What is British culture without diversity? For the past few years, far-right movements have increasingly pushed the narrative that multiculturalism threatens and erodes “true” British culture. However, when asked to define the meaning of “true” British culture, the answer becomes far less straight-forward. But why is that? That’s because multiculturalism has never been a threat to British culture, but one of its fundamental roots. Diversity is deeply woven into the fabric of British society and it’s what unites us.
Britain has never existed in isolation. The idea of a singular, historically unchanged British identity, overlooks the centuries of migration, settlement, and invasion. From the Romans and Anglo-Saxons to the Vikings and Normans, the people, and cultures that shaped Britain have continuously evolved.
Diversity in the United Kingdom is an inevitable consequence of its imperial history. The British Empire was the largest empire in human history, colonising a quarter of the world’s land surface, and invading all but twenty-two countries. The British Empire exerted its influence across, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, depriving countries of their wealth, enforcing slavery, destroying industries, marginalising indigenous people and creating arbitrary borders. Following the devastation of World War Two, Britain encouraged migration from the Commonwealth countries, relying on workers from South Asia and the Caribbean to help rebuild the nation we have today. Many of these individuals came from countries Britain had previously colonised. Yet today, people condemn the diversity that Britain itself introduced. How can it be fair to applaud the legacy of a self-acclaimed “great empire” that imposed their values, destroyed lives, and continuously ignored borders, but object to the multiculturalism that has flourished within our own?
The joy of being British comes from the richness of the cultures that surround us. Walking down almost any British high street you will encounter the influence of communities from across the world, reflected in cuisines, languages, music, and traditions that contribute to a collective British identity. The influence of South and East Asian communities on British cuisine, the contribution of Black British communities to genres such as grime and garage, the presence of Eastern European communities in our neighbourhoods all demonstrate how deeply multiculturalism is embedded in our society today. Something doesn’t have to originate in Britain to be a part of British culture. These cultural traditions don’t need to lose their distinct identities to belong in Britain; their presence enriches our experience of what it means to be British. It is British to embrace culture from all parts of the world.
The only Britain I’m proud of is the Britain that embraces and celebrates the diversity of its culture, communities, and beliefs. My pride in being British does not come from an uncertain, idealised version of its past, but from the multicultural society that has prospered. British identity has never been singular, nor should we aspire for it to be. Rather than viewing diversity as something that threatens our national identity, we should recognise it as something that strengthens our national pride. After all, what is British culture without diversity?