The Sociology Department’s Annual Undergraduate Lecture takes place on Thursday, March 20, 2014, featuring a talk by the Rt Hon David Lammy MP, Member of Parliament for Tottenham.

In August 2011, thousands of people rioted in cities and towns across England. Sociologists have investigated the causes and implications of the riots, including a groundbreaking investigation led by Professor Tim Newburn, London School of Economics, which drew on interviews with 270 rioters to explore their thoughts about policing, discriminatory stop and search procedures, gangs, poverty and diminished employment opportunities for youth in today’s Britain.

Three years on, what do those in government think about the riots? How are members of some of the hardest-hit communities coping in the aftermath of explosive riots that gave vent to the anger and frustrations of youth living through an era of dramatic increases in inequality?

As the elected Member of Parliament for Tottenham, David Lammy’s talk will offer unique insights into political and community responses to the riots. A year before the riots, Mr. Lammy predicted the likelihood of violent eruptions. After the crisis, he wrote Out of the Ashes: Britain after the Riots, a book drawing on his experiences growing up in Tottenham – the area he now represents and the place where the riots began.

Jointly sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Centre for Criminology, the Annual Undergraduate Lecture is a chance to engage with a leading political figure, asking hard-hitting questions about the root causes of the riots and the political response they provoked. All students and staff throughout the University are welcome. Members of the wider community are also cordially invited to attend.

Biography: David was born in Tottenham on 19th July, 1972, one of five children raised by a single mother. Admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994, David became the first Black Briton to study a Masters in Law at the Harvard Law School in 1997. David was elected as Labour MP for Tottenham at the age of 27 in June 2000, served 9 years (2001-10) as a Minister in the last Labour government and is now an active backbench MP. David is the author of Out of the Ashes: Britain after the riots, a book exploring the reasons behind the 2011 riots and ideas about what could be done to prevent them happening ever again

Please see PDF for further information: A3_Poster_David_Lammy_Lecture_web.pdf