On 16 June 2026, The Dialogue Society hosted its introductory panel as part of the Sense of Belonging discussion series – Sense of Belonging in a Divided Britain. Four distinguished panellists presented compelling perspectives to address some of the most pressing questions of this current socio-political moment, discussing both the challenges to and the means in which to counter division and nourish belonging. Their knowledge and expertise facilitated a thought provoking exchange of insights and perspectives with what was a particularly engaged and lively audience. This audience of academics, community and faith representatives, charity leaders, grassroots workers, local government representatives, and members of the public, provided invaluable contributions to this discussion.
Thank you to King’s College London and Time to Help UK for their generosity and support in putting this event together.
Guest Speakers and Presentations:
Dr Milly Williamson – Goldsmiths, University of London
Dr Williamson opened proceedings by exploring belonging in relation to citizenship. She discussed how precarious citizenship rights, as represented in the case of Shemima Begum, contribute to a politics of exclusion where racialised populations exist in a state of exception where the rule of law does not apply and their citizenship is thus conditional. She argued that the subordination of civil rights to national security, Islamophobia in the press, and authoritarian and exclusionary measures by the state coalesce to serve as a warning to the children and grandchildren of immigrants that their belonging and citizenship rights are contingent and thus their human rights become precarious.
Dr Beatriz Lopes Buarque – LSE
Dr Beatriz Lopes Buarque shared her research mapping the interaction between racist conspiracy theories, AI, and social media recommendation systems and how this contributes to fuelling xenophobic and racist violence in the UK. Her research found that X’s algorithms increased the visibility of posts featuring visual representations of racist conspiracy theories, particularly those containing generative AI images, which likely fuelled the 2024 UK riots by reinforcing the constructed antagonism between white British citizens and racialised migrants. She further contextualised her research with a condemnation of the xenophobic attacks in Belfast that happened the week prior to the talk, using this as further evidence that Britain needs a coordinated effort to raise awareness on algorithmic bias and AI-driven harms, as well as an acknowledgement of the racist underpinnings of right-wing radicalisation.
Dr Gholam Khiabany – Goldsmiths, University of London
Dr Gholam Khiabany sought to illuminate the role of the British state in facilitating rising division, and notably racism, via an intertwining of attacks on both the welfare state and immigration. He posits that the dissolution of what little welfare there was has brought significant miseries to much of the population, who subsequently attempt to identify as something that is not threatened by capital and by the state, but by migrants, to preserve their own conditions of exploitation. Gholam makes it clear that this act of racial empowerment never has and can never contribute to any meaningful improved quality of existence. As such he asks that we reject the desiree to “restore the good old days” that is often espoused by the far-right as this serves to undo the very traditions and values that it proclaims to protect.
Jason Bunting – Fairness Foundation
Jason Bunting interrogated one of the gravest threats to belonging and social cohesion- wealth inequality. He cited the Gatsby Curve, showing that societies with higher levels of economic inequality have lower levels of social cohesion, and Britain increasingly fits this model with a 54% increase in the wealth gap from 2011 to 2021. He outlines the 3 main reasons why inequality erodes cohesion: 1. An unfair system diminishes trust in institutions, 2. Poverty severs people from community life, and 3. inequality breeds resentment and status anxiety. Jason ended with some tangible solutions, calling for the government to take action to redistribute wealth through a fairer tax system, a move away from extraction to productive activity, and democratic safeguards against capital capture of democracy (i.e. political donations).
Conclusion
This panel outlined the key challenges to sense of belonging in Britain, from inequality to social media misinformation, and in doing so revealed an important takeaway- that the issues causing division today are largely operating top down, from government, tech corporations, and the ultra wealthy. The panel emphasised how the flaws and abuses happening at the top of the systems we inhabit are pushed downstream and felt most harshly by the most vulnerable in society. As such, the panellists acknowledge the need to act collectively to shift the focus onto reforming these systems to create a more equitable society where all can belong.
The Dialogue Society will look to expand on these perspectives in the coming months in the 2nd edition of the Sense of Belonging panel series.
