Full text of Ruth Kelly's speech launching the Commission on Integration and Cohesion

Welcome – and thanks to all of you who have come here today to launch the Commission on Integration and Cohesion.

I want to start by saying that I believe that Britain’s diversity is a huge asset to our country – economically, culturally and socially.

Immigration has helped transform our economy, supporting growth and boosting productivity. London’s strength as a financial centre – as I am keenly aware from my time at the Treasury – was driven by the acknowledgement across the developed world that Britain was open to new people, to new ideas and to new products.

Immigration has helped enrich our cultural life, with the capital’s diversity now commonly acknowledged to be one of its key attractions. A weekend spent at the Notting Hill Carnival or exploring Brick Lane are attracting tourists and residents alike.

And migrant workers have been vital to supporting our public services, providing critical staff to our hospitals and schools, as well as other essential services. As the Prime Minister has said: "far from always or even mainly being a drain on our health and education systems, they are often the very people delivering them".

And I believe that we should celebrate and clearly articulate the benefits that migration and diversity have brought – but while celebrating that diversity we should also recognise that the landscape is changing, changing rapidly. And we should not shy away from asking - and trying to respond to - some of the more difficult questions that arise.

I believe it is time now to engage in a new and honest debate about integration and cohesion in the UK. If we are to have an effective, progressive response to these issues, then we must be honest about the challenges we face and be prepared to meet these head on with renewed energy and impetus.

Thirty years on from the Race Relations Act and the Commission for Racial Equality, the context of today’s society arguably poses some of the most complex questions we have ever faced as a nation.

Patterns of immigration to Britain are becoming more complex. Our new residents are not the Windrush generation. They are more diverse, coming from countries ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, from South Africa to Somalia.

And one of the outcomes of that complexity – and increased global interconnectedness - is that global tensions are being reflected on the streets of local communities. New migrants protect the fierce loyalties developed in war-torn parts of Europe. Muslims feel the reverberations from the Middle East. Wider global trends have an impact. Some new migrants will put down roots. Some will move on, and find other work or return to their families.
As time passes, the challenges of integration become more apparent to those who have settled here. Second and third generation immigrants can face a struggle. Not to adapt to life in the UK – but to reconcile their own values and beliefs with those of their parents and grandparents. Young people may be seen as Pakistani on the streets of Burnley, but many feel out of place and "British" when they visit Pakistan.

And for some communities in particular, we need to acknowledge that life in Britain has started to feel markedly different since the attacks on 9/11 in New York and on 7/7 in London - even more so since the events of two weeks ago.

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