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| The Observer view on the need for better integration in society The Observer view on the need for better integration in society | |
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| At the turn of the millennium, after a decade free of racially motivated unrest, it seemed such violence had been consigned to Britain’s past. Yet just a year later, race riots broke out in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley, taking the political class unawares. Ted Cantle’s independent review concluded these towns had been characterised by communities divided along ethnic lines, living a “series of parallel lives”. His report created a frenzy of government activity in its wake: new Whitehall units set up, experts deployed, targets set. | At the turn of the millennium, after a decade free of racially motivated unrest, it seemed such violence had been consigned to Britain’s past. Yet just a year later, race riots broke out in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley, taking the political class unawares. Ted Cantle’s independent review concluded these towns had been characterised by communities divided along ethnic lines, living a “series of parallel lives”. His report created a frenzy of government activity in its wake: new Whitehall units set up, experts deployed, targets set. |
| Fifteen years later, the publication of a new government review on integration by Louise Casey this week offers us the opportunity to reflect on how much has changed. | Fifteen years later, the publication of a new government review on integration by Louise Casey this week offers us the opportunity to reflect on how much has changed. |
| There is a positive face to the story. As Britain grows increasingly diverse, racist attitudes have sharply declined in the last two decades and we have become one of the most racially tolerant countries in the world. But tolerance does not make the intersection of parallel lives inevitable. Cantle has spoken of his concern that parallel lives remain as much a feature of Britain today as in 2001. The Social Integration Commission last year highlighted the lack of mixing across all ethnic groups, apart from people of mixed race, taking into account the diversity of the areas in which people live. | There is a positive face to the story. As Britain grows increasingly diverse, racist attitudes have sharply declined in the last two decades and we have become one of the most racially tolerant countries in the world. But tolerance does not make the intersection of parallel lives inevitable. Cantle has spoken of his concern that parallel lives remain as much a feature of Britain today as in 2001. The Social Integration Commission last year highlighted the lack of mixing across all ethnic groups, apart from people of mixed race, taking into account the diversity of the areas in which people live. |
| This should worry us. Segregation introduces a fragility to the tolerance that has been so hard won, creating fertile territory for resentment. Communities in which there is more mixing between diverse groups are more resilient, enjoying higher levels of trust in others. | This should worry us. Segregation introduces a fragility to the tolerance that has been so hard won, creating fertile territory for resentment. Communities in which there is more mixing between diverse groups are more resilient, enjoying higher levels of trust in others. |
| Government cannot nor should not dictate the way we live our lives and with whom we decide to spend them. But public institutions such as schools and community centres have an important role to play in nudging us to rub shoulders with those from other backgrounds, rather than aiding and abetting our natural tendency to mix with others like ourselves. | Government cannot nor should not dictate the way we live our lives and with whom we decide to spend them. But public institutions such as schools and community centres have an important role to play in nudging us to rub shoulders with those from other backgrounds, rather than aiding and abetting our natural tendency to mix with others like ourselves. |
| Yet the school system seems to be promoting rather than discouraging segregation: levels of ethnic segregation are higher among children of school age than 18-34 year-olds. Government could do more to encourage schools to avoid segregation through admissions codes and catchment areas and should oblige schools to ensure children from different backgrounds have the opportunity to mix, even if that means joint provision with other schools. There is a range of other measures local government can take to promote greater mixing through public services and community institutions, as argued by the social integration charity The Challenge. | Yet the school system seems to be promoting rather than discouraging segregation: levels of ethnic segregation are higher among children of school age than 18-34 year-olds. Government could do more to encourage schools to avoid segregation through admissions codes and catchment areas and should oblige schools to ensure children from different backgrounds have the opportunity to mix, even if that means joint provision with other schools. There is a range of other measures local government can take to promote greater mixing through public services and community institutions, as argued by the social integration charity The Challenge. |
| The political response from both left and right has left much to be desired. Politicians on the right have done too little to acknowledge the economic and structural barriers that minority groups face in integrating and the pernicious impacts of societal discrimination that can make it harder for groups such as Muslim women and young black men to get jobs. Both David Cameron and Theresa May have slipped into using irresponsible soundbites that sensationalise already fraught debates, such as threatening to force Muslim women to learn English at the risk of deportation and requiring companies to disclose how many foreign workers they employ. | The political response from both left and right has left much to be desired. Politicians on the right have done too little to acknowledge the economic and structural barriers that minority groups face in integrating and the pernicious impacts of societal discrimination that can make it harder for groups such as Muslim women and young black men to get jobs. Both David Cameron and Theresa May have slipped into using irresponsible soundbites that sensationalise already fraught debates, such as threatening to force Muslim women to learn English at the risk of deportation and requiring companies to disclose how many foreign workers they employ. |
| Muslim women are not just held back by societal discrimination, but by gender discrimination within conservative Asian communities and not just with respect to employment. Some 30-40% of Muslim marriages are ceremonies that are unrecognised by the state, leaving some women vulnerable and without legal rights, with their only option to seek divorce in sharia councils. | Muslim women are not just held back by societal discrimination, but by gender discrimination within conservative Asian communities and not just with respect to employment. Some 30-40% of Muslim marriages are ceremonies that are unrecognised by the state, leaving some women vulnerable and without legal rights, with their only option to seek divorce in sharia councils. |
| Too often, the left has failed to challenge these behaviours in minority communities that contravene its fundamental values and act as a barrier to women in those communities. The “multicultural” model, in which local politics is characterised by close relationships between elected officials and self-appointed community leaders claiming to represent whole ethnic groups, with funding flowing from councils to community groups to provide services for specific communities, was discredited more than a decade ago in the wake of the 2001 riots. | Too often, the left has failed to challenge these behaviours in minority communities that contravene its fundamental values and act as a barrier to women in those communities. The “multicultural” model, in which local politics is characterised by close relationships between elected officials and self-appointed community leaders claiming to represent whole ethnic groups, with funding flowing from councils to community groups to provide services for specific communities, was discredited more than a decade ago in the wake of the 2001 riots. |
| Yet there is evidence it has stubbornly persisted in Labour areas characterised by diversity, such as Tower Hamlets and Bradford. This is at least in part because it evolved into the patronage-style politics found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, with community leaders helping to provide electoral support for Labour from their communities. | Yet there is evidence it has stubbornly persisted in Labour areas characterised by diversity, such as Tower Hamlets and Bradford. This is at least in part because it evolved into the patronage-style politics found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, with community leaders helping to provide electoral support for Labour from their communities. |
| This close relationship between local Labour parties and Asian communities has a dark side that has sometimes resulted in the left looking the other way. Several Muslim female candidates have come forward saying they have experienced misogyny and intimidation from Muslim men involved in local Labour parties. Yet Labour has rejected calls from the Muslim Women’s Network to hold an inquiry into systemic misogyny within the party. The independent inquiry into child sex abuse in Rotherham partly attributed the Labour council’s failure to take action to a fear of broaching ethnically-sensitive issues, as most perpetrators were men of Pakistani heritage. | This close relationship between local Labour parties and Asian communities has a dark side that has sometimes resulted in the left looking the other way. Several Muslim female candidates have come forward saying they have experienced misogyny and intimidation from Muslim men involved in local Labour parties. Yet Labour has rejected calls from the Muslim Women’s Network to hold an inquiry into systemic misogyny within the party. The independent inquiry into child sex abuse in Rotherham partly attributed the Labour council’s failure to take action to a fear of broaching ethnically-sensitive issues, as most perpetrators were men of Pakistani heritage. |
| In the wake of the Casey review, it is likely both parties will issue warm words about the importance of and their commitment to integration. But there is a danger of history repeating itself: that like the Cantle report that preceded it, it inspires a flurry of activity aimed at trying to get us to mix more, but with neither party confronting their inconvenient truths. | In the wake of the Casey review, it is likely both parties will issue warm words about the importance of and their commitment to integration. But there is a danger of history repeating itself: that like the Cantle report that preceded it, it inspires a flurry of activity aimed at trying to get us to mix more, but with neither party confronting their inconvenient truths. |
| The right must face up to its continued reluctance to tackle the economic and structural barriers faced by many minority groups. The left must face up to its failure to consistently challenge illiberal behaviours wherever they are found. A failure to do so would be to jeopardise the tolerant society we have built over decades. | The right must face up to its continued reluctance to tackle the economic and structural barriers faced by many minority groups. The left must face up to its failure to consistently challenge illiberal behaviours wherever they are found. A failure to do so would be to jeopardise the tolerant society we have built over decades. |
| • Comments will be opened later | • Comments will be opened later |
| SOCIETY | SOCIETY |