Having seen the shocking headline ‘Multiculturalism has failed’, Cameron’s latest announcement about the state of our nation, I was appalled. Looking back, he does have a past history of rash statements. During last year’s May election we were told how Britain was ‘broken’, a PR man’s phrase perhaps, but it does imply a greater degree of severity than the ideas behind it.
Having recently studied conservatism as an ideology, it’s interesting to see the root of his argument. Traditional conservatives have always viewed multiculturalism as the enemy within as it saps our collective identity. This, some believe would lead to the downfall of a country and descent into anarchy, as the bonds within communities are broken irrevocably.
However the timing of Cameron’s latest announcement could not have come at a worse time. On the same day of Cameron’s speech, the English Defence League (EDL) were marching en masse in Luton against what they perceive as the Islamification of the country. Since the speech senior members of the Conservative Party have tried hard to distance Cameron’s speech from the far right of the party. This whole debacle reminds me of the skeletons in the Tory closet, like the Enoch Powell ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech.
Cameron declared ‘At stake are not just lives, it’s our way of life’, a truly scaremongering stance and vision of the enemy within. Talking about the failure of certain aspects of modern liberal society, Cameron has drawn a clear line between his own views and those of his Lib Dem counterparts. Close friend of Ed Miliband and MP, Sadiq Khan said Cameron was ‘writing propaganda for the EDL’. This view seems to be vindicated as the BNP has shown strong support for the PM’s speech and seen it as support for the party’s policies.
Not only was Mr. Cameron’s speech a damning attack on multiculturalism, it also criticised Labour’s softly softly approach of combating terrorism. To me, banning any protest within 1km of parliament without consent, trying to detain terrorists for up to 90 days without trial and a policy of control orders, amounts to quite a determined attack on terrorism. Personally, I think Blair went too far in disregarding hard fought civil liberties in the face of a terrorist threat. To me Cameron was wrong to make this speech, especially at this time and it further demonstrates how disconnected he is from current public feeling. To many, this may be seen to legitimise xenophobia and to highlight cultural differences.
The Infield View 
Posted on February 6, 2011
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