The ‘normalisation of racist political rhetoric’ has led to a rise in perceived tensions between British people and immigrants, experts have warned.
New research has found that 86% of people feel there is tension between immigrants and British people – and 84% believe there is a feeling of division.
According to King’s College London researchers, post-Brexit division has ‘morphed into party political and other splits’ around immigration and so-called ‘culture wars.’
One in two believe British culture is changing too fast, while 48% said they would like their country to be ‘the way it used to be.’
Immigration policy researcher, Zoe Gardner, told Metro: ‘I’m not surprised at all to see this because racist hate crimes have been on the increase.’
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‘Also the rhetoric coming from politicians has been unbelievably hateful over the last few months.
‘This has been ramped up to an extreme degree and it’s dominating the news – so it’s not surprising at all that people are feeling like this.
‘If I was asked whether I thought there was an increase in tensions I would also say there is – and I think that’s something important to think about when looking at these figures.
‘People saying there are increased tensions between immigrants and British-born people does not mean that they feel hostile themselves towards immigrants.
‘It’s just a recognition that race relations and immigration are at a fever pitch at the moment and I think people are very worried about that.’
She added that politicians using anti-immigration language, which was once ‘shocking’ to most voters, has ‘now become completely normal’.
The number of hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales (but not in London), including race and religiously motivated offences, have risen for the first time in three years.
In the year ending March, 115,990 hate crime offences were recorded – up 2% from 113,166 the year before.
Charities have told Metro they are ‘very concerned by the increase in anti-immigration sentiment and hostility’.
A spokesperson for Migrant Help said: ‘Whilst we understand immigration is an important topic for many, abusive language and dehumanising rhetoric have a direct impact on the people we support as well as our colleagues across the sector.
‘For this reason, we made the decision to step away from certain social media platforms earlier this year, as we felt they were no longer a safe or constructive space for our organisation.’
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the policy institute at KCL, said: ‘This latest study shows a frightening increase in the sense of national division and decline in the UK in just a few years.
‘We’ve seen steep rises in the beliefs that the UK is divided, that “culture wars” are real and that things were better in the past.’
He added that Britain had gone through ‘an incredibly divisive period around the EU referendum and its aftermath’ and that division appears to have ‘morphed into party political and other splits, with attitudes to immigration and the speed of culture change more generally at the heart of them’.
Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK politics at Ipsos, said: ‘Perceptions of political and cultural disharmony are growing, reflecting a society grappling with nostalgia, the pace of change, and growing tensions over immigration, and with polarised views over what terms like “woke” signify.
‘On many issues there is no clear consensus, with a need to understand the differences under the topline figures.
‘It should not be forgotten that many people are not on the extremes in their views.’
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