Self-managed social centres in the United Kingdom

Self-managed social centres in the United Kingdom can be found in squatted, rented, mortgaged and fully owned buildings. These self-managed social centres differ from community centres in that they are self-organised under anti-authoritarian principles and volunteer-run, without any assistance from the state. The largest number have occurred in London from the 1980s onwards, although projects exist in most cities across the UK, linked in a network. Squatted social centres tend to be quickly evicted and therefore some projects deliberately choose a short-term existence, such as A-Spire in Leeds or the Okasional Café in Manchester. Longer term social centres include the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, the Cowley Club in Brighton and the Sumac Centre in Nottingham, which are co-operatively owned.

The projects draw influences from self-managed centres in Italy, working men's clubs, and anarchist clubs such as the Rose Street Club. Each individual social centre's activities are determined by its participants. Activities will often include some of the following: bar, bicycle repair workshop, café, cinema, concert venue, exhibition space, free shop, infoshop, language classes, meeting space, migrant support and radical library.