ABSTRACT
The current situation concerning changing leisure and cultural patterns in childhood and youth in the United Kingdom has to be seen in the overall changing context of British society, and in its historical antecedents. Major recent changes include the increase in unemployment, which has greatly affected youth; to a lesser extent the spread and consequent ‘moral panic’ of AIDS, and its effect on sexual life; and the introduction since 1979 of policies and legislation specific to youth, as part of the Conservative government’s law and order platform. There has been a concentration in particular on public order issues, taking the form, firstly, of controlling trade union activity in public-particularly pickets and demonstrations, and, secondly, of the safety of public space, especially the streets and areas of public interaction-such as football terraces.
