On Friday 17th April 2026 we at Dialogue Society Birmingham hosted an event titled “Can We Unite the Kingdom?” where we discussed polarised attitudes toward Immigration in Birmingham.
This event follows on from our previous discussion on ‘Building Progressive Patriotism in Birmingham’. In this planned three part series we aim to bring together academics and community leaders to discuss these topics, providing clarity on often confusing topics. On the basis of this in-depth discussion we then look to the future; how can we help the people we care about? Ultimately we seek to aid people in understanding other’s views with the result of better understanding and collaboration.
The event began with a panel discussion involving three speakers:
Abigail Martin – Chief Executive Officer of St. Chad’s Sanctuary, a charity which provides practical support to asylum seekers in Birmingham.
Dr Peter Rookes – Faith Lead for Birmingham City of Sanctuary; co-host of the radio show ‘Connecting Communities’; and member of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Hate Crime and Violence against Women and Girls scrutiny panels.
Dr Kamran Khan – Associate Professor of Language, Social Justice, and Education in the University of Birmingham’s School of Education and director of the MOSAIC research group, focusing on multilingualism.
These panellists discussed a variety of areas within the topic and then responded to audience questions.
Finally, with the help of the local Mavens Club Art Collective, an art workshop in which we all made origami cranes, a bird to which migration is well known, with variously coloured and patterned paper to signify multiculturalism. All of these cranes have now been strung together.
Below is an overview of the discussion, and key points taken from it.
The Current Landscape of Polarisation and Immigration
The panellists discussed misinformation within the media, which creates a discourse based on identity labels. This stops people understanding and cooperating with each other. They stated reality is often very different to that which is portrayed and widely accepted.
Unfortunately, this ultimately leads to division, increasing tension and reducing support for those in need.
Dr Kamran Khan discussed the impact of language in the ‘dominant discourse’, meaning what people generally talk about. He stated that as certain topics are more discussed they are given legitimacy or importance, such as the increased acceptance of deportation as a method of immigration control, or the use of gendered phrases like ‘military aged males’. He pointed also to the role of algorithms on social media in determining how people communicate with each other. Dr Khan also discussed the role of language and integration, critiquing the relatively new concept of British Citizenship (1981). He stated citizenship testing placed too much importance on the ability to speak English, despite there being no evidence that such an ability increases integration into the community. Finally, he discussed the rise of political campaigns utilising communication in various languages, he stated that some people oppose these which he felt delegitimised certain voting populations simply because English is not their first language.
Dr Peter Rookes warned that misinformation is a key driver of polarisation, for instance research showed that people estimated the Muslim population in Britain to be 36% when it was actually 6%. Birmingham itself can be seen as a collection of villages with great variety between. For example, there are many differences between Sparkbrook and Bournville. He stated that putting too much focus on these differences creates barriers to connection.
Abigail Martin stated her concern with the increased use of St. George flags which she felt communicated ‘I belong, so you do not’ to migrants. She asked her service users how they felt, and whilst some had not taken much notice, many felt excluded from something, even if they did not know what. They stated they felt they were viewed differently due to how they looked and spoke which ultimately led to feeling unwelcome. She concurred that misinformation is an issue, as the reality of the immigration experience is not reflected in the press. Often this involves the creation of an ‘us’ and ‘them’, which currently sees asylum seekers scapegoated for people’s everyday struggles. Finally, she stated that whilst most service users were young men, the charity found it much more difficult to gain funding and volunteering for them opposed to when supporting women and children. This points to the idea that the public views some categories of asylum seekers as more deserving of sympathy and support than others.
Pathways toward Connecting Communities
The panellists supported that people should come together and interact in a curious and understanding manner. They stated that this often leads to people acknowledging ‘others’ as individuals, thereby rejecting the harmful narrative of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Through this connection people come to see past misinformation and instead learn about people’s true stories. Furthermore, we must consider how we can reduce social and economic inequality, as discontent fuels division amongst people.
Dr Kamran Khan acknowledged that economic and social inequalities are at the heart of a lot of polarisation and that the current political landscape is a reflection of people trying to find a solution. Therefore, to connect, we must value empathy and use listening as a political act. Dr Khan said that flags are not bad in themselves but in their intended use, therefore we must sit with discomfort and engage in dialogue to understand opposing views. Finally, he
celebrated the fact that Birmingham is multilingual, with over 100 languages spoken across the city, making it welcoming to people from many backgrounds.
Dr Peter Rookes stated he found that the more people met, the more they embraced each other. He also discussed the increase of people being out of work and education feeling they were not listened to. Dr Rookes felt the raising of flags signified people saying ‘I am here, I am important’. Therefore we must seek to value the views of all people in society and give everyone a space to be heard. He stated we must see the value and privilege of education, and seek to help those less fortunate by way of listening and providing opportunities.
Abigail Martin agreed we must look past labels, citing research which showed that people would rather live next to a ‘migrant’ than ‘asylum seeker’. She stated at the Sanctuary they hold talks and tours and find that once people speak to ‘asylum seekers’ they quickly see they are simply just people with interests like themselves. Such interactions counteract the ‘othering’ discourse.. She stated that this is more valuable in person, because the online world allows for less nuanced conversation. Echo chambers created by algorithms meaning people are often only provided with content that aligns with their views. Furthermore, she celebrated that charities in Birmingham often work well together rather than competing over resources.
Audience Reflections and Questions
This event was open to the public and advertised mostly by social media, including Eventbrite and Instagram, but also through community groups in partnership with Dialogue Society and the panel members.
An audience member brought to light issues of white supremacy and queried why it had not been discussed in the panel. The panellists agreed that white supremacy was an issue and were concerned with the increase of nationalism and racism following Brexit. This can be seen in the leadership of movements such as Raise the Colours which appear to be aligned to extreme views. The panel felt that the followers of such movements may not align to extreme views but have nonetheless been mobilised due to misinformation and confusion created by the leaders.The panel stated we must help people understand each other to reduce hatred and further organise with the aim of bringing people together.
The audience then questioned what the role of the government was. The panellists stated inequality must be reduced to stifle discontent but pointed to our, the public’s role, to influence the government. Whilst the current political climate is chaotic, democracy gives us power. So we must do two things: influence our communities with local work, and influence our nation with political work. They stated such efforts should be consistent and balanced rather than a reaction to a ‘crisis’. This influence can be used to challenge such ideas as putting asylum seekers in camps rather than the community.
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