This House would embrace multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is a somewhat nebulous term, and as such can be used to mean a variety of things. This debate, however, will concern itself with multiculturalism as meaning the preservation of a culture distinct from that of the majority of the population. That is, choosing to exist within a community with similar values, and making deliberate decisions to identify yourself with that community in ways that visibly set yourself apart from others in your country.

In UK politics, Bradford in the 1980s is often taken as an example of multiculturalism in action. A number of communities, in effect, lived side by side: the pre-existing white community, and the newly formed immigrant communities, who largely separated themselves by country and region. Picked out for special attention by the press and by later events, the Pakistani community was often held up as an example of one that rejected integration. Often new immigrants (particularly women) had poor English skills, and thus a great dependency of other immigrants for a sense of community. Parts of Bradford became known as "Bradistan" because of the prevalence of immigrants, and the various businesses set up in the area by immigrants, for immigrants (for example, shops selling products needed to produce traditionally Pakistani food).

Supporting multiculturalism, in the context of a debate, can mean anything from thinking that, in principle, it is better than integration, to supporting a range of policies that would enable a multicultural rather than integrated society to function (like funding for specific cultural projects, or religious schools).