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John Denham MP writes paper on community cohesion record
31 March 2010
Communities and local government secretary John Denham MP has argued that community cohesion has been at the heart of Labour thinking over the past decade in a pre-election paper published today by Runnymede.
The paper follows essays by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties as part of our Runnymede Platform series.
In the paper, the communities secretary also calls for a renewed focus on class in Britain and argues that whilst the growing self-confidence of minority communities is a positive thing, it can be seen as a threat to communities under pressure.
He also states that while it is still important to fight racism and discrimination, a more nuanced approach is needed to understand how race interacts with other social factors.
Denham praises Labour’s cohesion policies during its time in government, in particular highlighting:
- The introduction of the Race Relations Amendment Act in 2000 following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry
- The introduction of a duty for schools to promote community cohesion
- Investment in promoting dialogue between different religions through initiatives such as Inter-Faith Week
- The rolling out of the Black Pupils Attainment Strategy in education
Denham also defends the government’s controversial 'Prevent' programme – designed to tackle religious extremism – and argues that the government has been willing to listen to criticism in order to improve the scheme.
The paper includes responses from prominent academics including Professors Derek McGhee, University of Southampton; Mary J Hickman, London Metropolitan University; and Chris Gaine, University of Chichester.
Download the report Labour and Cohesive Communities
