A Nation Divided: Building a United Kingdom A NATION DIVIDED BUILDING A UNITED KINGDOM A NATION Set in the context of the underlying divisions behind Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, A Nation Divided: Building a United Kingdom explores the extent DIVIDED to which the UK is divided along social, economic, cultural, regional and intergenerational lines. Forewords from leading academics and public fi gures BUILDING A UNITED KINGDOM are presented alongside chapters written by a team of eighteen Young Fabian members, each considering the impact of these divisions on community cohesion and Edited by Ria Bernard social integration across the UK. YOUNG FABIANS Published by the Young Fabians £7.00 2018 November Edited by Ria Bernard November 2018 © 2018 Young Fabians Edited by Ria Bernard A Nation Divided: Building a United Kingdom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. Like all publications of the Fabian Society, this report represents not the collective views of the society, but only the views of the individual writers. The responsibility of the society is limited to approving its publications as worthy of consideration within the Labour movement Typeset and Cover Design: Ben West Published by: Young Fabians [email protected] www.youngfabians.org.uk Young Fabians 61 Petty France London, UK, SW1H 9EU Young Fabians 2018 A NATION DIVIDED: BUILDING A UNITED KINGDOM Edited by Ria Bernard CONTENTS Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 2 Executive Summary 5 Immigration and Integration 12 Intergenerational Inequality 43 Socio-economic Divides 77 Regional Divisions 115 Community Cohesion 147 National Identity 170 Conclusion 198 A NATION DIVIDED: BUILDING A UNITED KINGDON EDITED BY RIA BERNARD A NATION DIVIDED: BUILDING A UNITED KINGDOM ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Pamphlet has been made possible through the research, contributions and support of a wide range of individuals and external organisations. In particular, we wish to thank: Contributors Forewords • Alexander Naile • Chuka Umunna MP, Social • Anjali Mukhi Integration APPG • Anna Rehfisch • Claire McCarthy, the Co-operative Party • Arran Parry-Davies • Fahmida Rahman, Resolution • Ben West Foundation • Daniel Davies • Mayor Dan Jarvis MBE MP • Imogen Tyreman • Sarah Longlands, IPPR North • Jesse Coleman • Sunder Katwala, British Future • Mark Whittaker • Matthew Clark Financial support • The Midcounties Co-operative • Nick Plumb • University of Bath • Nicky Stubbs • Ollie Lund Design and typeset • Ria Bernard • Ben West • Robert Williams • Tom Knight • Tristan Grove • Uther Naysmith 1 YOUNG FABIANS INTRODUCTION Ria Bernard Young Fabian Chair and Project Lead Set in the context of the underlying divisions behind the Brexit vote, our Nation Divided pamphlet explores the extent to which the UK is divided along social, economic, cultural, regional and intergenerational lines and the impact of these inequalities on our sense of community cohesion and social integration. When this pamphlet was first proposed, there was confusion about whether we would be, in effect, reinventing the wheel – regurgitating the reasons behind the Leave vote that had been put forward by countless other think tanks, policy-makers and politicians since the Referendum in 2016. However, our objective was to cast the net further. Consequently, this pamphlet recognises the Brexit vote as a symptom of the deep-rooted inequalities and gulfs that existed far before the decision to hold the referendum was made. It is widely acknowledged that Globalisation and immigration have brought huge benefits – economically and socially – to Britain. However, we sought to examine whether the diverse nature of modern Britain in terms of ethnic background, social class and age has been accompanied by a downward trend in engagement be- tween social groups. This research aims to explore the extent to which cohesion within and between neighbouring communities has broken down in modern Britain. The publication of this pamphlet has been an enormous feat involving 18 Young Fabian members who have remained committed to the project as it has matured and developed into the remarkable body of research that it has become. Although it has been a hectic eight months, I can still recall my elation at receiving the members’ responses to the invitation to submit an essay on the topic, ‘Britain is more divided 2 A NATION DIVIDED: BUILDING A UNITED KINGDOM than it was 50 years ago. Discuss’. The selection process was a competitive one given the quality of submissions but following a blinded assessment with an expe- rienced policy-maker, we gathered together a team of contributors from across the country boasting a wealth of experiences and political and academic backgrounds. Through a series of policy roundtables over the ensuing eight months, this ambitious project took shape. Working within six small teams, the contributors conducted interviews, examined case studies, and analysed data from secondary sources to explore the extent to which cohesion within and between neighbouring communi- ties has broken down in modern Britain. Keen not to produce a pamphlet centred on descriptive narrative, members were tasked with the objective of generating policy recommendations that targeted the issues they had identified. The execu- tive summary provides an insight into the issues raised in the publication and the recommendations proposed by our team of researchers. The pamphlet is divided into six chapters, all of which have been written by our members following primary and secondary research. Each chapter is preceded by a foreword from an organisation or individual with special interest in the field. We are delighted that our final publication comprises contributions from the Resolution Foundation, IPPR North, the Co-operative Party, Chuka Umunna MP, British Future and Mayor Dan Jarvis MBE MP. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every one of them for their contribution to this publication. In addition, on behalf of the team, I’d like to thank the Midcounties Co-operative and Bath University who enabled us to publish through their grants and Ben West for his hard work both in designing and formatting this publication. The team behind this pamphlet have worked tirelessly to identify key trends, analyse some of the most substantial challenges faced by our communities and generate policy ideas to tackle the issues they identify as corrosive to social integration within modern Britain. They deserve a huge thank you – every one of them has proved what the Young Fabians can achieve through policy-focused outputs that have clear and relevant objectives. A commitment that has stood the test of time since the work of the first Fabians all those years ago. It has been a privilege to work with every member of this talented team and to guide this pamphlet through to its completion. An ambitious project that raises a host of questions that we hope our parliamentarians will begin to ask to tackle the factors that undermine social justice, social cohesion and inequality in the UK. 3 YOUNG FABIANS A Nation Divided: Building a United Kingdom does not ignore the issues of Brexit nor do we deny that Brexit brought with it another layer of division. However, while parliamentary debate remains firmly fixed on the Brexit negotiations, it seems politi- cians and policy-makers have forgotten the deep inequality that has taken root and is breaking apart our communities. As is alluded to throughout this pamphlet, policy that attempts to remedy the challenges that accompany globalisation, changes in the labour and housing markets, and integration across class, ethnic group and age cannot be reactionary. We need to be looking to how we tackle these issues now to help us re-build a sense of national identity, inclusion and cohesion within a country that I fear does not live up to its name: the United Kingdom. Ria Bernard National Chair, Young Fabians 4 A NATION DIVIDED: BUILDING A UNITED KINGDOM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CHAPTER 1 IMMIGRATION & INTEGRATION Cross-governmental • In order to heal wounds – including those most obviously opened by the Windrush scandal – with settled migrant populations, government should introduce a Race Equality Strategy, using the Race Disparity Audit as its basis. • Learning from the RSA’s ‘Citizens’ Economic Council’1, the government should appoint a Citizens’ Assembly on Race Equality to devise its Race Equality Strategy. • Mainstream opportunities for social mixing across government, through the application of ‘design principles for meaningful mixing’. A requirement should be placed on other government departments to account for how they have considered these principles when designing new initiatives and programmes. • Introduce an ‘Immigrant Integration Levy’ to fund local interventions aimed at boosting migrant integration. Migration policy • Abandon the net migration target and invest in supporting the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to improve the accuracy of its migration statistics. • Introduce an Annual Migration Report which makes clear the contribution migrants make