monday, 28 May 2001, were particularly intensive in Glodwick
Glodwick
Glodwick is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is south-east of Oldham town centre.Glodwick is a multi-ethnic residential area in the south of the Oldham, home particularly to a large community of Pakistanis and British Pakistanis....
, an area to the south of Oldham town centre, were highly violent and led to the use of petrol bombs, bricks, bottles and other such projectiles by up to five-hundred Asian youths as they battled against lines of riot police. At least 20 people were injured in the riots, including fifteen officers, and 37 people were arrested. Other parts of Oldham such as Coppice
Coppice, Greater Manchester
Coppice is a locality within the town of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England.It is contiguous with Hathershaw, Primrose Bank and Werneth....
and Westwood
Westwood, Greater Manchester
Westwood is an urban area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies a hillside known as North Moor in the western part of Oldham, close to its boundary with Royton and Chadderton...
were also involved.
Asians - including those of Pakistani, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i and Indian heritage - make up 11% of Oldham's population, but constitute around 2% of the workforce at the local council, the town's biggest employer. The rate of mixed race
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
marriage in the town is less than 1%. Most Oldham primary schools are single race, and many secondaries are 99% white or 99% Asian.
Oldham had the highest number of race hate crimes in the Greater Manchester area for 2001–2002, according to Manchester police's "Ethnic Monitoring and Hate Crime" report. There were some 1,133 racist crimes that were reported to the police. It was a 75.4% increase on the previous year.
On Saturday 26 May, the Live and Let Live pub, which was occupied at the time, was pelted with bricks, stones and petrol bombs. Several cars were set ablaze including an occupied police van. Lines of riot police were drafted in to combat the spiralling violence. Several officers were injured, and 32 police vehicles were damaged, but despite the level of violence and arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
, there were no fatalities.
On 28 May 2001, the headquarters of the local newspaper, the Oldham Evening Chronicle
Oldham Evening Chronicle
The Oldham Evening Chronicle is a daily newspaper published each weekday evening. It is a local newspaper which serves the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England...
, was attacked. A large group of Asian rioters threw a petrol bomb into the premises and smashed three plate-glass windows. Some media reported that the attack may have been a protest about the Chronicles reporting - with claims that attacks on white people by Asians had been given precedence over similar racist attacks on Asians.
Just weeks after the riots, the then Deputy-Mayor of Oldham, Riaz Ahmad, became a victim of arson when someone threw a petrol bomb at his house in Chadderton
Chadderton
Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...
, setting it ablaze. Mr. Ahmad, his wife and four children were all in the house sleeping at the time, but all escaped without any injuries. A reward was put up by the police in return for information, but no one was ever charged. Mr. Ahmad went on to become the first Asian Mayor of Oldham in 2002 as well as the first Asian Mayor in Greater Manchester.
The disturbances received extensive coverage from local, national and international media, including the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and other television networks and several tabloids and broadsheets.
Causes
The exact causes of the Oldham riots are widely disputed, with blame being placed and denied by various groups. What is understood is that the riots stemmed from multiple causes and incidents, both historic and short-term.Long-term causes
Oldham was once a thriving town, a spearhead of the industrial revolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and was said to be the cotton spinning capital of the world, producing at its peak some 13% of the entire world's cotton. However, economically, Oldham was very much dependent on this single industry, and following a depression in the British cotton industry due to increased foreign competition and the events of the two world wars, manufacture, affluence and employment opportunities steadily declined in the town during the first half of the 20th century. As such, Oldham became a relatively impoverished town, inhabited by people with non-transferable skills outside of mill work. In an attempt to keep the industry and the town alive, cotton did however continue to be spun to compete with foreign competition right until 1989. Although cotton was produced in lesser quantities, it was under increasingly anti-social conditions (night-shifts and harder working conditions) and requiring manpower which was not as readily available as before the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Because of this, after World War II ended, workers from the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
were encouraged to migrate to Oldham, amongst other similarly industrialised English towns, to fill the shortfall of indigenous employees, and thus benefit from increased economic opportunity; albeit from tough unsociable employment regimes in a distinctly foreign land. These migrant groups, initially male Caribbeans and Pakistanis, but later Bangladeshi (then East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
i), Indian, Caribbean, and Pakistani families began to arrive in considerable numbers in the 1960s, settling throughout the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham. However, due to the comparatively poor circumstances with which they arrived in Britain, these migrants settled in concentrated neighborhoods, inhabiting the poorest of Oldham's then crumbling Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
residential areas - most of which have since been redeveloped.
As a prosperous thriving centre of the industrial revolution, Oldham had always been a town attracting migrants (from wider-England, Scotland, Ireland, and following the world wars, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). However, the South Asian communities which settled, remained culturally very distinct from the local population, in dress, in language, in religion, in customs and of course, in ethnicity/colour, much more so than previous migrant groups.
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
), with Glodwick and more recently Clarksfield becoming a strong Pakistani community, and Westwood
Westwood, Greater Manchester
Westwood is an urban area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies a hillside known as North Moor in the western part of Oldham, close to its boundary with Royton and Chadderton...
and Coldhurst
Coldhurst
Coldhurst is an area of Oldham and an electoral ward of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, it had a population of 11,935...
likewise becoming home to a large Bangladeshi community.
These communities became very marginalised within a town of poor education and hostile working-class ethics. Derogatory racist language was often used to describe the foreign migrants which had arrived, who in turn kept their mother-tongue language and stayed as a close-knit cultural community. Inter-racial relationships, marital, friendly or otherwise, were seen as highly undesirable and very much frowned upon by both communities for several reasons including not only race, but religion.
Several assumptions rose to mythical status in the town during the forty year period between the first Asian migration and the Oldham Riots. Many Asians believed that areas such as Sholver
Sholver
Sholver is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. An elevated, residential area, it lies near the middle of the Oldham part of the valley of the River Beal, northeast of Oldham's commercial centre, nearly at the northeastern-most extremity of the town, by open countryside close to the...
, Abbeyhills, Limeside, and Fitton Hill were no-go areas for them to approach, and that the council was racist holding back the socio-economic development of Asians. This was verified in the Ritchie report, where numerous instances of zones marked with whites-only graffiti were reported. The report notes, however, that no institutional decree to such an effect was issued. Many people of the white community believed that more council tax money was spent to serve Asian needs such as mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
building in substitution for providing for 'white needs', although over the previous six years, the majority of regeneration grants have gone into white areas; Westwood and Glodwick received £16 million in 1995/96, whereas Hathershaw and Fitton Hill - predominantly white areas - received £53 million. This myth was tagged as wholly untrue in The Ritchie Report. Some minority sects of the Asian community believed that the police were behind the instigation of the Oldham Riots, and some the white community believed that the flag of England
Flag of England
The Flag of England is the St George's Cross . The red cross appeared as an emblem of England during the Middle Ages and the Crusades and is one of the earliest known emblems representing England...
was being removed by councillors in favour of celebrating Asian cultural identity.
Oldham did have de facto race-coded "no-go" areas, dominated by South Asians, in which Whites were very likely to be chased out of if they entered.
A review of the Oldham riots blamed deep-rooted segregation which authorities had failed to address for generations. Poverty and lack of opportunity was also to blame, with the Oldham wards of Alexandra, Werneth
Werneth, Greater Manchester
Werneth is an area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-southwest of Oldham's commercial centre and one of Oldham's most ancient localities.-History:...
, Hollinwood and Coldhurst in the 5% most deprived in the country, and a further three wards in the 10% most deprived wards.
Racial tribalism, and territorialism were and continue to be rife and Oldham has been classed as a ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
and ranked in a global major-league of towns and cities for racial segregation.
Mid-term causes
In the year leading up to the riots, there were 572 reported race related crimes in the Oldham area, and in 62 % of these, white persons were recorded as being the victims. These figures alarmed both Asian and white communities, and led to the British National PartyBritish National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
announcing it would stand in the forthcoming general election, with its leader Nick Griffin
Nick Griffin
Nicholas John "Nick" Griffin is a British politician, chairman of the British National Party and Member of the European Parliament for North West England....
to stand as a candidate for election for the constituency of Oldham West and Royton
Oldham West and Royton
Oldham West and Royton is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
. The far-right National Front
British National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
political party also announced its interest in the town and intent to provide its own candidates for election too.
According to a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
investigation team, much of the violence seen in Oldham was caused by poverty, social disadvantage and a high percentage of young males in the Oldham area. The media, which had little interest in Oldham prior to the troubles, began a period of increased reporting from the area, with the local media such as the Oldham Evening Chronicle
Oldham Evening Chronicle
The Oldham Evening Chronicle is a daily newspaper published each weekday evening. It is a local newspaper which serves the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England...
, and the Oldham Advertiser
Oldham Advertiser
The Oldham Advertiser is a weekly newspaper which serves the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Established in 1982, it is owned by Trinity Mirror plc, as part of MEN Media which contains a collection of newspapers across North West England including the Manchester Evening...
placing race-related stories on front page spreads.
Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
blamed the riots on the "bad and regressive motive of white extremists" and condemned the actions of the National Front and the British National Party in the Oldham area as inflammatory to the violence.
Short term causes
One, largely shared and corroborated view of the events which led up to the riots on Saturday, 26 May 2001, were the following, based upon eye-witness accounts, media interviews and police evidence;- At 8 p.m., a fight between one Asian youth and one white youth near the Good Taste chip shop on the corner of Salford Street and Roundthorn Road in Glodwick. The fight, which was witnessed, and included racist language from both sides is said to have ended abruptly, but led to the hasty gathering of a gang of white youths assembled via mobile phone.
- Following this earlier fight between the two youths, further violence erupted as a gang of white men attacked an Asian business and threw a projectile through a window of a house in the Glodwick area, where a heavily pregnant Asian woman was in residence. Violence spiralled from this group as they rampaged through Glodwick attacking a number of persons and properties.
- Retaliatory counter-violence soon followed, as large gangs of Asian men gathered and began to rally. Some of the earlier, but then dissipating group of white men were found and attacked. Further to this, a number of car and commercial windows were also smashed in retaliation.
- The (white-owned) Live and Let Live pub was targeted and pelted with bricks, stones, bottles and then petrol bombs. Cars were driven to block the fire exits, in an attempt to stop the patrons from escaping the flames. Cars in the surrounding roads were ignited, and police were called. Police officers were pelted by groups of Asian males. A night of violence began and riot police were quickly drafted in to the Glodwick area, rife with both Pakistani and Bangladeshi rioters. It is understood that both the Asian and white communities were furious with the recent events in the town. Asians were angry with media coverage and police handling of the various incidents and this may have intensified the riot.
In the days and weeks before the riots, several violent and racist disturbances occurred in Oldham, which are attributed to provoking the riots.
- Glodwick, an area south-central to Oldham town had become increasingly ethnically polarised. The area which is predominantly home to people of Pakistani origin had been for many years a no-go area for local white people for fear of possible attacks. Although this label was challenged by community leaders as a purely minority view this opinion still stands today 10 years on from the original disturbances. Similarly, areas of predominantly and polarised white inhabited areas had the same perception of no-go to members of the Asian community. This was increasing tensions, and had been reported by the BBC North West TonightBBC North West TonightBBC North West Tonight is a nightly regional news programme covering the North West of England. Produced by BBC North West, the programme airs at 6.30pm and at 10:25pm every weekday evening and is broadcast from the BBC's MediaCityUK studios at Salford Quays.-BBC North West region:The BBC North...
programme, by social-affairs reporter Dave Guest.
- On 21 April 2001, a mugging and attack upon 76-year-old white World War II veteran Walter Chamberlain by three AsianBritish AsianBritish Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
youths was amongst the first major provocations which led to the riots. Mr. Chamberlain was approached as he walked to his home after watching a local amateur rugby league match. He was mugged and badly beaten, receiving fractured bones in the face amongst other injuries. His battered face appeared on the front of the Manchester Evening News, and the story spread to all the major national newspapers. In the Mail on Sunday, his story was told under the headline 'Whites beware'. In the Mirror, his face appeared under the headline 'Beaten for being white: OAP, 76, attacked in Asian no-go area'. Media pundits began to speculate on the apparent transformation of young Asian males - from the stereotype of hard-working boys, who respected their parents, to the new stereotype of angry, violent thugs. An Asian male (a Mr. Fokrul Islam) was ultimately charged for the crime of racially-aggravated grievous bodily harm on 1 October 2001, some time after the riots. Walter Chamberlain and his family in an attempt to try to calm tensions in the borough stated at the time that the mugging was just that, and not at all racially motivated."It was a violent assault on an elderly man", said Mr. Chamberlain's son Steven. "As a family we don't think it was a race issue at all." Since this story was attributed to fuelling further hatred in the local communities race crimes against all sections of society are no longer reported as such for fear of further trouble.
- Following a long period of racial-tensions, and the attack upon Walter Chamberlain, the far-right National Front political party applied to the council on 26 April for permission to march and demonstrate in Oldham on 5 May. Permission was denied with a three month ban upon public procession in Oldham put in place with the aim of keeping order and preventing further increase of racial-tensions.
- Several racist skirmishes occurred in the town, including visiting football supporters from Stoke City F.C.Stoke City F.C.Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
hurling racist abuse at local Asian individuals. Attacks followed, initially from Stoke City fans, and then more serious retaliatory attacks and petrol bomb throwing from local male Bangladeshi groups. Following this, on 5 May 2001, there was a day of mounting tension and run-ins between racist and anti-racist groups in the town. Up to fifty National Front supporters, mainly from BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham 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...
and London arrived in the town, clashing with members of the Anti-Nazi LeagueAnti-Nazi LeagueThe Anti-Nazi League was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right groups in the United Kingdom. It was wound down in 1981...
and local Asian groups. Five hundred police were deployed, and the events received extensive media coverage.
- In the week before the Oldham Riots, a number of racist incidents occurred at Breeze Hill SchoolBreeze Hill SchoolBreeze Hill School was a mixed gender comprehensive secondary school for 11 - 16 year olds in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The school was a specialist Humanities College, and served over 750 students. The last Headteacher was Mr Bernard Phillips before it merged with neighbouring Counthill...
near Glodwick. Several white youths, some of whom were ex-pupils of the school, approached the school, throwing stones and projectiles at the premises and hurling racist abuse at the majority Asian school pupils. Police were called for five consecutive days from 21 May 2001 to dissipate the disturbances which were reported by the local press.
- Glodwick Infant and Nursery School in the centre of Glodwick was targeted, and a bomb threat was given to the school, which has the overal majority of its pupils, being from Muslim families. Everyone was evacuated, but it was a only a scare and no bomb was ever implanted within the school.
Ritchie Report
The Ritchie Report was a major review both of the Oldham Riots and the inter-racial problems that had long existed in the town. It was commissioned by the governmentGovernment
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...
and the local police authority. It was named after David Ritchie, Chairman of the Oldham Independent Review.
The report, published on 11 December 2001, was a 102-page document, addressed to the people of Oldham and was the sum total of much evidence gathering, including the interviewing of some 915 people and over 200 group meetings with local residents and governmental bodies.
The Ritchie Report largely blamed deep-rooted segregation, which authorities had failed to address for generations, as the cause of the Oldham Riots and its prior and subsequent inter-racial problems.
It warned: "Segregation, albeit self-segregation, is an unacceptable basis for a harmonious community and it will lead to more serious problems if it is not tackled".
Sentencing
On 12 June 2003, 10 people were all jailed for nine months each after being convicted of their part in the rioting.They were; Darren Hoy (aged 27 and from Fitton Hill district of the town), his sister Sharon Hoy (aged 38 and from the Raper Street neighbourhood), their cousin Matthew Berry (aged 25 and from the Limedale district of the town), James Clift (aged 24 and from Chadderton
Chadderton
Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...
), Mark Priestley (aged 32 and from Glossop
Glossop
Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
), Alan Daley (aged 38 and from Failsworth
Failsworth
At Failsworth lies north-northwest of London. It shares common boundaries with Manchester and Oldham, on its west and northeast respectively. Failsworth is traversed by the A62 road, from Manchester to Oldham, the heavy rail line of the Oldham Loop and the Rochdale Canal, which crosses the...
), David Bourne (aged 35 and from Limeside), Steven Rhodes (aged 30 and from the Medway Road neighbourhood), Paul Brockway (aged 39 and from Blackley
Blackley
Blackley is an area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Manchester city centre, by a meander of the River Irk. Further north is Middleton...
) and 22-year-old Failsworth man Stephen Walsh. A 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl were also convicted of involvement in the riot but avoided prison sentences and instead received a supervision order and conditional discharge respectively.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/2989134.stm
Hoy and Berry were both convicted football hooligans
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
.
Cantle Report
Published 25 May 2006, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Oldham race riots, The Cantle Report 2006 was a 64-page document put together by senior government advisor, Professor Ted Cantle of the Institute of Community Cohesion.
It was commissioned by the Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council to independently review the towns' progress in its efforts to achieve racial harmony and community cohesion.
The report praised the council and town for its considerable progress and efforts, but said much more needed to be achieved given Oldham's projected increase in ethnic diversity in the coming decades ahead. According to the report, the review teams were "struck by the extent to which divisions within and polarisation between Oldham's many communities continue to be a feature of social relations and the seeming reluctance of many sections of the community to embrace positive change".
The report broadly had three messages:
- "few cities, towns or districts in other parts of the country have done as much as Oldham in seeking to build community cohesion. In short, Oldham has every right to be proud of its record to date."
- "Segregation and divisions between Oldham's communities is still deeply entrenched."
- "If you want to change a community, the community must want to change."
In interviews with both the Oldham Evening Chronicle and BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, Cantle accused some community leaders of hindering progress because they were worried about losing their political influence. "We did find that a number of the communities, and particularly the community leaders were unwilling to get out of their comfort zones and that's a really big issue now".
Legacy and impact
The legacy of the riots is broad and still in motion, but has seen increased race-relations and some community-amenity improvements in the town including the creation of a new Oldham Cultural Quarter (which includes the state-of-the-art Gallery OldhamGallery Oldham
Gallery Oldham is a free-to-view public art gallery found in the Cultural Quarter of central Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England.-Design:Designed by architects Pringle Richards Sharratt, Gallery Oldham was completed in its original form in February 2002...
and Oldham Library), and a number of proposed improvements and investments for the community facilities of the town.
The community facilities currently available in Oldham have been heavily criticised, with not only Oldham but the entire Metropolitan Borough of Oldham now being the largest town without a major commercial cinema complex.
Some of the bodies and reports which proposed new community and amenity improvements included, Oldham Beyond (April 2004), Forward Together (October 2004), and The Heart of Oldham (May 2004).
The scale of violence, racial or otherwise has not been repeated since the original incident of May 2001 and reported race-related crime has dropped markedly.
Several men, mainly of Bangladeshi heritage were ultimately arrested and charged in connection to the riots.
Immediately after the Oldham Riots, the British National Party received an increase in the share of votes in both local and general elections; however, they have not won a seat to represent any part of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
or the Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council.
In the 2006 local elections, the BNP's share of votes decreased markedly, which was highlighted in The Cantle Report during the same year.
See also
- Bradford RiotBradford RiotThe Bradford Riots were a short but intense period of rioting which began on 7 July 2001, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It occurred as a result of heightened tension between the large and growing ethnic minority communities and the city's white majority, stoked by confrontation between the...
- British National PartyBritish National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
- Harehills Riot
- History of OldhamHistory of OldhamThe history of Oldham is one of dramatic change, from obscure Pennine hamlet to preeminent mill town and textile processing capital of the world...
- List of riots
- Moral panicMoral panicA moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
- Race riotRace riotA 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...
- Riot controlRiot controlRiot control refers to the measures used by police, military, or other security forces to control, disperse, and arrest civilians who are involved in a riot, demonstration, or protest. Law enforcement officers or soldiers have long used non-lethal weapons such as batons and whips to disperse crowds...
- Social cohesionSocial cohesionSocial cohesion is a term used in social policy, sociology and political science to describe the bonds or "glue" that bring people together in society, particularly in the context of cultural diversity. Social cohesion is a multi-faceted notion covering many different kinds of social phenomena...