The Commission, which originated in the aftermath of the riots that followed the Southport stabbings and has gained rare cross-party support, has built a diverse panel to grapple with one of the UK’s most urgent challenges.

Addressing what Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called ‘the cracks in our foundation,' the Commission will examine the forces driving disconnection and division across the country - and develop a series of evidence-based recommendations to help build a stronger, more connected sense of community across the UK.

Professor Robinson, who is also Chair of CBI North East Council, is one of 19 commissioners announced today. When fully appointed, the Commission will include representation from all four nations of the UK and reflect a broad, cross-party spectrum - spanning politics, civil society, academia, business, media and faith.

Professor Robinson said: “I am deeply honoured to be contributing to this timely national Commission to help build a stronger, more connected sense of community across the UK. We are facing complex and deep-seated challenges which we can only address by working together, bringing together perspectives from politics, civil society, academia, business, media, and faith. I hope to be able to draw on the significant expertise within Newcastle University and our deep-seated commitment to social justice in supporting the Commission to develop long-term, evidence-based recommendations.”

Co-chaired by Sir Sajid Javid and Jon Cruddas, the Commission brings together leading voices from across public life -

• Lord Bilimoria CBE DL, crossbench peer, entrepreneur and former President of the CBI; founder of Cobra Beer and former Chancellor of the University of Birmingham
• Professor Luke Bretherton, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, University of Oxford, and Director of the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics and Public Life
• David Halpern CBE, President Emeritus of the Behavioural Insights Team
• Professor Jagbir Jhutti-Johal OBE, Professor of Sikh Studies at the University of Birmingham; expert on faith, interfaith dialogue, and public policy
• Sunder Katwala, Director, British Future
• Dame Sara Khan, human rights campaigner and former Commissioner for Countering Extremism
• Javed Khan OBE, Managing Director of think tank Equi and former CEO of Barnardo’s and Victim Support; independent adviser to government and non-executive board member
• Caroline Lucas, former Leader and Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales; author, campaigner and Co-President of the European Movement
• Laura Marks CBE, Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust; founder of Mitzvah Day and Nisa-Nashim, and co-founder of the Women’s Faith Forum
• Ruth Marks CBE, former CEO of Wales Council for Voluntary Action and first Older People’s Commissioner for Wales
• Lord Mendelsohn, Labour peer and business leader
• Tim Montgomerie, political commentator and founder of ConservativeHome
• Dr Chaand Nagpaul CBE, former Chair of the British Medical Association
• Fraser Nelson, columnist for The Times and former Editor of The Spectator
• Ndidi Okezie OBE, former CEO of UK Youth
• Eva Omaghomi LVO, Founder of Forster Jones, former Director of Community Engagement, Household of Their Majesties The King and Queen
• Sir Andy Street CBE, former Mayor of the West Midlands and former Managing Director of John Lewis; Chair of Birmingham Repertory Theatre
• Lord Woolley, Principal of Homerton College, University of Cambridge and founder of Operation Black Vote

Commissioners are meeting for the first time today, marking the official start of the Commission’s work.

Sir Sajid Javid, Co-Chair of the Commission, said:

“Successive governments have treated community and cohesion as second-tier issues - responding only when tensions spill over, and too often ignoring the root causes.

“This Commission has been established to do what governments alone cannot: take a long view, propose radical policy changes and - crucially - help forge a cross-society consensus about how we want to live together now and in the future.

“The extraordinary breadth and calibre of this group reflects both the scale of the challenge and the seriousness of the response it demands.”

Jon Cruddas, Co-Chair of the Commission, said:

“We hope this Commission will mark a crucial step forward in responding to one of the most pressing and persistently neglected issues facing our country. The group we’ve brought together - spanning politics, civil society, business, faith, academia and the media - reflects the complexity of modern UK society and the breadth of experience needed to address a systemic, long-term challenge left unaddressed for far too long.

“This won’t be a top-down exercise. Over the next year, we’ll be listening directly to people across the UK - drawing on their experiences to help shape practical, long-term answers to the forces pulling us apart.”

Over the coming months, the Commission will explore the structural drivers of cohesion and division, test ideas, and shape practical responses - drawing on a major body of evidence gathered during its first phase of work by British Future and Belong.

Alongside the programme of commissioner meetings, the Commission’s next phase will feature a UK-wide ‘national conversation’ launching this autumn. This will be designed to hear directly from people across the country about how they experience connection and belonging - and what they want to see change.

The Commission is supported by the /together initiative, which acts as its secretariat.

Brendan Cox, co-founder of Together said:

“Declining community connection and growing division is an existential threat to democracy. It won’t be solved by more of the same - or by a single party or government. We will only see progress if we can forge both a shared vision of where we are going, and an effective roadmap of how to get there. That’s not an easy thing to do - especially not in the current climate - but it’s an extraordinary group of people who have committed to helping try.”

Press release adapted with thanks to The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion