“Britain — a Land of Immigrants”

Tony Blair (Credit Image: World Economic Forum / Wikipedia)

On December 8, British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a speech in which, according to the London Telegraph, he “formally declared Britain’s multiculturalist experiment over.” Mr. Blair has not exactly gone over to the BNP, but he did say Britain had a set of values — “democracy, the rule of law, tolerance, equal treatment for all, respect for this country” — and told potential immigrants: “Conform to it or don’t come here.” For today’s squishy politicians that was considered a bold statement, and the Muslim Association of Britain duly pronounced it “concerning and alarming.”

If the “multiculturalist experiment” is really over, no one seems to have told the Foreign Office. British embassies still hand out copies of a brochure called Ethnic Diversity: Multicultural Britain — a Land of Immigrants. Illustrated with photos of smiling non-whites, it is essentially an invitation to join the happy throng. The brochure boasts that Britain has been welcoming immigrants since the 19th century, and mentions that in 1948 Caribbean blacks were “encouraged to help rebuild post-war Britain.”

“Richly diverse — the UK: a Cultural Kaleidoscope,” gushes the pamphlet, and goes on to boast of notable immigrants who have enriched the country — including Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud! — as well as someone named Manubhai Madhvani, who is described as a businessman from Uganda. In 1999, the pamphlet explains, 55,000 people were naturalized as British citizens; you could be next, it seems to say. It underlines the fact that 40 percent of the children of Caribbean blacks have a white parent.

“Members of ethnic minorities play a prominent role in all aspects of British cultural life,” the pamphlet explains, but it concedes that Britain is not unalloyed joy for immigrants. Under the heading of “Problems,” we learn that more than a tenth of non-white crime victims think they were targeted for racial reasons, and that half of all London bums — the pamphlet calls them “homeless” — are non-white. The next heading is “Tackling Discrimination,” which is clearly meant to be the solution to the “Problems.” It lists British anti-discrimination laws, and cites the MacPherson Report, which “followed the first inquiry into the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence and makes 70 recommendations — particularly concerning the police and their dealing with minority ethnic communities.”

Judging from this pamphlet, Britain is thirsting for immigrants, particularly “ethnic minorities,” but the pamphlet speaks for itself better than we can.

This is just the sort of foolishness that created the problems Mr. Blair appears finally to be noticing. When the British regain their senses, this pamphlet will make a fine exhibit in the National Museum of Delusions.