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Two Manchester academics, Professor Ludi Simpson and Dr Nissa Finney of the University of Manchester published their book Sleepwalking to segregation? Challenging myths about race and migration on Thursday 22 January.
The book expounds their belief that race relations in Britain are under threat from a series of ill-informed myths. They say that by using previously unpublished evidence they can show that repeated falsehoods about immigration, integration and segregation are misguiding policy and promoting racial disharmony.
The title of the book is taken from a quote from Trevor Philips, head of the equalities watchdog, when he said that Britain was “sleepwalking” into racial and religious segregation.
Professor Simpson and Dr Finney say that after years of investigation they have found no evidence “whatsoever” for the existence of race ghettos in the UK and that, in fact, the opposite is true with increasing ethnic mixing.
Their review of evidence shows that 'white flight' is no greater than brown or black flight and that there is white movement into minority concentrations in Leicester, Bradford, Lambeth, Wolverhampton, Wycombe, Manchester and Merton.
They say that politicians have stigmatised the areas and their residents by linking social problems to segregated areas. They also provide evidence that areas with large populations of Muslims do not act as a “breeding ground for terrorism”.
“By propagating myths using bogus and alarmist interpretations of population change, individuals such as Trevor Phillips, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester and Sir Andrew Green (chair of Migration Watch) are inadvertently promoting racial segregation,” says Professor Simpson.
“Misunderstanding breeds mistrust and division between ethnic and religious groups. This book is about dispelling those myths. The truth is that Britain's so-called ghettos are diverse areas both ethnically and socially where no one ethnic group dominates.”
Dr Finney added: “The only concentrations which resemble anything like ghettos are of white people. The average white person lives in an area which has more than 94 per cent white people in it.
“British Pakistanis, for example, live in areas which on average have 26 per cent Pakistani residents. In almost every city with a sizeable immigrant settlement area, children of immigrants have on balance moved away from those areas, not to them or between them. So it is wrong to argue there is retreat. Rather, we are witnessing dispersal.”
Certainly the recent study by Lucinda Platt (from Essex University's Institute of Social and Economic Research) which shows that nearly one in ten UK children live in a mixed race family seems to support their view. As last week saw the inauguration of America's first mixed race president, maybe this book is a timely dose of the truth for all the 'Little Englanders' and exploitative politicians peddling these myths.
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Work for The Goverment by any chance pro diversity?
Poor ole' Rosie, OF COURSE BRITAIN DOESN'T HAVE TOO MANY IMMIGRANTS! Just look at the unemployment queues, they have to bring in Italians, Portugese and others to do the jobs lazy Brits won't do!! Thats right isn't it Rosie???
Come on Rosie the marxist fairytale of multiculturalism is over. It's not your fault but the mess left to clear up is all our reality.
After years of research Messrs Simpson & Finney state "they have found no evidence “whatsoever” for the existence of race ghettos in the UK" then go on to say "that there is white movement into minority concentrations in Leicester, Bradford, Lambeth, Wolverhampton, Wycombe, Manchester and Merton" if a "minority concentration" isn't a "Ghetto" will someone please explain to me what the hell it is? not only do they appear to live in a parallel universe they are prone to contradictions!
Sorry Mr Ignorant cigpapers - multiculturalism is not a Marxist concept.
Furthermore; how does a comparison between the impact of imigration in massive land masses found in Continental Europe and the USA have any relevance to the dramatic impact we experience on a tiny land locked island. If you wish to prove a point best not rely on the "damned lies" otherwise refered to as "statistics"
has anyone shown this article to cigpapers et al?wonder how they'll try to spin this into pro-bnp propaganda.
To DavidB- I think before ranting on this page and making assumptions about the one or two of this articles excerts taken from the booko,the book should be read from cover to cover where perhaps the evidence supporting the comments maybe found.Just a thought.
Instead of inference about my motives(false as it happens), perhaps cigpapers could answer the question.
What does cigpapers mean that multiculturalism is over and there's a mess to clear up? My definition of multiculturalism is that different cultures (by ethnicity, class, sexuality, etc) share this diverse country and its cities. It always has been mixed and, I believe and hope, always will be. Who wants to live in a monoculture?