1981 and 2011: how much has changed?

These riotous years share many similarities, but the music is quite different now . .'The worst scenes since the Blitz," was how one London freesheet termed it. But while the anarchy sweeping the country over the last few days has at times seemed apocalyptic, it has a postwar precedent: the riots of 1981. At the time of writing, this summer's pillaging has only just spread beyond London – but the civil unrest of July 1981 hit over 25 towns and cities, including the predictable – Liverpool, L...

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