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| Come friendly Poles and settle in Slough | Come friendly Poles and settle in Slough |
| (4 months later) | |
| An Irishman, a Hindu and a Pole were walking along the pedestrianised town centre of Slough on their way to join the lunchtime queues at Greggs bakery. | An Irishman, a Hindu and a Pole were walking along the pedestrianised town centre of Slough on their way to join the lunchtime queues at Greggs bakery. |
| The three work together, for a property and building firm, and live locally. "It's an ugly bloody place, but there's plenty going on, plenty of work," said Adesh Singh, whose Indian parents moved here from London when he was three. | The three work together, for a property and building firm, and live locally. "It's an ugly bloody place, but there's plenty going on, plenty of work," said Adesh Singh, whose Indian parents moved here from London when he was three. |
| "Good people," agreed Jarek Miller, 29, who came over from Poland six years ago and has married a local woman, "from everywhere in the world. You can have a good life here." | "Good people," agreed Jarek Miller, 29, who came over from Poland six years ago and has married a local woman, "from everywhere in the world. You can have a good life here." |
| If there is a punchline, then it is, joked Belfast-born Dan Gilmore, 43, that he is the only one of the three who doesn't want to be British. "I'm stuck with it. Integration? This lot of bloody immigrants are proud of it!" | If there is a punchline, then it is, joked Belfast-born Dan Gilmore, 43, that he is the only one of the three who doesn't want to be British. "I'm stuck with it. Integration? This lot of bloody immigrants are proud of it!" |
| Known to outsiders as the town in the shadow of a Mars bar factory, the setting for The Office – although the bus station and car park made famous by the Ricky Gervais comedy series have now been demolished in a regeneration project – and the place Sir John Betjeman immortalised in the line: "Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough", the Berkshire town was identified last week as the most ethnically diverse local authority outside London. | Known to outsiders as the town in the shadow of a Mars bar factory, the setting for The Office – although the bus station and car park made famous by the Ricky Gervais comedy series have now been demolished in a regeneration project – and the place Sir John Betjeman immortalised in the line: "Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough", the Berkshire town was identified last week as the most ethnically diverse local authority outside London. |
| Slough is now one of three towns where no single ethnic group makes up more than half of the population. A breakdown of 2011 census statistics by researchers from Manchester University found 34.5% were white British compared to the national average of 80.5% and at least 18 ethnic groups lived there.But for those looking for signs Britain is becoming less British – more than three quarters of Slough's 140,000 residents claim "British identity", although just 86,000 are born here and 68% hold a UK passport. | Slough is now one of three towns where no single ethnic group makes up more than half of the population. A breakdown of 2011 census statistics by researchers from Manchester University found 34.5% were white British compared to the national average of 80.5% and at least 18 ethnic groups lived there.But for those looking for signs Britain is becoming less British – more than three quarters of Slough's 140,000 residents claim "British identity", although just 86,000 are born here and 68% hold a UK passport. |
| It reflects the findings of a report by the thinktank British Future entitled The State of the Nation: Where is bittersweet Britain heading? which suggests that, while people are anxious about immigration at a national level, in their own communities people are rubbing along just fine with others of differing ethnic backgrounds. | It reflects the findings of a report by the thinktank British Future entitled The State of the Nation: Where is bittersweet Britain heading? which suggests that, while people are anxious about immigration at a national level, in their own communities people are rubbing along just fine with others of differing ethnic backgrounds. |
| The report found one in three people believed immigration divides British people more than anything else, while well over half regard it as one of the top three causes of societal fracture. | The report found one in three people believed immigration divides British people more than anything else, while well over half regard it as one of the top three causes of societal fracture. |
| But while one in four think being born here is important to being British, two-thirds of people believe the welfare state should be open to those born abroad who have contributed and play by the rules. It suggests that our tolerance as a nation is dependent on integration – and in Slough, where there are no ghettoes or distinct areas formed of one particular ethnicity, as there are in some of England's segregated northern cities, they reckon they have got it right. | But while one in four think being born here is important to being British, two-thirds of people believe the welfare state should be open to those born abroad who have contributed and play by the rules. It suggests that our tolerance as a nation is dependent on integration – and in Slough, where there are no ghettoes or distinct areas formed of one particular ethnicity, as there are in some of England's segregated northern cities, they reckon they have got it right. |
| "From the outside Slough might be seen as a joke, The Office and all that. But actually it's a well-kept secret success story, a multicultural success," claims Rob Deeks of Aik Saath, a youth organisation set up in the 1990s to tackle an outbreak of racial violence between gangs of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. "It's a different place now: the thing about Slough is that it's driven by its economy. Diversity was first accepted as necessary, but now it's celebrated because we're good at it. When I came down from Bradford to Slough I was amazed to find white, black and Asian sitting together in the pub. There was a level of integration I'd never seen up north," he said. People integrate, he said, when they are welcomed by a society. | "From the outside Slough might be seen as a joke, The Office and all that. But actually it's a well-kept secret success story, a multicultural success," claims Rob Deeks of Aik Saath, a youth organisation set up in the 1990s to tackle an outbreak of racial violence between gangs of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. "It's a different place now: the thing about Slough is that it's driven by its economy. Diversity was first accepted as necessary, but now it's celebrated because we're good at it. When I came down from Bradford to Slough I was amazed to find white, black and Asian sitting together in the pub. There was a level of integration I'd never seen up north," he said. People integrate, he said, when they are welcomed by a society. |
| "There's so many factors: the economy, our schools, and our faith institutions are wonderful. It's quite a religious place, and there is a lot of openness. Young people learn how to accommodate people's differences." | "There's so many factors: the economy, our schools, and our faith institutions are wonderful. It's quite a religious place, and there is a lot of openness. Young people learn how to accommodate people's differences." |
| Slough is no stranger to migrants. In the 1920s it was dubbed "little Rhondda" because of high numbers of Welsh; then there were Scots, and Irish, and after the war was the first wave of Poles. Then came the Windrush era, the Indian subcontinent, and now eastern Europeans. Its proximity to Heathrow and the large number of businesses based locally meant jobs needed to be filled. | Slough is no stranger to migrants. In the 1920s it was dubbed "little Rhondda" because of high numbers of Welsh; then there were Scots, and Irish, and after the war was the first wave of Poles. Then came the Windrush era, the Indian subcontinent, and now eastern Europeans. Its proximity to Heathrow and the large number of businesses based locally meant jobs needed to be filled. |
| With immigration rates to the UK now dropping, the next wave may be 2014 when Romanians and Bulgarians, who already have rights to work here, gain full Europe's "freedom of movement". | With immigration rates to the UK now dropping, the next wave may be 2014 when Romanians and Bulgarians, who already have rights to work here, gain full Europe's "freedom of movement". |
| If the recession deepens, the picture in Slough could change, acknowledges council chief executive Ruth Bagley. But, she says: "Over the last three years our unemployment has doubled, but in the neighbouring borough it has trebled." The census vindicated the council's position in its longstanding battle with central government over money – it claims an underestimation of the population has deprived Slough of funding to support the pressure on its services. | If the recession deepens, the picture in Slough could change, acknowledges council chief executive Ruth Bagley. But, she says: "Over the last three years our unemployment has doubled, but in the neighbouring borough it has trebled." The census vindicated the council's position in its longstanding battle with central government over money – it claims an underestimation of the population has deprived Slough of funding to support the pressure on its services. |
| "We have an extraordinary demographic, but the belief that people of all backgrounds get on together is central to us. Of course, having to tailor services to different groups is more onerous than delivering services to one group, but the benefits are there. There are parts of our community which have very high aspirations, and that helps drive our high education outcomes, our productivity. It has enormous effects on this population's dynamism and entrepreneurship," she said. Housing is under "considerable pressure" – the council has 7,000 properties and 7,000 on its waiting list. The so-called "social cleansing" effects of benefit caps are pricing many people out of homes in the wealthier London boroughs, and Westminster and Chelsea are among those who have been found shifting tenants into Slough. | "We have an extraordinary demographic, but the belief that people of all backgrounds get on together is central to us. Of course, having to tailor services to different groups is more onerous than delivering services to one group, but the benefits are there. There are parts of our community which have very high aspirations, and that helps drive our high education outcomes, our productivity. It has enormous effects on this population's dynamism and entrepreneurship," she said. Housing is under "considerable pressure" – the council has 7,000 properties and 7,000 on its waiting list. The so-called "social cleansing" effects of benefit caps are pricing many people out of homes in the wealthier London boroughs, and Westminster and Chelsea are among those who have been found shifting tenants into Slough. |
| "We are seeing a drift of those fleeing the impact of benefit reductions, and of course we have a limited capacity for new housing: it's actually a small, densely built town. So while we are keen to deliver, logically, within set boundaries, at some stage you cannot take any more." | "We are seeing a drift of those fleeing the impact of benefit reductions, and of course we have a limited capacity for new housing: it's actually a small, densely built town. So while we are keen to deliver, logically, within set boundaries, at some stage you cannot take any more." |
| Slough has a large private rental sector and unscrupulous landlords are a major headache for the local authority, which is about to embark on the latest phase of its crackdown on "sheds with beds" – illegal dormitories that have sprung up in back gardens for workers who are willing to pay for little more than a roof over their heads – with a thermal-imaging project of the town's garden huts, although inspectors have already been having good success thanks to Google Earth. | Slough has a large private rental sector and unscrupulous landlords are a major headache for the local authority, which is about to embark on the latest phase of its crackdown on "sheds with beds" – illegal dormitories that have sprung up in back gardens for workers who are willing to pay for little more than a roof over their heads – with a thermal-imaging project of the town's garden huts, although inspectors have already been having good success thanks to Google Earth. |
| Slough has seen a rapid population growth since 2001, up 10%, which means pressure on schools. Charlie McGreachie, head teacher of Montem Primary, presently has 780 pupils but by 2015 will have 900. His pupils share 40 languages between them. | Slough has seen a rapid population growth since 2001, up 10%, which means pressure on schools. Charlie McGreachie, head teacher of Montem Primary, presently has 780 pupils but by 2015 will have 900. His pupils share 40 languages between them. |
| "Around every four years we have a whole new community – eight years ago it was a tranche of Somalians, after that Roma from Romania. Under Ofsted it doesn't look as though we are doing so well, but it doesn't allow us to be measured for the quality of our work. My children make great progress, and what I do think we do very well is integrate new communities: 75% of my children will be new to England. One of our targets is bringing people together, and that includes the parents. | "Around every four years we have a whole new community – eight years ago it was a tranche of Somalians, after that Roma from Romania. Under Ofsted it doesn't look as though we are doing so well, but it doesn't allow us to be measured for the quality of our work. My children make great progress, and what I do think we do very well is integrate new communities: 75% of my children will be new to England. One of our targets is bringing people together, and that includes the parents. |
| "Schools bring communities together, parents meet other parents; no one wants to see a community existing in parallel to another community, not integrating." | "Schools bring communities together, parents meet other parents; no one wants to see a community existing in parallel to another community, not integrating." |
| He is proud of the fact that many of his children leave primary "tri-lingual" and that racial tensions are almost non-existent. "Slough gets a bad press. Actually, if Britain wants multiculturalism to work, and I believe it can work, then there's a lot to be learned from Slough. Indigenous white British are getting more tolerant – it's when what was a new group four years ago has to accept that another new group has arrived, that's the struggle." | He is proud of the fact that many of his children leave primary "tri-lingual" and that racial tensions are almost non-existent. "Slough gets a bad press. Actually, if Britain wants multiculturalism to work, and I believe it can work, then there's a lot to be learned from Slough. Indigenous white British are getting more tolerant – it's when what was a new group four years ago has to accept that another new group has arrived, that's the struggle." |
| It is difficult to imagine that everyone in this town of less than 25 square miles is living in perfect racial harmony. Looking for people unhappy with diversity on a cold Friday afternoon turns up some Asian taxi drivers who have a long list of complaints against "the African" traffic wardens, and an elderly white couple who did not want to be named but said their own children had left the area because they felt outnumbered. "My granddaughter speaks English, so they were not wanting her to be in a school full of immigrants speaking all sorts of jibjabbing," he said. As we spoke a group of young Muslims came out of a prayer room and started pulling on their shoes in the street; the woman said that groups of Asian men like that intimidated her. | It is difficult to imagine that everyone in this town of less than 25 square miles is living in perfect racial harmony. Looking for people unhappy with diversity on a cold Friday afternoon turns up some Asian taxi drivers who have a long list of complaints against "the African" traffic wardens, and an elderly white couple who did not want to be named but said their own children had left the area because they felt outnumbered. "My granddaughter speaks English, so they were not wanting her to be in a school full of immigrants speaking all sorts of jibjabbing," he said. As we spoke a group of young Muslims came out of a prayer room and started pulling on their shoes in the street; the woman said that groups of Asian men like that intimidated her. |
| Emma Wilson and Ranjeev Singh came to Slough from London and both work at Heathrow. "I didn't really fancy it – it's got a bad reputation, hasn't it? The Office and that, but it was cheaper to get a flat and it's great really. Could do with better shops, but I like all the different restaurants," she said. | Emma Wilson and Ranjeev Singh came to Slough from London and both work at Heathrow. "I didn't really fancy it – it's got a bad reputation, hasn't it? The Office and that, but it was cheaper to get a flat and it's great really. Could do with better shops, but I like all the different restaurants," she said. |
| "Immigration? The world food aisle at Tesco is a lot bigger than a lot of places," said Kate Pratt, communications chief at Slough council. | "Immigration? The world food aisle at Tesco is a lot bigger than a lot of places," said Kate Pratt, communications chief at Slough council. |
| "Seriously, Slough has always put cohesion at the forefront. We'll take the jokes, and we know we're no tourist attraction – we're a working town getting on with it." | "Seriously, Slough has always put cohesion at the forefront. We'll take the jokes, and we know we're no tourist attraction – we're a working town getting on with it." |
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