Foreword by Trevor Phillips, CRE chair

All over the world societies are struggling to manage difference. Communities are divided by politics, by religion, by culture, and all too often by ethnicity and race. The cost of failure in this struggle is all too evident in countries riven by war and violent conflict. It is less obvious in nations where the divisions appear to be between a dominant majority and one or more minorities; but the essential challenge of finding a way for very different kinds of people to share the same space and resources and to prosper, is no different.

In countries like our own, the price of failing to manage difference does sometimes erupt into naked conflict on the streets. But more commonly it can be counted in the misery of communities too divided by suspicion and tension to attract investment and jobs.

It can also be seen in run-down neighbourhoods, where constant low-level confrontation has turned public spaces into conflict zones stalked by teenage gangs, and left the schools coping with the flight of the most motivated families to areas safer for their children.

And it can be found in districts where the bonds of solidarity are so weak that people cannot or will not band together in the vital task of tackling the common threat of drugs, crime or environmental degradation.

But this guide shows that this bleak picture does not have to be the future of any community. There are areas where people have grasped the challenge of turning difference from a burden into a benefit. There are British cities which are thriving, not in spite of the diversity, but because of it. The good race relations guide tells the story of some of these places, and more importantly points to many of the principles and practices that can be adopted by others.

Sharing these lessons is a vital part of the work of the Commission for Racial Equality. Our mandate is, in essence, to manage the social consequences of migration. Over the past two generations, one aspect of that task has been paramount: the fight against discrimination. It is no less important today, and the CRE has no intention of doing less to support those victimised because of their race or ethnicity. We will be no more forgiving of those who display racist bias than at any other time. Indeed, our battle against discrimination remains at the heart of our campaign to eliminate racial inequality and to promote equality, irrespective of origins.

But we believe that in a changing Britain, with more enlightened attitudes, and with greater diversity than ever before, two other tasks have become equally significant.

One is to ensure that all groups have equal participation in all aspects of public and civic life. It seems almost incredible, for example, that the general election of 2005 returned just fifteen non-white MPs to the House of Commons. Given the mix of the UK population, even a presence three times that size would still leave our parliament unrepresentative in this respect. We are undertaking new work, mentoring, monitoring and using our powers and influence, to accelerate change in all our public institutions.

But our second, and perhaps major, new task is to encourage interaction between different groups in society. Most of us would like to think that we live in a Britain in which people of different backgrounds progressively spend more time with each other, understand each other better and build common ambitions. However our research has shown that, though the crude colour prejudice of the past has declined as a feature of public life, this gradual improvement in race relations is not coming about. Though there is less individual hostility than in the past, there is a slow but definite drift into a kind of voluntary social segregation, based on racial groupings and cultural or religious traditions.

We do not for one moment believe that people should be discouraged from enjoying close relations with others who share their religions, historic traditions or their ethnicity. But that enjoyment should never shut us off from people who are not part of our racial or ethnic group, or those who do not belong to our religious or cultural tradition. We believe that the hallmark of the successful multi-ethnic society is a healthy balance between comfort and pride in one’s own historic traditions, and a positive interest and interaction with the people of other communities and traditions.

This, of course is easier said than done. Working out a balance between settled and new groups in Britain that everyone can agree with and accept requires a proper debate among the public in general, and political and civic leaders in particular. The majority of the population should never be made to feel that their traditions, values and ways of being are disappearing under a cultural onslaught from the new. But newer communities should never be asked simply to conform to a Britain of the past, where they and their traditions had no place.

Good race relations is about living with the reality that immigrants and their families are here to stay. More will join in the future, just as they have done in the past, and they should have the space and encouragement to make their own special contribution to British life. At the same time, those who come to Britain tend to say that they are here because they respect, admire and want to share our values. As migrants have done in the past, new migrants also need to work to protect those values, even where they may appear to conflict with some historic traditions brought from elsewhere.

The fact is that this delicate, dynamic balancing act does not have to lead to turmoil, race riots, or an erosion of the British way of life. On the contrary, the British experience has been centuries of continuously negotiating our way through these issues to come up with a country that is more secure, settled and modern than before.  This unique achievement is the best starting point we could possibly have.

Our history shows that this success is an integral part of our society’s story. But we know that the balance has never been struck by accident. It takes leadership, goodwill and sheer hard work. This guide is one part of our contribution. For everyone who wants to live in a community which is stronger, more diverse and more creative; this should be an essential part of your toolkit. After all, you can’t leave it to someone else to make it happen – and as many of the real life examples show, the effort put in by your community will be richly rewarded.

Trevor Phillips
Chair, Commission for Racial Equality
July 2005

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