The next Spectator Debate: too much immigration, too little integration?

When David Cameron announced ‘state multiculturalism has failed’, the chattering classes gasped in disbelief. Here was a Prime Minister, bull dozing his way into  the tricky area of immigration — one his predecessors had shied away from. The speech was praised by the right, and lambasted by those on the left — including his coalition partners.

David Goodhart received a similar reaction with the publication of his book  The British Dream. In it, he examines the success and failures of post-war immigration in Britain. On the right, the book was welcomed as a thorough examination into multiculturalism. When the former Tory leader Michael Howard reviewed Goodhart’s book in the Spectator, he explained why he backs Goodhart’s thesis:

‘There can surely be no doubt that the primary duty of those in positions of authority is to our own national interest. That, of course, means governing in the interest of all our citizens and one of the most interesting aspects of Goodhart’s book lies in his examination of how the increased diversity of our population makes this task even more difficult than it would otherwise be.