A new All Party Parliamentary Grouping for Social Integration has been set up to build cross Party support for policies that help to break down barriers to improved integration and which promote the growth of trust between groups in society. The group is supported by MPs and Peers from across the main political groupings at Westminster and is chaired by Labour’s former Shadow Business Secretary, Chuka Umunna MP, with Conservative MP James Berry serving as Vice-Chair.
Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, said ‘Trust and mutual understanding are vital to the future well-being and happiness of society, and are best achieved through a shared civic life. We are delighted that the group has been set up to push for improved integration on a cross Party basis, and to ensure the topic is not neglected, but taken more seriously by government.’
The group’s first meeting took place last month and focused on the topic of community cohesion. Joining Home Office Minister Lord Ahmad as speakers were Louise Casey – a civil servant who has been tasked by the Government to produce a report into boosting integration – and national expert on intercultural relations and Accord Distinguished Supporter, Professor Ted Cantle. Professor Cantle produced the seminal 2001 ‘Cantle Report’ which investigated the causes of race riots in Bradford, Leeds, Oldham and Burnley that year, and which found religious and ethnic fragmentation to be an underlying cause of the unrest.
At the meeting Professor Cantle cited schools and some employment sectors as having become more segregated since his 2001 report, and noted the mismatch between this and the Prime Minister’s public urging for a less segregated school system. He criticised faith schools for making schools more segregated and for denying pupils a rounded education. He described Nadiya Hussain winning the BBC’s Great British Bake Off as having done more for improved community relations than 10 years of government cohesion policy, which he found to be disconnected.
Louise Casey said children from different backgrounds should mix and that society failed to push for it at a national level. She argued that mixed race schooling was an antidote to racism and questioned why it was not better promoted, warning that the far right would otherwise take advantage of poor integration, unless improvements were made. She said improved integration would require political bravery and leadership, and criticized the Government for lacking an overarching integration strategy.
