Immigration, identity, and Europe: Lessons from post-Brexit Britain

Mark Leonard welcomes Sunder Katwala to discuss integration and identity in the UK

To load the audio player provided by Soundcloud, click the button below. This means Soundcloud will receive technical data about your device or browser, as well as information about your visit on this page. Soundcloud may use cookies and may transfer your data to servers outside the EU, where the level of data protection may not be equivalent to that in the EU. For more information visit our privacy policy.

Load player

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

What does it mean to be patriotic in 2023? Following the significant population movements of recent years, leaders in European states are increasingly trying to foster a sense of identity that can hold together their diverse societies. In his recent book, “How to be a patriot: Why love of country can end our very British culture war”, Sunder Katwala draws on many years of research and scholarship in the UK to consider what collective identity without division, fear of immigration, and racism might look like.

 In this episode, he joins Mark Leonard to explore some identity-related dilemmas in post-Brexit Britain. How did immigration and European interact in the run-up to the 2016 referendum? And can the rest of Europe draw any lessons from the UK’s experience?

This podcast was recorded on 19 June 2023.   

Bookshelf:

How to Be a Patriot: Why love of country can end our very British culture war?  by Sunder Katwala

Windrush: 75 Years of Modern Britain, by Trevor Phillips and Mike Phillips

Black and British: a forgotten History, by David Olusoga

Subscribe to our newsletters

Be the first to know about our latest publications, podcasts, events, and job opportunities. Join our community and stay connected!