There was never a "policy of multiculturalism" in Britain. Farage and Co. should stop peddling the lie that there was.

In The Spectator yesterday Rod Liddle  referred to The "dubious policy of multiculturalism" as being in Nigel Farage's (and his) view a cause of home-grown Islamic terrorism (I paraphrase).

But in reality there was never, ever by any Government a "policy of multiculturalism". If you think there was provide evidence - you won't be able to. No manifesto commitment. No political speeches. Zilch. "Multiculturalism" is a CONSEQUENCE not a policy. We might not like it or we might approve of it. That's fine, free speech. But we cannot claim that it was EVER a poltiical goal, it is an OUTCOME. (Sorry for the Upper Case shouting but I want to be heard on this!).

Multiculturalism is a result of immigration. Countries which permit the latter (most countries of the West and, of course, very especially the United States) have to accept a degree of the former. Britain is modestly multicultural - especially London. The Capital hugely benefits from this in every way, culturally, socially, economically... Elsewhere across the UK multiculturalism is more patchy. Across great swathes of Tory England it doesn't exist at all. In some cities, in the North and the Midlands it is very present. There are some mixed neighbourhoods where people of various races and religions co-mingle happily without tensions. There are some racially specific zones, nobody designated that it should be like that - it just happened. There is NO ALTERNATIVE to the need to make multiculturalism work now that we have it. It isn't going to go away. The extent of immigration will affect the extent of multiculturalism on the margins. But halving the level of immigration (or doubling it for that matter) wouldn't change the status quo much. It would be purely symbolic. 

We are a mixed race, mixed religion society and that isn't going to change. The "melting pot" is a nonsensical myth. We are not all going to merge together into some very light brown Anglo-Saxon mixture! Our differences will remain - to the benefit of the quality of our society as a whole. Of course there has been criminality within some racial groups and that has to be tackled. But tarring the overwhelmingly decent and law-abiding Islamic communities (e.g.) with the brush of Islamic terrorism or of the Jihadists is offensive and wrong. Hunt the villains down wherever and whoever they are, but don't spread the lie that these people exist in Britain because of some past "policy of multiculturalism " - there was never any such thing.