Once again, it’s been an unprecedented couple of months in politics. Without getting into too much of the detail, suffice to say that the next few weeks will be decisive in the country’s next direction. For those doing cohesion-focused work, it can feel like an uphill battle when political narratives continue to use division as a tool for influence, and to scapegoat groups who are already incredibly vulnerable.
For this edition of the Spotlight on Cohesion, the focus is on the government’s new Social Cohesion Action Plan, named ‘Protecting What Matters’ and based on strengthening communities, tackling hate and extremism, and ensuring greater safety in online spaces. This will be achieved through policy. Change at the local level – driven by local people – is promised, starting with the Pride in Place Funding, which is investing £20 million in some of the country’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. We will focus here on some responses from the VCFSE and Social Research sector to this programme, namely, how it needs to go further to undo the effects of austerity, hostile immigration policy and social unrest.
From the research
While ‘Protecting What Matters’ is an important policy direction, The Young Foundation points out that the narrative of the plan stops short of actively acknowledging the impact of inequality in driving social division. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a report calling for the Pride in Place funding to go further, leaving more time for investment in community capacity through building ‘social infrastructure’ so that the funding can be truly ground-up and community-led.
It’s important to explore what we mean by community. Communities can form over shared identity or culture, geography, or interest. But in reality, community is far from what can seem like a fixed, idealised notion, where people are united under a single idea or opinion. In some cases it can be helpful to consider community as an evolving state that can be challenged during times of social change, but where forms of solidarity and shared perspectives can form as a result (Vacchelli & Roeschert, 2026).
Belong’s latest report recognises this nuance in the idea of community, and calls for a ‘gender-responsive’ approach to cohesion strategies and programmes. Published last month, the guidance on the role Gender plays in Social Cohesion was commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The report highlights opportunities for framing the ‘Protecting What Matters’ policy through the lenses of gender difference and intersectionality, ensuring that anti-discriminatory policies are not seen as a separate process to cohesion.
Sustained and meaningful community action requires these links to already exist. Research from Roots has found that the majority of people are open to connecting to those who are different to them, but the experience of this is not there. The research found that connection can be possible with the right spaces that turn this openness into meaningful encounters that if sustained, can lead to social cohesion. ‘Protecting What Matters’ is a step in the right direction, but needs to take a long-term and sustainable approach to cohesion, recognising that community needs time and intentional action to develop.
Protection Approaches have released a practical blueprint for understanding and building cohesion, based on a series of consultations and conversations with more than 1,300 residents in areas where they work, gather and volunteer. The report contains insight on the meaning of cohesion and the causes for division, before outlining practical actions for strengthening cohesion informed by experiences from Stoke on Trent. The recommendations aren’t simple, but they are practical, and reading the report gives hope that there are solutions for the complex task of building up community cohesion.
Additional Notes
We’d like to briefly highlight that the National Conversation, led by researchers at the University of Oxford, has launched a UK-wide survey exploring community life, belonging and national identity. Open to anyone aged 16 and over, the anonymous survey aims to build one of the largest evidence bases on social cohesion in the UK.
Charlotte Oglesby
July 2026