1. Actualité et faits de société Licence 1
Lecture 3
Immigration and multiculturalism in the UK

2. An island of immigrants?
Robin Cook, 2001, Foreign Secretary (Labour)
“The British are not a race, but a gathering of countless different races and communities, the vast majority of which were not indigenous to these islands.”
“London was first established as the capital of a Celtic Britain by Romans from Italy. They were in turn driven out by Saxons and Angles from Germany. The great cathedrals of this land were built mostly by Norman Bishops”

3. An island of immigrants?
the Celts and the Picts (from 600 BC)
the Romans (from Italy, with foreign legionnaires) (43 BC – 410 AD)
the Jutes, Angles and the Saxons (from Denmark) (5th – 6th centuries)
the Vikings (from Scandinavia) (9th – 12th centuries)
the Normans (from France) (from 1066)

4. 1. Immigration and the birth of a multicultural, multiracial society
British Empire (16th – 20th century)
‘the Empire on which the sun never sets’

5. 1. Immigration and the birth of a multicultural, multiracial society
19th century: heyday of the Empire and Industrial revolution
Irish immigrants
freed slaves from Caribbean  servants
Indian students, sailors and servants
Chinese traders (Opium, laundries)
Jews from Poland, Russia and Ukraine escaping progroms

6. 2. New Commonwealth Immigrants, 20th century
DEFINITION: New Commonwealth: former colonies of the British Empire, especially in non-White areas (India, Jamaica, Pakistan, Hong Kong) (vs. Old Commonwealth: colonies of settlement, already independent in the mid 20th century: Australia, Canada, NZ)

7. 2. New Commonwealth Immigrants, 20th century
2.1. The end of WWII and Black Caribbeans
colonies took part in WWII: Jamaica (RAF), India (2 million soldiers)
helping the ‘Mother Country’, escaping poverty
1948: Empire Windrush ship: 492 Jamaican workers
rebuilding Britain, hit by German bombings
1948: British Nationality Act: all imperial/Commonwealth subjects get a British passport
Bristol, London: not well received by the population
1962, 1968, 1971: Commonwealth Immigration Acts introduced by the Tories and Labour to limit large-scale immigration

8. 2. New Commonwealth Immigrants, 20th century
2.2. Decolonisation: Asia and Africa
DEFINITION:
South Asia: the Indian subcontinent  South Asians = Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis (+ Sri Lanka)
1947: Indian independence and partition, leading to the creation of the state of Pakistan (Muslim majority)

9. 2. New Commonwealth Immigrants, 20th century
SOUTH ASIAN IMMIGRATION
After 1947, many people were displaced, homeless  start a new life in Britain
London, Birmingham, Leicester, Sheffield (Southeast but also West Midlands and Northern England)

10. 2. New Commonwealth Immigrants, 20th century
1971: Civil War in Pakistan  creation of the country of Bangladesh
arrival of Bangladeshi immigrants
transports, public service, restaurants
South Asian community: very varied (different languages, religions, etc)
1950s-1960s: Chinese immigration, mainly from British Protectorate Hong Kong (and new boom after 1997)

11. 2. New Commonwealth Immigrants, 20th century
Black Africans:
1950s and 1960s: male immigration mainly, for higher education
After independence of English-speaking countries, some fled dictatorship and tyranny (Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana)

12. 3. Recent trends: European immigration and asylum seekers
EU enlargement and opening of borders: massive immigration from Eastern European countries: from 2004: Poland, Baltic countries from 2007: Romania, Bulgaria
Fallout of various wars in which UK was involved: Kosovo, Iraq and other wars (Somalia, Sudanese, Kurds)  asylum seekers attracted by the UK; most vulnerable immigrants of all (unemployment, lowest paid jobs)

13. 3. Multiculturalism: what is it?
“different cultural communities live together and attempt to build a common life while retaining something of their ‘original’ identity”
Stuart Hall, 2000
a Rubik’s cube model?
communities don’t mix (segregation), live next to each other but turn their backs on each other
example: London map of spoken languages (apart from English)

14. London Language Map: Segregated neighbourhood?

15. ‘Banglatown’, in London East End

16. 3. Multiculturalism: what is it?
State Multiculturalism: how do govern a multicultural country?
 The state chooses to support and fund minority groups to help them preserve their culture, to keep the peace between the different ethnic and religious communities
 Minority communities are allowed to keep and promote their differences, if in exchange they accept to abide by the main British values: freedom of speech, gender equality, rule of law, parliamentary soveignty

17. 3. Multiculturalism: what is it?
British state finances faith schools for all religions
Religious signs can be worn at work, even if you’re a public servant
exceptional laws for some minorities: Sikh allowed to ride motorcycles without a helmet

18. 3. Multiculturalism: what is it?
since 1991 census (= recencement):
people can now tick a box related to their ethnicity: White British, White non-British, Black Caribbean, Black African, South Asian, Asian, etc.
latest census: 2011 (every 10 years)
results?

19. 2011 Census results: Ethnicity
Comparison with 2001:
White: 92.1%
Mixed: 1.2%
Asian: 4.4%
Black: 2%
Other ethnic group: 0.4%

20. 2011 Census Results: Immigrants
Interpretation of the charts:
Population born outside the UK has increased to represent around 14% of the British population
All ethnic minorities are on the rise, especially Asian minority

21. 2011 Census Results: Immigrants
Most frequent country of birth for foreigners:
 India (traditional immigration)
 Poland (enormous increase between 2001 and 2011)
 Only decrease is Irish immigration

22. Where do immigrants settle in the UK? anamorphic map
South-East, especially in the London area
West Midlands

23. Percentage of foreign-born residents anamorphosis maps
London area (London suburban area)
Midlands (Birmingham, Leicester)
Northern England (Bradford)

24. 4. Questioning Multiculturalism
Has multiculturalism failed?
ethnic minorities more likely to be unemployed
BAME: Black Asian and Minority Ethnic

26. 4. Questioning Multiculturalism
Has multiculturalism failed?
7/7/2005 trauma: terrorist attacks in London by British-born men
spring 2017: Manchester Arena bombing, London Bridge attack
anti-Muslim feeling rampant
rise of extremist parties: British National Party, Ukip (against Europe, especially because of immigration laws)
gender inequality and women’s rights not respected in some communities (excision, forced marriage, rape and child molesting)

27. 4. Questioning Multiculturalism
David Cameron, 2011, PM: ‘state multiculturalism has failed’
setting up a new model to integrate foreign-born and minority British more
This model is closer to the French model of integration
2005: Citizenship Test
2005: Language Proficiency Test
 compulsory to get entry on UK territory

28. Conclusion ‘there ain’t no black in the Union Jack’, Paul Gilroy
rampant racism
racial inequalities
BUT, AT THE SAME TIME:
British minorities are the keenest people to embrace ‘Britishness’: definition of themselves as Black British, British Asians, Indian British, British Muslims…
a dual identity