We have in this country taken citizenship for granted. We call people citizens and we offer citizenship to people who have moved here from other places, sometimes escaping persecution – but we take it for granted that everyone will figure out what citizenship means. This is why I am currently doing a review of citizenship and I see this review as an opportunity to articulate a clearer sense of British citizenship.
Over recent weeks, I have begun to meet new citizens and people on the route to citizenship and many of them articulate the meaning of citizenship for themselves as a source of dignity and protection, as well as a responsibility. One or two have even asked me why it is that some people, who were born citizens of the UK, don’t share that civic identity or bother to vote. A study published last month by Refugee Support showed that the overwhelming majority of refugees, who have become citizens and acquired the right to vote, use it, and do more besides, like join political parties and engage in volunteering.
By contrast, there is a rising tide of disaffection in parts of our communities – of which the most acute example is the existence of support or sympathy for terrorist attacks here in Britain. This suggests that the sense of belonging which citizenship might be thought to stand for does not exist throughout all of those people who are born citizens, let alone those who come to it.
Historically, we could rely on a shared history. Even most people who moved to the UK came from countries where culture and society had been shaped either by the English language or by British rule. But migrants to the UK now come from a much wider range of countries – including places in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and French-speaking Africa. Though we have been a union of four nations for a long time, there are now as many as three hundred languages spoken in London.
I cherish this diversity and I am proud that Britain, on the whole, is a welcoming place. However, we do need to ensure that this diversity goes hand in hand with a shared sense of belonging. We need that shared sense if we want to have good relations between different communities; common security; and other common projects like an immigration policy that will meet the needs of Britain’s economy, as well as provide refuge to those who need it, and public services that are for everyone, no matter how different they are from one another.
Of course, many people use Britishness to imply something else. For them, Britain is an exclusive idea, defined by an ethnic identity. I don’t see it that way. When asked what values or characteristics they associate with Britain, most people pick civic values like tolerance or respect for the law.
According to a recent survey, 91% of people of Bangladeshi origin feel strongly that they belong in Britain. This evidence suggests that Britishness is an inclusive and forward-looking idea. If that’s right, then we should use it confidently to foster a shared sense of belonging.
The question of how to achieve this is a very practical one. As part of my Review, I am publishing monthly pamphlets. The latest pamphlet, available on the review website, is written by Time Bank which runs a very successful mentoring programme for refugees, using volunteers.
Britain has a long and proud tradition of volunteering and it is estimated that the economic value of volunteering is £39 billion a year. The great benefit of the mentoring scheme is that it provides refugees with a greater sense of confidence and a better understanding of British culture. As one mentee put it, her mentor had helped her to “understand what it means in Britain when one says, ‘Let’s meet at one o’clock’. It’s one o clock. It’s not five past one.”
On the other side of the relationship, I am impressed by how many people are willing to make the regular and extensive commitment that mentoring requires. When asked why they do it, many mentors explain that they want to show that Britain is a welcoming country. Hence their sense of being British is not discriminatory or aggressive, quite the opposite, it motivates them to be helpful to people who have just moved here seeking our protection.
The aim of my Review therefore is to look at the route to citizenship for new migrants and at other practical ways in which it is possible to build a sense of shared belonging. Regressive and conservative elements in our society have had exclusive use of the notion of Britishness for long enough; it is time that the tolerant majority took it back.
Lord Goldsmith QC’s Citizenship Review will report to the prime minister at the end of March, 2008
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