The Baroness Warsi speech on Multiculturalism

Conference, there are three key messages I would like you to take away from my speech today…


1. Labour’s reliance on multiculturalism has failed Britain
2. The state’s continued suspicion of faith is wrong
3. And the threat of terrorism is no excuse for demonising a whole community.


Firstly, when we as Conservatives talk about multiculturalism we are not talking about the building of temples, or synagogues or mosques in any neighbourhood. For us that is religious pluralism and it is a defining British characteristic that began with the non-conformists.
For me, state multiculturalism, as I like to define it is forcing Britain’s diverse communities to still define themselves as different, patronisingly special and tempting them to compete against each other for public funds.


It’s the madness of political correctness which fails to teach our children British history in case it offends, and is the madness of translating documents into a multitude of languages instead of actually teaching people English.


State multiculturalism is not integration, is not unifying and is not the British way.
Secondly, Conference under Labour, the State has become increasingly sceptical of an individuals religious belief.


We’ve all seen the stories, how appalling that in Labour’s Britain a community nurse can be suspended for offering to pray for a patient’s recovery.
Or a school receptionist could face disciplinary action for sending an email to friends asking them to pray for her daughter.


At the heart of these cases lies a growing intolerance and illiberal attitude towards those who believe in God. The scepticism of senior Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris driving this secular agenda has now grown to become an ideology permeating through many parts of the public sector.


It’s an agenda driven by the political-elite, who have hijacked the pursuit of ‘equality’ by demanding a dumbing down of faith.
It’s no wonder that this leads to accusations in the media that our Country’s Christian culture is being downgraded.


For many their faith brings them closer to their neighbour, it’s the driver for their voluntary work, their social action. And for many, faith is the basis for some of the best schools in our Country.
This scepticism against faith communities and in some case outright hostility, is both wrong and dangerous.
Strong societies are built on cherishing their heritage.
So when some misguided lliberal tries to downgrade Christmas…


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