The future of multi-ethnic Britain : report of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain

Britain has made some progress towards reducing racist violence and racial discrimination, but it still has a long way to go before it can claim to be a tolerant and just multi-ethnic society that is at ease with, delights in and profits from its rich diversity. This report by the Commission on the "Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain" describes and analyses the contemporary reality and suggests the way forward. The Commission was established by the Runnymede Trust and was composed of people with a long record of intellectual and political engagement with race related issues. They were drawn from a range of community backgrounds and walks of life and spent nearly two years working out a comprehensive agenda of action in such key areas as criminal justice, employment, health, the media, education, the arts, immigration, political representation, legislation and human rights. No other European country, nor even the United States, has produced such a report. All discussions of multi-ethnic Britain from now onwards will have to take this as their basis. Britain has made some progress towards reducing racist violence and racial discrimination, but it still has a long way to go before it can claim to be a tolerant and just multi-ethnic society that is at ease with, delights in and profits from its rich diversity. This report by the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain describes and analyses the contemporary reality and suggests the way forward.

The Commission was established by the Runnymede Trust and was composed of people with a long record of intellectual and political engagement with race related issues. They were drawn from a range of community backgrounds and walks of life and spent nearly two years working out a comprehensive agenda of action in such key areas as criminal justice, employment, health, the media, education, the arts, immigration, political representation, legislation and human rights. No other European country, nor even the United States, has produced such a report. All discussions of multi-ethnic Britain from now onwards will have to take this as their basis.

THE COMMISSION ON THE FUTURE OF MULTI-ETHNIC BRITAIN:

Bhikhu Parekh (Chair), Kate Gavron (Vice Chair), Tariq Modood (Advisor), Robin Richardson (Editor), Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Muhammad Anwar, Colin Bailey, Amina Begum, Michael Chan, Navnit Dholakia, David Faulkner, Stuart Hall, Bob Hepple QC, Judith Hunt, Antony Lerman, Matthew McFarlane, Andrew Marr, Peter Newsam, Herman Ouseley, Anne Owers, Trevor Phillips, Sarah Spencer, Seamus Taylor, Sally Tomlinson, Sue Woodford-Hollick.

Britain today is a multicultural society. The question is how to adapt the traditional image so that it embraces everyone. That is a worthy and patently achievable aim. - Daily Express 12 October 2000

The report of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, launched by the Home Secretary in 1997. It covers all aspects of Britain's multi-ethnic future: religion, immigration, crime, educational policy, housing, racial violence, the arts, policing and prison policy. It also covers all minorities: Irish, Asian, Jewish, Caribbean and African - the entire globe in fact. The conclusions and recommendations are far-reaching and important. They will form government policy for the next 20 years and will affect everyone - of whatever religion or colour - in Britain This is the report of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, showing how society is changing, and the policies that have to be put in place. It was launched by the Home Secretary in 1997