Lessons from the French riots

Written by Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP and published in The Independent on Thu 10th Nov 2005

Sir: Thanks to Paul Vallelly for a welcome reaffirmation of multiculturalism as the best approach to integration. As a Liberal Democrat I would however quibble with his description of its critics as "muscular liberals". Many on the right who never accepted the concept (for reasons not dissimilar to French assimilationist doctrine), and those on the left who have now abandoned it, never really grasped the notion of "multiple identities".

Thus the right clung to an idea of Middle English homogeneity while the left, often patronisingly and risking fragmentation, emphasised only the differences of ethnic and religious minorities.

True Liberals appreciate that we all possess several identities, all of which need to be respected and given space. If that happens, we are able to find an overarching unity because each person feels valued and included rather than being told they have to sacrifice part of themselves.

Incidentally, this is the key not only to minority integration at a domestic level but also to an acceptance of European integration. A European identity adds to other layers of identity, it does not steal or negate them.

Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP