Can Policy Bridge Britain’s Cultural Divides?
Inaya Folarin Iman debates Britain’s social cohesion crisis on BBC Moral Maze
Last year, riots broke out in 27 towns and cities across the UK following a shocking knife attack in Southport. In the aftermath, UK opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer warned that these events “revealed a deeply unhealthy society,” exposing deep divisions and social tensions.
More recently, senior British political figures have described the country as facing “a tinderbox of disconnection and division” that threatens the foundations of democracy. Concerns are growing over issues like immigration, cultural integration, economic hardship, and the powerful influence of social media in fuelling polarisation.
In response, an Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has been launched. Its mission is to explore what unites, and divides, modern Britain and to search for ways to strengthen social trust and national identity in one of the world’s most diverse societies.
In this episode of BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze, Equiano Project director Inaya Folarin Iman joins a distinguished panel to tackle one of Britain’s most urgent questions: Is Britain truly fracturing along cultural and ethnic lines, or does the country remain one of the most successful examples of multicultural integration? And can government policy actually foster social cohesion, or is it something that must grow organically from the people themselves?
Alongside Inaya, the programme features prominent voices including:
Professor Mona Siddiqui – Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies, University of Edinburgh
Sonia Sodha – Columnist and broadcaster
Lord Jonathan Sumption – Former Supreme Court Justice
Matthew Syed – Columnist and broadcaster
Julie Siddiqi – Grassroots interfaith campaigner
Simon Levine – Senior Research Fellow, ODI
Ravi Gurumurthy – Chief Executive, Nesta
Full discussion
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