UK continues to struggle with integration

By James Skinner | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2016-12-16 15:46

The recently released Casey Report has raised serious questions in Britain about how the increasingly diverse country is managing its fast-changing demographics and ensuring social stability.

The report makes interesting, but at times depressing reading. What is perhaps most striking about it is its similarity to previous reports–– highlighting the same problems, urging similar solutions, and warning of dangers if the issues aren't tackled.

Many in Britain's political establishment often talk with pride of the country's openness and tolerance, and the strengths it derives from its diversity.

Yet in recent years, public concern over high levels of immigration and worries about the apparent isolation of some communities, have combined with evidence of differing socioeconomic outcomes for different groups.

Three issues have been repeatedly highlighted by government reports over the past 15 years: the apparent isolation of many British Muslims, the lack of a strategy to integrate immigrants into British society and the need to promote a common set of values.

Yet little progress appears to have been made on any of these issues, and with the current public anxiety about the future direction of the country, it seems a good time to ask why.

The riots that took place in several of England's northern towns in 2001, involving white and - largely Muslim - Asian youths, sparked a flurry of national soul-searching. The government's Cantle Report which was later released on the background to the riots, famously claimed different communities in the city were leading "parallel lives".

In Louise Casey's report, she repeatedly highlights the stark differences between British Muslims and the non-Muslim majority. Casey is particularly concerned about the plight of some Muslim women living in areas with high Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage Britons. The report highlights low levels of female employment and in some cases a total lack of personal freedom due to the conservative attitudes prevalent in these communities.

As with past government reports, local officials come in for strong criticism for their failure to address these issues, in particular for not wanting to be seen as "racist". Previous reports have recommended everything from ensuring that schools do not become "ghettoized" to funding for interfaith dialogue. Yet the situation appears largely unchanged.

However, one thing that has changed over the past 10 years is the size of the community, as Casey herself makes clear, and much of it is concentrated in some key British cities (2001-2011 saw a 72% increase in the number of Muslims in Britain). Perhaps this explains the lack of action - the problem is now simply too big for a government to really tackle without risking social unrest, or at the least, the loss of votes in important constituencies.

Another theme of the report is the problems caused by newly-arrived migrants, in particular their lack of English language skills, vital for assimilation into society.

Recommendations for increased funding for English courses have nearly always been made and this report is no exception, yet it seems this is still not a government priority with the current government having cut funding for Englishclasses for migrants.

In a time of austerity this simply seems like a too easy and tempting cut for any government to make –– saving money by cutting a service most citizens can't benefit from.

Yet nobody disputes the central role learning the national language plays in helping new migrants integrate, but sadly nobody is willing to pay for it.

The ongoing debate on the need to promote a common set of values on the other hand is much more complex. There is no real agreement on what British values actually are, and few individuals in public life who can articulate them, beyond vague notions about tolerance and the rule of law.

Casey directly calls for the promotion of British values in schools, and feels that the government should reconsider what is required of those applying for British citizenship.

Despite the obvious importance of making some conclusions on this issue, it seems the UK is no closer to deciding what its core values actually are. The reasons for this are numerous, but the legacy of empire, a lack of national self-confidence and decades of promoting multiculturalism as opposed to a monoculture for individuals to integrate into - have all played their part.

Casey's report is detailed and extensive, with sensible recommendations. It should not just be filed away and forgotten about. Many of its key recommendations should be acted upon.

In particular, the government needs to ensure it takes the difficult steps to ensure the country's Muslim community is better integrated into mainstream society, to avoid the more serious social divisions seen in France and Belgium.

At the very least, the government can and should find money for the English classes repeatedly recommended in government reports. Without promoting a common language, it will be very hard to even begin to think about promoting any kind of shared British values to unite the country for future generations.

James Skinner is a contributing editor at China Daily with an MA in International Relations. He has a particular interest in British and American politics, as well as global security issues.