Is cultural fragmentation eroding social identity in Britain?

 

Daffron Williams

Daffron Williams, 41, from Tonypandy, in South Wales, pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred when he appeared in court before Judge Tracey Lloyd Clarke in November 2024. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment; half to be spent in prison and the other half, to be spent on license. His comments and imagery that he posted on Facebook appeared to be aimed at inciting a 'civil war', but because he particularly targeted Asian Muslims, his actions were construed as inciting a race war. 

The ex-soldier, who is said to suffer from PTSD, is one of a substantial number of people who were jailed for comments made after the attack in Southport which left three young children dead. It's understandable that many people felt angry about the deaths of three children, but the perpetrator of this attack was not a Muslim or an illegal immigrant, so why were Muslims and asylum seekers, targeted by the mob, when the identity of the attacker was still not known? Many of those who were charged with inciting racial hatred, pleaded guilty to the charge when they appeared in court. 

As is often the case, hatred as its roots in fear, not simple antagonism. What many British people fear is cultural fragmentation and the erosion of their social identity and what they perceive as the Islamisation of Britain. This is often whipped up by far-right groups like Britain First who have their own political agenda or British politicians to further their own political ends. 

I think that relativist attitudes can also pose a danger. Some would have us believe that a man can be a woman and a woman can be a man. The current King of England Charles III, is not only the head of state, but also the head of the Church of England, but he wants to be the head of all faiths. In the U. S., "Trump derangement syndrome" is a backlash to these cultural conflicts. 

What has driven cultural fragmentation is identity politics, hyper-partisanship and culture wars. Since the mid-1970s, traditional class allegiances have weakened, while gender and ethnic identities have grown more insistent. Capitalism has a tendency to atomise people and turns them into consumers and commodities. Identity politics is less concerned with economic equality and redistribution and takes social-class out of the equation. We may be better educated today, but we have never been so devoid of collective beliefs. There has also been a decline in the quality of education in Britain. 

Levels of immigration, particularly illegal immigration into Britain, have also raised fears. Asylum seekers have been blamed for people not being able to get a dental or a GP appointment, a job, or an affordable rented home, when it has got more to do with government policy. 

Dentists have told me that they no longer take on NHS patients because they can't guarantee that they will get paid because there's only so much money being allocated for the treatment of NHS dental patients. You can get a sex change on the NHS but not treatment for toothache.

Following the COVID lockdown in March 2020, many GP practices stopped having walk-in appointments and surgeries and deliberately avoided face-to-face contact with their patients. Consequently, many people now find it extremely difficult to get to see a GP even though lock down restrictions ended years ago.

The fundamental problem the UK faces in relation to housing is one of supply and demand. The population of the UK has risen by about nine million in the last 20 years, largely as a result of immigration. Housing supply has not kept up. Measures that try to help potential home owners, but do not increase housing supply - such as stamp duty holidays or making it easier to obtain a mortgage - tend to raise house prices. Housing is more expensive today than at any time in the last 18 years. Home ownership rates for the under-35s have halved in the last 30 years and more young people are living longer with their parents.