For the last four years or so, political battles have been fought, won and lost upon the Brexit issue. The punditry in the media have claimed that “Brexit has divided Britain”. But my contention is that Brexit has not, in itself, divided Britain. What has happened is that the internet and social media have developed and become much more widely used at all levels of society. This has enabled the public to be better informed than they ever were under the dominance of the BBC and others. These august, imperious institutions – creations of the early Twentieth Century – acted as gatekeepers for the amount and kind of information reaching the public.
But this hegemony has broken down irretrievably. The public are now better informed and more sharply critical of the failings of the political and administrative classes than they have ever been before. The fault lines in our society were not created by Brexit – they have been there for a very long time. Brexit, and the attendant magnifying glass of the internet, have simply exposed these divisions for all to see.
One of these divisions is that of racism. Racism has always been with us, in a variety of unpleasant forms, and probably always will be in some way or another. But over the decades of my lifetime, racial tensions have gradually declined. The UK is now officially recognised as one of the least racist countries in Europe. However, the media punditry insists that racism is getting worse.
But are they right? And if so, then where is this growth in racism coming from?
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See Also:
(1) EU dethroned: Why Macron’s plans to sideline London will be scuppered by Donald Trump
(2) Unfair EU demands putting Britain’s trading relationship with USA at risk, warn Lords
(3) Matteo Salvini savages ‘dead’ EU as bloc refuses to help Italy amid coronavirus outbreak
(4) Are Muslim Women Trapped in Marriages in Denmark?
(5) ‘Ridiculous’ EU urged to ‘get their act together’ by ex-NATO chief over Greek border chaos
