Ed West Ed West

When it comes to diversity, most of us vote with our feet

Liberals are almost as likely to flee diversity as conservatives, according to new research by Prof Eric Kaufmann for Demos. Some 61 per cent of white people who were ‘very comfortable’ with mixed marriages (the best indicator of views on race) moved to whiter areas during the period, compared to 64 per cent of those who were ‘fairly uncomfortable’. The Sunday Times called it ‘polite white flight’.

The tendency of white liberals not to practise the diversity they preach dates back to the 1960s at least, and offends people who rightly point out that their reasons for moving are to do with space, schools, housing and a number of other things.

Up to a point. ‘Secondary migration’ is not specifically about race, but a lot of it is about living with ‘people like us’ in an area with a strong sense of community, and PLU do tend to be from similar backgrounds.

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