London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has posted on X his view on what Britain should aspire towards:
He says: “Modern England is a tapestry of various cultures, faiths, histories and influences—bound together by the values of democracy, decency, fairness and respect. We cannot be complacent amid a concerted effort to normalise views that were once rightly consigned to the fringes.”
I’d also like a society with the values of democracy, fairness, decency and respect. I think these have been British – and more broadly, Western – values for centuries. They are the cornerstones of The Enlightenment.
But honestly, was anyone asked whether they wanted England to lose its essential Englishness and instead have “a tapestry of various cultures, faiths, histories and influences”?
When was there a referendum on this? I think this is a vision that has been imposed on us without much consultation by a political class we have lost control of – even with our supposed “democratic values”.
Now I would like to stress that none of this has anything to do with race – I think that race is a meaningless and barely significant attribute, and a mono or multiracial society is morally neutral. My issue is with culture.
Other than western liberal democracies, I don’t see any other societies going down this road. There is no reciprocation. Many African societies are “decolonising”, Muslim societies assert themselves aggressively, and Asia has some of the most mono-cultural societies on Earth. Basically what this means is that Western countries steeped in the Judeo-Christian enlightenment, must dilute their identities to accommodate growing demographic challenges from Africa and the Muslim world, while these places consolidate their identities. And when there are no countries left to assert Western liberal Enlightenment values and the cultures and lifestyles of Western people, what will happen to these societies?
The reflexive answer to anyone expressing this concern is an accusation of ‘racism’. But there is no call for European enclaves to form in non-Western countries and to become significant demographic forces there. There is no demand for Tokyo to become “less Japanese” or Teheran to become “less Islamic”. Yesterday in Parliament, Labour MP Nadia Whittome castigated us for having a too “Eurocentric” view of womanhood. Ironically, in a piece for LBC, Labour mayor Khan declares “English, Muslim, European – and Proud of Every Part of My Identity”, striking a defiant pose in front of a merged British and EU flag.
It has always struck me as an irony that you have progressives who simultaneously oppose Eurocentrism… and Brexit. The only conclusion is that they wish to make Europe itself less “Eurocentric”. But I digress.
Mayor Khan’s Star-Trekkian view of a multicultural England bound together by decency and respect is all very well, but like the global attitude, it isn’t really reciprocated.
If you’re a woman, Jewish or gay, then your very life may depend on the survival of Western liberal values. And if these are in retreat, you’re in big trouble.
Do we really think that if Muslims gain a majority in an area they are going to continue to uphold these “tapestry” values we are being cajoled to accept? Or do you think they will try and impose Islamic norms as far as they are able? I think the non-delusional among us know the answer. We already have several MPs from constituencies with significant Muslim populations sent to Parliament on the single issue of Gaza. And there are fears it will get worse. One Muslim candidate in tomorrow’s election even wants to end “free mixing” between men and women.
You’d have to blind and deaf to believe that the values and ideals of Islam are the same as those of liberal democracies founded in the Judeo-Christian traditions. This blog has been cataloguing the sermons of ‘hate preachers’ in some of this country’s biggest mosques for 20 years. It is still an ongoing issue.
Sadiq Khan – a Muslim, but by no stretch of the imagination a fundamentalist – himself seems blind and deaf to the increasingly strident fundamentalists in the city he runs. The regular weekend marches in which genocidal chants and cheers for the three H’s of terror – Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis – are on display, the attacks on Jewish shops, and people wearing attire identifying them as Jews, the “rape their daughters” convoy through Jewish areas… these are tolerated in Khan’s city.
‘Diversity is our strength’ is a tiresome – and increasingly delusional – myth.
But most of all I object to the hubris in Khan’s original statement. It presupposes that some ‘progressive’ force has “consigned to history” the views of ordinary people who were never asked if they wanted their culture, tradition and history replaced by a “tapestry” of those in the plural, particularly when the cultures they are being asked to accommodate and respect are non-reciprocating and hostile.
As I mentioned earlier, Nadia Whittome, sneered at our “Eurocentrism”, right here in London, and across other European cities we are being shamed into giving up our European ideals. “European” is the one identity that isn’t treated fairly or respected. I’m glad Sadiq Khan has embraced his Europeaness. I hope he will do more to defend the true values of this tradition, not the ones he imagines.
The truth is, we are in retreat, and until we start asserting our values we will not rally.
UPDATE: The “no free mixing of the sexes” candidate has won.
