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Ghetto Britain

Writer: David Rosenberg

Ghettos – myth and reality | Who lives where and why? | Economic deprivation and race relations | White power in the cities | Can we get along?

Can we get along?

Despite the success enjoyed by the BNP in certain areas and the virulence of the tabloid press against immigrants and asylum seekers, surveys of the general population testify to more tolerant and harmonious attitudes.

A recent MORI poll showed that 62% of respondents thought that 'multiculturalism makes Britain a better place'. And 86% disagreed with the statement 'my area doesn't feel like Britain any more because of immigration.'

Man on a motorbike: image from the programme
Man on a motorbike: image from the programme
Channel 4
Even the BNP is reluctant to own racism. Whereas their predecessors in the 1970s were proud to call themselves 'racialists', the BNP now 'justifies' its policies in terms of standing up for 'victims' and seeking 'fairness'.

In the late 1970s, the Far Right targetted Leicester, with its large Asian population. The last census suggests that by 2011 Leicester will become the first UK city where 50% of the population will hail from a non-white background.

Leicester is now seen as a model of racial harmony, inclusion and progress. It was the first area in Britain to set up a race relations council committee looking to influence every area of council policy and now has many Asian city councillors and one Asian MP. It also has a plethora of leading businessmen and women from ethnic minorities, and a continuing commitment to dialogue and practical action from a range of committees and grassroots bodies tackling racism.

Whether Leicester's success can be repeated elsewhere remains to be seen. Kenneth Leech says that the CRE 'should not be criticising Muslims for "choosing' segregation" but confronting 'government racism and collusion with racism.' Trevor Philips, he says, could have warned 'that discrimination will lead to segregation… Black people suffer from racism as well as poverty but the only ghettoes that exist in Britain are those of the rich and the poor.'

Ghettos – myth and reality >

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