Cool Britannia or Cruel Britannia? Racism and New Labour

Abstract

Post-war British society has witnessed a very significant inward migration of people from the 'New Commonwealth', and the complex diaspora this immigration has created in many British cities is widely recognized as having fundamentally altered British society. Some observers have emphasized the positive aspects of the change, suggesting that the new kinds of identity and forms of living which it has produced have resulted in a transition towards an ethnically plural society. Others, while welcoming the changes, have drawn attention to the inequalities experienced by ethnic minorities and the persistence of racism in daily life, and in the major institutions of British society. The role of the state, and the ways in which 'the race card' has been played in British politics, have from the outset been the subject of extensive and often heated debate.