Anti- and pro-Brexit campaign heads join open letter calling for end to division
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Version 0 of 1. Cultural and religious leaders urge Britons to engage with those around them The former directors of both the leave and remain campaigns in the EU referendum have joined cultural and religious leaders across the UK in an open letter calling for a “decade of reconnection”. The letter, released on New Year’s Day, describes the 2010s as “the decade of division”, and says the country is “polarised” and “more fragmented than any of us would like”. The heads of the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations, Scouts and Guides are among those calling for greater social integration and cohesion, and are encouraging Britons to make a new Year’s resolution to engage meaningfully with those around them. “Our resolution is to reconnect,” the letter says. “To reach out to just one person we don’t know, or from whom we have drifted apart. To start rebuilding connections between neighbours and fellow citizens.” Sikh, Islamic, Jewish and Christian leaders joined the former heads of Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave to call for an end to social divisions. Tim Roache, the general secretary of the GMB union and Emily Eavis, the co-organiser of the Glastonbury festival, and Kwame Kwei-Armah, the artistic director of the Young Vic; have also signed the letter, alongside the chair of the Jo Cox Foundation, Jacqui Smith. Imam Qari Asim, the chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, said a lack of integration had led to social tension. “What worries me, in these polarised times, is that our growing distance from each other can breed fear of those who we don’t know or are seen as different,” he said. “At my mosque in Leeds I see many efforts to connect with others, but I see the gaps too – people who don’t have much contact with those from a different background to their own.” “The start of a new decade offers us a moment of change and of hope – that we can all reach out and find a connection with someone new,” Asim added. His message was echoed by Right Rev Nick Baines, the bishop of Leeds, who said that the turn of the decade offered an opportunity “to be an agent of healing in a fractured society”. “Yes, this is a big challenge, but we all know someone to whom we can reach out afresh. Whoever we are, we can all do our bit to rebuild for the common good,” he said. The letter comes after several months of collaboration across the organisations, who wanted to “put down a marker and start a conversation”, according to Steve Ballinger from British Future, a thinktank focusing on issues of identity, integration, and migration. “It’s important to have a diverse range of voices within the letter, because if you want to improve social connection, you have to have a broad coalition and make it something for everyone,” he said. Ballinger said the message was addressed to every level of society, from individuals to institutions, right up to Downing Street. “At an individual level, we’re hoping people will reach out to those they’ve lost touch with, or never had contact with,” he said. “Perhaps it could be joining in with community projects, or it might simply be a smile and nod to someone in the morning. Just taking our headphones off and looking up from our phones.” |