Local government minister Andrew Stunell has warned last month's riots, and lingering support for the right-wing English Defence League, shows there are 'enduring problems of cohesion and integration in communities up and down the land'.

In an exclusive article for LocalGov's sister title, The MJ, on the eve of the Liberal Democrats' annual conference in Birmingham, Mr Stunell claims recent events have provided 'a severe jolt to any thought that social alienation was a thing of the past' in Britain.