The ascent of the individual, the emergence of community power, and a diversifying society, all brought immense social change.
The 1980s saw both British and global society torn between the forces of liberal values on one hand, and the forces of social conservatism on the other. It was a decade of change, reaction, and contrast. The 'good times' of the club and party scene were in stark contrast to the experiences of poverty in inner cities, and the riots of 1981 seem a world away from the street parties of the same year for the wedding of Charles and Diana. Unemployment, homelessness, and drug epidemics were for many people the social change that they most witnessed.
Personal experience of a 1980s AIDS test
By Damian Barr.
A decade of activism amidst the politics of the Troubles.
By Avila Kilmurray.
By Peter Beresford.
By Esther Rantzen.
By Theresa Coburn and Jonny Slut.
Reviewing a decade shaped by technology
By Phil Redmond.
By Richard Holloway.
By Samantha McCombe.
By Chris Creegan.
By a staff writer.
Experiencing 1980s London
By Evelyn Glennie.
By a staff writer.
By Caroline Gausden.
By a staff writer
By a staff writer.