David Cameron has called for a widespread focus on building a more cohesive country. Writing in The Times this week, the Prime Minister criticised the notion of groups of people operating separately from one another and urged for government and wider society to ‘change our approach’ and share ‘responsibility to tackle prejudice and bigotry, and help integration’.
He argued that achieving these goals required a greater assertion of liberal values, a greater expectation upon people to integrate, and more work and inventiveness in breaking down barriers. He praised Britain’s ethnic and religious diversity, which he believed was sustained through ‘long struggles for liberty, equality and mutual tolerance. But the job of building a more cohesive country is never complete’.
Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, said ‘There are different ideas about forging a more inclusive and cohesive society, but the Prime Minister is right to identify this as an ongoing challenge and a major challenge of our time. It is an important message that should be heard and digested widely.
‘One way it is known that cohesion and integration can be boosted is through our schools, and by making sure they are spaces that bring people of varying backgrounds together. That is why a great hope for progress in Northern Ireland is the rise of the Integrated schools.
‘A logical conclusion from the Prime Minister’s remarks are that schools should not create isolated communities. The risk of this comes largely from faith schools, and so an obvious solution therefore is to apply the current 50% religious selection cap in admissions to faith free schools to all state funded faith schools. Just as the Prime Minister is sending out an important signal, so applying the cap to all faith schools would send an important message that, regardless of ethos, all schools should be shared spaces that bring people from different backgrounds together.’
The Prime Minister’s latest comments follow a series of remarks highlighting risks from segregation and the need to boost integration. At an international security conference in 2011 he spoke of the value of improved cohesion and sense of citizenship in tackling extremism. In July 2015 he gave a further speech on extremism in which he cited the negative impact of ethnic segregation and the positive contribution of ethnic diversity in schools upon community cohesion. Meanwhile, in his annual speech as Conservative Party Leader in October 2015 he set out a vision for making Britain less discriminatory and more cohesive, and cited a range of obstacles including segregation and a lack of action by government authorities.
