In a multicultural society, people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds live alongside each other. This can sometimes cause tension, as people with different belief systems are convinced that their way of doing things is the correct way and that everyone else has got it wrong. It doesn’t matter what policies a government introduces to try to create a harmonious environment, within local communities there will always be differences of opinion and tensions that cannot simply be glossed over. These tensions can sometimes boil over into something more serious, so that what seems to be an insignificant issue is blown out of proportion and violence ensues.

It often doesn’t help that the most ethnically diverse areas of a city also tend to be the poorest. Whilst affluent liberals can extol the virtues of immigration and multiculturalism, they don’t have to put up with overcrowding, rising house prices and competition for school places and jobs. It is those who are at the lower end of the scale that have to contend with newcomers and who find their old way of life being challenged. When the economy is weak and people are struggling to make ends meet, it is easy to scapegoat anyone who is different – whether they are relatively new to the country or a second- or third- generation immigrant.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of political groups willing to exploit people’s grievances in order to gain votes and in the process preying on people’s fears and generating a sense of animosity between different groups within the community. Usually, there will be a focus on how there used to be a golden age – a time when the white working class were valued and society had certain values that have since been eroded by the presence of different ethnic groups. Individuals who feel alienated from their society may be drawn in by this kind of ideology, believing there has to be some kind of explanation for their situation.

Those belonging to ethnic minorities can themselves be drawn into believing that their views and beliefs do not correspond with those of wider society. When they are being targeted by racist groups, they may seek support from members of their own community to the exclusion of others, meaning that they become more insular and less open to engagement with people from other cultures. This can be problematic in a multicultural society, where, ideally, everyone should be able to tolerate each other’s cultures, rather than denigrating them.

Multiculturalism can bring a great deal of richness to a society, but that doesn’t mean building a multicultural society is plain sailing. There will always be those who question whether multiculturalism is a positive thing and who hold on to the belief that there was once a universal national identity that everyone embraced unquestioningly and which is worth getting back to. The reality of the situation, however, is that in a globalised world multiculturalism is a concept which works well, since everyone will have some kind of exposure to cultures outside of their own.