Bristol, known for its progressive university, rich history of activism, and thriving arts scene, has long held the reputation of being a bastion for leftist ideals in Britain. This vibrant city was even highlighted by TimeOut magazine last year as one of the UK’s top places to live, celebrated for its “rebellious and creative streak.”

However, beneath this surface of cultural dynamism, troubling issues are emerging that challenge its status as the “woke capital.” Reports of antisemitism, a surge in knife-related crimes, and an increasing divide between affluent homeowners and financially struggling students are casting a shadow over the city’s progressive identity.

In one Bristol neighborhood, tensions have risen after a local school canceled a visit from a Labour MP due to protests over his stance on Israel and Gaza. Parents in the area have voiced concerns about what they describe as a growing “permissive culture of antisemitism” in their community.

During a recent visit to the eastern suburb of Bristol by the Daily Mail, numerous Palestinian flags were observed adorning homes, and windows were plastered with posters accusing Israel of perpetuating an “apartheid.”

Meanwhile, in another part of the city that has been grappling with a knife crime crisis, residents recounted harrowing accounts of young individuals wielding machetes and zombie knives. This area has seen several fatal stabbings in the past few years, underscoring the severity of the problem.

Elsewhere, in one area of the city plagued by knife crime, locals admitted youngsters carrying machetes and zombie knives had been running rampant, recalling several fatal stabbings in the past few years alone. 

Speaking just metres from where teenager Eddie Kinuthia was stabbed to death over a ‘violent’ gang feud in in July, 54-year-old Bristolian Sam admitted there had been an increase in knife-related incidents in recent years. 

She told the Daily Mail: ‘Well we’ve seen quite a lot of police, but I don’t go out that much. I went to school just up the road and I think there is more knife crime now. When I was a kid people just punched people in the face.’

Abdullahi, 23, who lives in nearby Redcliffe but works in a supermarket just up the road from where Eddie was murdered, has also noticed a rise in such incidents. 

‘There has definitely been a prevalence of knife crime over the last four years I’ve been in this area. There are mornings I wake up and there’s just crime everywhere and something’s happened. 

‘There’s been times, like a few months, where it just goes ham. And there’s other times where it’s really calm for a whole year or two years.

‘Back in 2023 or 2022, I’m not sure which exact year, but there was a lot. There was one week, I remember, we had seven, eight stabbings around East Bristol and St Paul’s. But it’s gone down a lot since then.’

During the sentencing of Eddie’s killer Zachariah Talbert Young, 27, in November last year, judge Mr Justice Pepperall told the court how his death had been fuelled by a ‘violent’ gang war.

‘North-east Bristol is scarred by a violent feud between two gangs of youths; the 1-6s from the Fishponds, Hillfields and Oldbury Court areas of the city and the 2-4s from the St Paul’s and St Jude’s areas,’ he told the court.  

‘The feud has come at an appalling human cost leaving heartbroken parents to bury their young sons who are violently cut down in a senseless round of tit-for-tat murders.’

The judge said at the time that since the end of 2018, the feud had led to ‘no fewer than fifty violent or weapons-related incidents… including four murders and two attempted murders’.

Other tragic cases include the senseless murders of Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15, who were stabbed to death with machetes yards from Mason’s front door in a case of mistaken identity in January 2024. 

Aspiring drill rapper Mikey Roynon was another victim of the region’s knife crisis. The 16-year-old, from Bristol was stabbed to death by three teenagers with a zombie knife during a row at a house party in Bath in June 2023.

Abdullahi said that the prevalence had ‘definitely’ contributed to the city’s knife crime epidemic and fears this perpetual tit-for-tat cycle may never end.  

‘I feel like it all starts with one disagreement and and then people obviously try to get back for each other. And then it just leads on to never stopping,’ he added. 

Rambo, 46, another local to the area, believes more should be done to tackle knife crime in Bristol and fears local services are being shunned. 

He said: ‘Then were people attacking individuals. They should not attack. So now these individuals feel threatened so they carry their knives, screwdrivers, any sharp object. 

‘Then we have another problem of trying to de-escalate knife crime while the elite and everyone is preparing for war. So you have a lot of problems there. 

‘They know the aftermath. Their friends are dead, their friends are in jail, they know the aftermath. But how do you address arguments? How do you address conflict? 

‘You can’t just expect the kids to put down their arms with what they’re seeing around the world, that ain’t gonna work. Show them how to de-escalate conflict. Get some funding and show them the world.

The city’s decline is also felt further afield. On the outskirts of Bristol, Phill, 75, finds himself travelling into the city centre less and less as it has become more rampant with crime and anti social behaviour. 

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I went to school in the middle of Redcliffe and when I was on the bus, what I would see was a beautiful place.

‘It’s been destroyed. Now I never go in the centre. It’s horrible.’

Speaking from the garage of his £900,000 house in Sneyd Park, a residential area to the west of Bristol, Paul admitted he was ‘lucky’ to be able to live in such a beautiful area amid soaring house prices. 

Bristol saw a two per cent rise in the average house price last year, meaning it now stands at £394,309, according to Rightmove. ONS data claims the figure is lower, at £357,000 as of November 2025. 

Such figures have seen Bristol become one of the most expensive cities to buy a house outside of London. Only Cambridge (£490,000) and Oxford (£491,000) were higher, according to the ONS. 

But even prices in the city centre, which was once shunned for its high crime rates and run-down streets, are on the up, having risen by eight per cent in the twelve months to September last year. 

A report by Bristol Live found that earlier this month, there were only eight ‘own home’ rental properties on the market in city for less than £900 a month. 

Phil lives just a few streets down from some of the city’s most desirable residential areas – Old Sneed Park and Mariners Drive where properties have sold for an average of £1,819,666 and £1,776,666, respectively, since 2020. 

‘People living in this area, the majority have lived here like me for 40 years or thereabouts, they’ve only changed when somebody has died or their family moved in,’ he said.

‘This is always, always the number one place in Bristol. It’s just the quality of houses, the roads, the people that live here. 

‘This government is just killing it for everybody. everywhere you live. And it’s all right for me, I’m one of the lucky ones. 

‘I feel so sorry for for the younger ones and [rising house prices] are making it so much harder for them, isn’t it?’

Andrew, 36, is one of many trying to get on the property ladder. He was visiting his parents in Bristol at the family home where he grew up, but is doubtful he could ever afford such a place. 

He said: ‘It’s a nice city. It’s got a lot going on. I think a lot of people would be very happy to live here. I think naturally. More and more people are moving in, the areas where people live are expanding. 

‘The prospect of buying a house terrifies me. I can see a time where I would be very happy to move back to Bristol and live here, but I don’t think I could afford it. 

‘I grew up here and notice a lot more people building and doing things to houses. You go out here on a week day and it feels like every other home has something going on.

‘I think there definitely seems to be a sort of shift in terms of generation in this neighbourhood in the suburbs in the north. In the past, you kind of think of them as being a lot of retired couples.’

Henry, a 21-year-old student living in private university accommodation, is considering living in the city after finishing his degree, but fears such hopes may be unattainable if prices continue to rise. 

Henry told the Daily Mail: ‘I live in quite a nice bit of Bristol as well, in the Clifton area. So all sorts of prices around there very expensive. 

‘I’ve sorted my housing for next year. but I think it can definitely be quite difficult finding out a house within your price range in Bristol because it is just so expensive, especially for students.

‘I have quite a few friends that are on bursaries or those sort of things and whilst that helps it can be super difficult to find something within your price range as a student.

‘I’ve discussed with some friends about living here post uni and pricing has come into that. I think it’s the second most expensive city outside of London for students, so I think that’s definitely something to consider.’

Henry said he’s noticed the stark contrast in house prices across the city as well as the prevalence of crime closer towards the city centre. 

‘You definitely notice just all sorts of price differences. So yeah, it’s something in my mind, for sure. I mean with areas like Cliftons as well, but also around here. 

‘There’s a uni village that’s surrounded by all these massive houses and also just like walking into the centre, you see much the same.

‘I think when you compare that to the very centre, you definitely notice a housing difference, whether it’s the size or the garden space. 

‘I’m also definitely more cautious when I’m in the city centre. I’m not sure whether that is specific to Bristol, but you don’t have to be in there long to see quite a few homeless people or groups of men out drinking and a bit rowdy.’

On the opposite side of the city, another prevalent issue has embroiled the local neighbourhood and sparked division among residents. 

In September, Labour MP Damien Egan had his trip to Bristol Brunel Academy put on hold after a campaign by far-Left protesters from Bristol’s National Education Union (NEU) branch and its local Palestine Solidarity Campaign group.

The Bristol North East MP was barred because of ‘safeguarding concerns’ after the activists, who claimed to be representing the views of teachers, parents, and residents, highlighted his links to the Labour Friends of Israel group.

Activists described it as a win for ‘safeguarding, solidarity, and for the power of the NEU trade union staff group, parents, and campaigners standing together’. 

The incident brought to light the pervasive attitudes of those living in and around the supposedly progressive area, where Jewish people are allegedly being ‘ostracised’. 

One couple who live in the neighbourhood claim they have seen a gradual increase of ‘a permissive culture of antisemitism’ since the October 7 attacks, in which Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage. 

They have supposedly been interrogated by other parents over whether they are Zionists, while their child was left in tears after experiencing ‘hassle from another pupil over Gaza’ at primary school.  

‘There are very few spaces where you are not getting it in your face with the conflict,’ the husband told The Times. ‘We are not Israelis but it’s pumped into our lives like it’s happening just across the border in Bath.

‘The small Jewish community is being ostracised in an organised way. It is being done by the left and and polite society aren’t doing enough,’ he added. 

The couple are now searching for a new home in a more ‘neutral neighbourhood’ following the recent events.

Last week, the NEU announced it had instructed Karon Monaghan of Matrix Chambers to look into allegations of a ‘hostile environment’ for Jewish members at the academy.

The NEU said it is part of a wider inquiry into ‘how debate of contentious issues is handled within the union’ and ‘the processes for member complaints’.

The probe was commissioned by Daniel Kebede, the General Secretary, in recognition that ‘debate on contentious issues can often be complex’. Launched more than a year ago, the inquiry has been kept secret until now.

A spokesman for the NEU previously said the Monaghan report ‘was not triggered by a member complaint’.

They added: ‘It is not accurate to say this is a report solely about antisemitism. Daniel Kebede, upon being elected as general secretary, made a proactive and positive decision, of his own volition, to review the processes and policies of how debate of contentious issues is handled within the union, as well as the processes for member complaints.’

They said the NEU wants ‘different views’ to be heard and to ‘respond to a political environment where debate on contentious issues can often be complex’.

Regarding the Bristol incident, the spokesman said NEU head office had ‘no knowledge’ of the cancellation at the time.