Mass immigration and woke culture have put England’s national identity at risk, Robert Jenrick warns today.
In a hard-hitting article for the Mail, the Tory leadership hopeful and former minister for immigration says the ties which bind the nation together are beginning to ‘fray’.
Mr Jenrick said it was a result of the influx of migrants and the sneering attitude of the ‘metropolitan establishment’ toward English identity.
‘The combination of unprecedented migration alongside the dismantling of our national culture, non-integrating multiculturalism and the denigration of our identity has presented huge problems,’ he writes.
‘It has had a clear impact on our culture, customs, and cohesion. Taken together, the attitudes and policies of our metropolitan establishment have weakened English identity. They have put the very idea of England at risk.
Robert Jenrick speaks at the launch of his bid to become the next Conservative leader. Jenrick wrote in the Mail: ‘We won’t be able to heal our divided nation if we refuse to confront complex issues about identity’
A small boat arrives to collect people thought to be migrants off the beach in Gravelines, France on July 29, 2024. Jenkins writes: ‘A nation cannot exist without a border, but the UK has experienced record illegal migration – and England has been saddled with the brunt of the burden’
‘The public have consistently voted against all of this. Those in Westminster are underestimating the depth of anger in the country.’ Mr Jenrick suggests that the suppression of England’s identity was a factor in the summer riots and says it will be impossible to ‘heal our divided nation if we refuse to confront complex issues about identity’.
He says that years of ‘inter-communal violence, radicalisation and diminishing trust in our communities… came to a head during the summer riots’, adding that: ‘As a consequence, a frank discussion is needed about the state of the nation (and) the state of England, in particular – as England is where most of the rioting occurred, and it was the St George’s flag that some misappropriated.’
Mr Jenrick warns that – as elsewhere in Europe – this country could fall prey to the ‘ugly politics’ of the far-Right unless action is taken to address the crisis and bring immigration under control. His intervention looks set to energise the moribund Tory leadership contest, which has so far failed to catch the public’s imagination.
It also underlines Mr Jenrick’s political journey from party centrist to flag-bearer for the Right.
The former minister, who quit Rishi Sunak’s government in protest at the failure to toughen Britain’s borders, says that years of mass immigration have piled pressure on public services ‘while not making England, or any part of the UK, richer’.
Robert Jenrick (pictured) quit Rishi Sunak’s government in protest at the failure to toughen Britain’s borders
Hundreds of thugs attack police in Rotherham on August 4, 2024
He has proposed a tough new cap, limiting net immigration to below 100,000 a year. And he has called explicitly for Britain to leave the European Convention on Human Rights in order to make a working reality of the last government’s Rwanda deportation plan to stop the boats.
Hinting at future policies, he says it is time for the Government to ‘put its own citizens first’, adding: ‘Whether it’s us giving foreign aid to parts of the world richer than parts of England or half of all social housing in London being occupied by those born abroad, it’s clear this isn’t always happening.’
In his article today, Mr Jenrick ranges far beyond his former policy brief, arguing that English identity has been deliberately suppressed by a metropolitan elite who ‘actively disapprove’ of this country’s history and culture.
He argues that while ‘high status’ people in Scotland and Wales are ‘proud to be Scottish and Welsh’ as well as British, many of their counterparts in England are ‘far from proud to be English’.
‘England’s establishment has denigrated and mocked expressions of English identity,’ he says. ‘They seem happier celebrating the traditions of other identities than our own.’ Mr Jenrick warns that a Left-wing educational establishment has led to youngsters being taught that ‘England has a uniquely evil past that is responsible for the world’s injustices’.
Bob Blackman, Chairman of the 1992 committee, announces the results of the first ballot round in the Conservative Party leadership contest on September 4, 2024
The results of the first ballot – which saw Jenrick claim the top position and Dame Priti Patel eliminated on 14 votes
Jenrick receives a kiss from his wife Michal Berkner after speaking at the Conservative Party leadership campaign event in Westminster on September 1, 2024
The Tory leadership battle, which began in the wake of Mr Sunak’s crushing defeat at the polls in July, is entering a critical stage in the next ten days as the four remaining candidates prepare to parade themselves in a so-called ‘beauty contest’ at the party conference in Birmingham.
Mr Jenrick topped the ballot of Conservative MPs ahead of Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat and has been installed as the bookmakers’ favourite.
After the conference, MPs will narrow the field to a final two, with the winner then chosen by a ballot of party members.