Social Policy and Social Movements: ‘Race’, Racism and Social Policies

Abstract

During the Conservative Party Conference in October 1997 Lord Tebbit chose to focus on a critique of what he saw as the dangers of multiculturalism for British society. Warning that multiculturalism was a ‘divisive force’ for society as a whole Tebbit warned that ‘Unless we share standards, moral values, language and our national heritage, we will constitute neither a society nor a nation but just a population living under the same jurisdiction’ (Daily Telegraph, 8 October 1997). In the aftermath of this speech there was intense debate in the popular media and within political institutions about the question of multiculturalism as a whole as well as specific policy dilemmas that face multicultural societies at the present time. It should be noted of course that both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party spoke out strongly against the populist tone of Tebbit’s intervention, and the support he received from within mainstream politics was fairly limited (Daily Telegraph, 6 October 1997; The Independent, 12 October 1997). Indeed a number of senior political figures spoke out strongly in favour of at least one version of multiculturalism.