Articles

Posted on Mon 4 August 2025

The ties that bind - Social cohesion at a time of rapid demographic change

The fundamental trade-offs.

So much of the recent debate on population change, whether from the natural increase (the excess of birth over death) or new arrivals, (both legal and illegal), has been about numbers. This is important, of course, as the numbers of those coming in increase - on the one hand, they bring skills and benefits to the country, but on the other, they also create pressures on our physical and social infrastructure. How much more traffic, for instance, can our crumbling roads take, or how much more overcrowding can there be on trains, the Tube or the buses? Then there is increasing building on the green fields to provide for the housing needs of a growing population, much of it fuelled by population change. While the National Health Service (NHS) relies heavily on migrants to provide for our Health needs, it Is also under strain because of increased numbers calling on its services. Again, migrants are willing to do jobs others do not wish to do, but then there is a rising worklessness in the settled population, and the resentment that can accompany this.

Such a list could go on, and yet there are some who appear to believe that the UK can continue holding an open door to all comers and that the very concept of ‘Illegality’ in relation to immigration should be challenged. No responsible government could agree with and provide for such an attitude. The government’s first priority must be provision for and the well-being of the population already here - the settled population - and its policies generally will have to be formed in the light of its duty to its citizens and others who live here. The challenge and debate should be about scale.

It’s not just about the economy and Maths.

The debate about population change, should not, however, be restricted to mathematics and economics. There are deeper issues at stake here about the origins and development of communities and nations. Against the social contract theorist, who imagine individuals to be prior to society, and who have brought about the latter for mutual protection and assistance, Edmund Burke, (echoing the social teachings of the Bible), held that it is society that is prior, and that we are intrinsically social beings. Every society has its own sense of identity and history. Language, memory and customs are formed by common history and contribute to a sense of belonging. This can be seen, for example during great local or national occasions such as Remembrance Day and important anniversaries or milestones in the life of the community.

For Burke, culture and tradition can be a surer guide to our views of what is right or wrong rather than the exercise of ‘pure reason’ alone, as shown in the radical Enlightenment’s influence on the French Revolution. British social and political culture is evolutionary rather that revolutionary, and our attitudes to fundamental freedoms of thought, expression and association, for example, have been formed not so much by the Enlightenment alone as by a continuous spiritual, moral  and Intellectual tradition which goes back to Alfred the Great and the Common Law, the Charter of Liberties, Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights and the successive repeal of the Tests Act in the cause of greater toleration of dissenting minorities. What has happened here is that the cumulative wisdom of the past has been used to address contemporary and emerging problems.

Learning from others

“No man is an island”, they say, and the same can be said of communities and nations. In spite of being an island, Britain has never been insular in the sense of being “closed in” on itself. There has always been vigorous interaction with the Continent of Europe and much further afield. Talented and ordinary, good and ‘dodgy’ individuals, have gone from here into the wider world and we have, similarly, received such into this country. Those who have come, have often brought their own ideas and values with them, which have been tested and received or rejected here. Also, there is a long history of welcoming individuals, families and communities, especially those fleeing persecution because of their beliefs, the wrath of tyrants or unreasonable restrictions on their liberties. Such hospitality has been based on the Bible’s injunction. To not only love our neighbour but to also love the stranger. We should be clear, however, both to ourselves and to new arrivals, that they are not arriving in a cultural and moral vacuum but rather into communities and into a country with a rich tapestry of common beliefs, values which arise from them, hard-won freedoms, a shared history and collective memory. Most of these are rooted in the Judaeo-Christian tradition and its insistence on Personal freedom as well as social responsibility. King Alfred wanted his emerging common law to be consistent with the Ten commandments and, as a very senior judge wrote to me, our laws continue to be based on these and on Jesus’s summary of them in terms of loving God and our neighbour with our hearts, minds and strength. That is to say, with our whole selves. It is not for nothing that the Parable of the Good Samaritan is the most widely known and we are instinctively guided by it in our dealings with the sick, the needy, and with strangers. As Tom Holland in his book Dominion: How the Christian revolution remade the world, and Larry Siedentop in Inventing the Individual:  The origins of western liberalism, have shown, even most secularised of values can often be traced to the pervasive and prevailing influence of this tradition.

There are ‘Red Lines’

Those arriving here and hoping to settle should be required to have an awareness of the fundamental features of British society - not just when applying for citizenship, but immediately upon arrival and, perhaps, even before they arrive. Requirements for coming here to work should not be restricted merely to knowledge of English and the relevant professional qualifications, but also some knowledge of the history, beliefs and values that have made British Society what it is. These together not only make for the necessary social cohesion but also provide a vantage point for the social and political critique of government and its accompanying bureaucracy. The struggle for justice, concern for the poor, the care of the sick, the inclusion of the marginalised and much else spring from a particular spiritual and moral history which cannot be, and should not be, ignored.

We can, of course, criticise outdated customs, false values and even bad laws but we can only do this while being aware of and standing within a cultural and moral tradition, while also contributing to it and enriching it from a variety of backgrounds.

Nor Is knowledge enough. We should also be expecting those who wish to come here to have some empathy for the way of life here, and some desire to identify with the nation’s beliefs, values and history. This should not be seen to exclude their own contribution to a living tradition that is developing along with changing times, opportunities and challenges.

Rather than dwelling on the nostrums of multiculturalism - which some argue have spawned social fragmentation, Isolated communities and mutual Incomprehension - we should be working towards an Integration that goes beyond the merely mechanical requirements of language and skills to one that looks for cohesion based on common beliefs about the human condition the day-to-day values and behaviours that spring from these. In terms of national and local government policy, this also means providing for the development of housing, commerce, schools, community facilities and higher education which promote social cohesion rather than separateness. Physical and social mobility in terms of education and employment should also help in bringing diverse people together as they learn together and work together.

Integration not assimilation

It should be made clear that integration does not necessarily mean assimilation without remainder.  A number of communities in Britain, of longstanding presence and of relatively recent arrival, have shown that it is quite possible to be fully integrated into the fabric of national life and yet retain cultural and religious distinctives. The Jewish community is an obvious example of such integration, as are the Huguenots who arrived here from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes towards the end of the 17th century led to persecution in their homeland. More recently different communities of East African Asians have settled here and have made significant contributions to business, politics, education and medicine, while retaining their cultural and religious heritage.

Requirements for coming here to work should not be restricted merely to knowledge of English and the relevant professional qualifications

There is, of course, a shadow side to the narratives of those who have integrated well. Immigration procedures, which deal with both regular and irregular arrivals need to be alert to the possibility of those seeking to come here with extremist and totalitarian ideologies, quite at variance with the traditions and values of this country. Everyone seeking entry to the UK should be aware, for instance, that customs such as child or forced marriage, the mistreatment of women, discrimination on the basis of caste, race or sex are against the law and will be dealt with accordingly.

Everyone is free to have views on national and international issues, and to express them peacefully both in public and privately. This also Involves recognition of and respect for others to hold and to express opinions different from their own. Those with religious affiliation should be free to observe the personal law of their faith, but equally, everyone should be able to access the public law of the land to safeguard their person, property, livelihood and liberty.

Impact on the settled population

There has been so much discussion and debate about newer arrivals here that some in settled populations feel left out, especially those who have become economically, socially and educationally deprived. There is no sense here of the much vaunted. ‘white privilege’! If we do not address their sense or grievance and their needs, it is unlikely that we will be a society at ease with itself. The need to stabilise and strengthen family life, with parents being present and contributing in their own particular ways to the nurture and welfare of their children, must be a starting point in giving children a fair start in life. More and more research is showing, for example, that fathers relate to their children in ways different ways quite different from their mothers. Such collaboration in difference contributes to the all-round development of the child in making and sustaining good relationships with their own and the opposite sex. Single parents do a heroic job In bringing up their children, and need all the support they can get, but they would be the first to acknowledge that it takes a long time for the human child to mature, and that two are better than one in the bringing up of children.

Schools cannot take up all the slack from homes with absent parents, but there needs to be better provision for children and provision and improved discipline, as this has been shown to affect educational attainment in even the most deprived areas. It is good that so many are going to university, perhaps, for the first time in their families, but we need increased recognition that this is not the only way to a vocation, a fulfilled life in and a decent standard of living. Access to vocational training, apprenticeships and secure employment would certainly make for social stability and the easing of tensions within and between communities.

Looking ahead

The UK remains an attractive destination for people looking for a new and better life, and for those escaping actual or perceived persecution. The Office for National Statistics projection for this country for 2035 suggests a further increase of 6.6 million - equivalent to building 2.4 cities the size of Manchester in 10 years. To suggest that this can be achieved without careful analysis of the trade-offs is fanciful.

 

Moreover, while the effects of population change may be slow to take effect, they are irreversible; anyone who has arrived here legally is entitled to the same rights and is required to fulfil the same responsibilities as all of us.

We need to think about these challenges. We need to find a way to debate and discuss them in a way which reassures the settled population that their concerns have been registered, listened to and where appropriate, acted upon.

These issues of a need for ‘social’ as well as economic wellbeing cannot be overlooked if we wish to maintain a country that is at ease with itself.