Britain’s struggle to integrate some of its ethnic and religious minorities continued to cause significant social problems in 2023.
There was nothing on a par with 2022’s disorder in Leicester, when Hindu and Muslim youths fought street battles with each other over the course of several weeks. That eruption of inter-ethnic violence on to the streets of a British city ought to have been a moment for us to take a deep breath, and to work out how to bridge these divisions. Yet it seems that over the past 12 months, too many have been keen to brush this fracturing of community relations under the carpet. Even local politicians, such as Labour MP for Leicester West Liz Kendall, have continued to romanticise Leicester as some sort of paragon of multicultural harmony.
