An IRR discussion paper on the Housing and Planning and Immigration Bills 2015-16.
Focusing largely on London, Entitlement and belonging suggests that a ‘SUS culture’ is developing in the UK as the ‘hostile environment principle’, long- established in immigration policy, is extended into housing. The government argues that nationally-implemented ‘right to rent’ checks, imposing a duty on landlords to carry out immigration profiling and allowing summary eviction of tenants, are ‘justifiable’ measures aimed at forcing out those who have no legal right to stay in the country. Yet even its own evaluation provided compelling evidence of discrimination against BAME citizens.
According to Dr Burnett, author of the research: ‘In rolling out the measures, the government risks rolling out discrimination. Equally concerning though is the ideological assumptions underpinning the legislation about “who” belongs in particular localities. The poor in multicultural neighbourhoods are being dispossessed of their rights and uprooted from where they live. They have been deemed eminently disposable.’
The IRR hopes that this publication can encourage as wide a discussion as possible about the legislation as well as the wider goals of ‘One Nation’ government. IRR Director, Liz Fekete, asks: ‘Given that the cosmopolitan and multicultural nature of London was our brand in the Olympic bid, shouldn’t we be concerned when multicultural London is abandoned in favour of a more elitist and monocultural urban future?’
RELATED LINKS
Entitlement and belonging: social restructuring and multicultural Britain can be downloaded here (pdf file, 401kb)