Oldham 10 years on - 'The future’s looking good'

The Asian News marked the 10th anniversary of the Oldham riots earlier this year with a series of insightful articles around the disturbances. Happening before 9/11, those disturbances were to transform the way Britain viewed its Muslim communities, and also the way many Muslims viewed themselves.

Ten years on and we have witnessed more widespread civil disturbances, but not in predominantly Muslim areas. In reflecting back, what can we learn today? In order to learn lessons, OBV will be running the full series of articles written by Yakub Qureshi from the Asian News to mark the Oldham Riots - 10 years on.

From the Asian News:

Michael Meacher is one of Parliament’s longest serving politicians.

The Oldham West MP had been at the Commons for nearly 31 years when the riots began.

He was part of an emergency delegation including local leaders, residents, and police that met the Home Office to find solutions to the town’s problems.

The former university lecturer, now 71, paid tribute to ‘enormous’ changes in the community he serves.

He said,

"The Oldham College can boast that it offers outstanding education to hundreds of students from all backgrounds, as can our university campus. These are both great conduits for integration and have been hugely successful. The future looks good for Oldham."

Quizzed whether the town is a safe place for all its residents, the MP says some of his residents

"The idea that ‘no go areas’ are endemic is not something I believe in, but the fact that people feel that way still is worrying. The fear of crime is greater than the reality of crime. Maybe that fear will take a long time to subside."

The British National Party gained one of its strongest General Election results in Oldham in the week after the riot, and has come close to winning local council seats in the past.

But Mr Meacher said he believed extremist politics was in decline.

He said,

"The 2011 elections saw the BNP fail to put up a candidate for the first time in 10 years, which show support for that ideology is ebbing away."

OBV is running a series from the Asian News to mark the 10th anniversary of the Oldham Riots.