In recent years much has been made about what it means to be British and to protect British values. A number of drivers might be seen to have catalysed these debates including today’s society becoming ever more diverse, increasing levels of inequalities between ‘the haves’ and ‘the have nots’, and the spectre of radicalisation and terrorism that places Muslim communities especially under intense scrutiny. Consequently, research tells us that not only are we becoming more intolerant but so too are discriminatory practices and hate crime on the rise – especially Islamophobia and Antisemitism – resulting in increasing numbers of people feeling ever more isolated and excluded. Having considered some of these issues in more detail, this talk will aspire to set out a future manifesto for Britishness, one that upholds our core values whilst also being more equal and inclusive.

Chris Allen is a Lecturer in the Institute of Applied Social Studies at the University of Birmingham having previously been a Director at the National Equalities Agency. For the past decade and a half, he has been undertaking research into Islamophobia and other discriminatory phenomena. This has included researching the experience of victims of Islamophobic hate crimes and the ideologies of the British far-right among others. As well as publishing widely and appearing in the media regularly, he was until recently an independent member of the Government’s Anti-Muslim Hate Working Group. He was born in London and has been a lifelong supporter of Millwall Football Club.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx