Editorial August 2010

Denham’s right and wrong

Communities Minister John Denham sparked controversy last month when he said it was time for a more sophisticated approach that recognised that economic disadvantage was also tied up with class and poverty. Certainly Britain

is not the place it was twenty or thirty years.

There have been huge improvements in some aspects of race relations and despite the rise of support for the BNP Britain is still a more integrated country then most others in Europe.

Likewise, Denham is correct to point to class being a major contributor to poverty. For too long this Government has not given enough attention to the plight of those white working class communities who have been increasingly left behind in modern Britain. Addressing their grievances and needs is long overdue.

However, giving more attention to the white working class should not be at the expense of supporting black and Asian communities who continue to face huge disadvantage and discrimination. It should not be a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is exactly this approach which pits one group against another and feeds resentment and support for the BNP.

Of course there is an emerging black and Asian middle class but the experience for the majority of ethnic minorities in Britain remains very difficult. For them there is the disadvantage of race and class – a double whammy of discrimination. Unemployment remains twice that of the national average, the lack of promotion, workplace harassment and poor housing are also a disproportionately common experience for many ethnic minorities. Now there is the rising Islamophobia which stigmatises and alienates Muslims even further.

The needs of some white working class communities must be addressed but it must not be at the expense of others as Denham’s comments were certainly reported. Race and class are both factors in determining poverty and life chances; it is just that some people experience both.

EDL shows true colours

Despite the public pronouncements of EDL leaders most of those attending its protest in Stoke-on-Trent last month clearly demonstrated a racist and violent agenda. While the EDL brings together a wide plethora of people with different agendas it is clear that its opposition to Islamic extremist conceals a deep-rooted racism and hostility to all ethnic minorities. Perhaps it is time for those who have played down the EDL threat – such as the Daily Star and some sections of the Home Office – actually attend one of these unpleasant gatherings rather than taking the words of EDL leaders at face value.