2001 Oldham Race Riots - Cantle Report

Cantle Report

Published 25 May 2006, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Oldham 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, 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".