Language on immigration in UK news and politics found to have ‘shaped backlash against antiracism'
The race equality thinktank the Runnymede Trust analysed more than 63m words from 52,990 news articles and 317 House of Commons debates on immigration between 2019 and the general election in July 2024.
Researchers concluded that the use of language about race and immigration by media and politicians has helped shape 'the increase in reactionary politics and backlash against antiracism which has emboldened the far right in this country'.
The report, A Hostile Environment: Language, Race, Surveillance and the Media is the second in a series. The first phase of the research analysed parliamentary and media reports from 2010 to 2014. It found that 'illegal' was the most commonly linked word to migrants in parliamentary debates, which the researchers said reinforced the perception of migration as inherently unlawful.
The latest report found that between 2019 and 2024 'the word 'illegal' has became an even stronger word association with the terms 'migrant' and 'immigrant' in both news and parliamentary debates than it was in the 2010–14 period', which, the authors claim, 'shows that the defining characteristic of migrants has been cemented as illegality over the past decade'.
The study claims that since 2014, 'hostile environment' immigration policies have worked to 'expand and normalise the surveillance state' through legislation, reporting measures and data sharing.
When the researchers filtered 'words associated with immigrants' in news data by nationality, religion, ethnicity and geographical location, they found the word 'Mexican' was most strongly associated, 'typically in the context of news reports about the USA'.
Referring to the second- and third-placed terms in that category, the report added that 'Chinese' and 'Indian' were also very strongly associated with 'immigrant(s)', usually when reporting about immigration 'in the UK context'.
The other most commonly used signifiers of identity associated with the word 'immigrants' in news were 'Asian', 'Irish', 'Haitian', 'Muslim', 'Jewish', 'non-white', 'Venezuelan', 'Cuban' and 'African'.
'Overwhelmingly, when the UK news media represents immigrants, the image that is invoked … is of an ethnically minoritised person,' the report added.
Meanwhile, in Hansard data of parliamentary debates, the top 10 words most strongly associated with migration were 'illegal', 'net', 'committee', 'act', 'bill', 'tackle', 'level', 'reduce', 'system,' and 'mass'.
The report said parliamentarians 'are more likely to use humanising terms when talking about Ukrainians' – such as 'guest', 'brave', 'community' or 'diaspora'.
The report claims: 'Racist discourse from the highest levels of UK society, including politicians and the media, is used to frame immigration as an existential threat to the British way of life … this works to justify ever more hostile immigration policies.'
Sign up to First Edition
Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters
after newsletter promotion
The report added: 'One stark example of the partnership between parliament and the news media in framing public perceptions of immigration in the UK can be found in connection with the 'stop the boats' political slogan.
'The explicit use of this slogan by rioters in the summer of 2024 on banners and in chants demonstrates that the hostile language we have identified in our analysis has emboldened sectors of the UK public to engage in racist violence.
'Throughout the 2019-24 period, news articles and political debates disseminating this kind of narrative come out in fairly close alignment with each other, both reaching their peak in 2023 and declining slightly into 2024, but with still very high levels of usage.'
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the disorder of August 2024 – which followed the Southport attack – ''highlighted the need for a new approach to community cohesion' and that a task force was developing a strategic national approach, while £1.5bn was being invested in community services in 75 areas nationwide.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
a minute ago
- Daily Mirror
World's longest suspension bridge connects two continents and cost £2bn to build
The Strait of Messina Bridge that will connect Sicily to mainland Italy will become the longest suspension bridge in the world but the current record holder links Asia to Europe Italy has been given the go-ahead to build the longest suspension bridge in the world that will connect the mainland to Sicily. Concepts of the colossal bridge, named the Strait of Messina Bridge, have been released, and it would span an impressive 3.3km. The Italian prime minister, Georgia Meloni, said: 'It is not an easy task but we consider it an investment in Italy's present and future, and we like difficult challenges when they make sense.' However, until that ambitious project, costing an estimated £11.6bn, is finalised, the world's longest suspension bridge will belong the 1915 Canakkale Bridge in Turkey. The structure connects Asia to Europe and takes six minutes to cross. Construction across the passage of water (Dardanelles Strait) started in 2017 and it only became open to the public three years ago. Journey times have been cut by up to 93%. This means 90-minute ferry trips can be avoided by using the bridge that starts in Gelibolu, Turkey, which is based on the European side of the country, to the Asian town of Lapseki. The 1915 reference pays homage to the Ottoman victory in the First World War, a defeat for Britain which eventually led to the declaration of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The bridge stretches 2,203 metres, a nod to the year 2023 when Turkey honoured the centenary of the founding of the republic. Turkey's President Erdogan previously revealed the mammoth bridge cost €2.5billion (just over £2billion). He also boasted about the bridge being bigger than the previous record holder – the Askashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan that was built in 1998. Erdogan said: 'Turkey has overtaken Japan, which has the longest bridge in the world in terms of midspan, and has taken the place.' However, the record may soon go to Italy's planned Strait of Messina Bridge which would exceed Turkey's bridge by more than a kilometre. Seaking of the importance of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge at the inauguration ceremony, South Korean's former Prime Minster Kim Boo-kyum said: 'The 1915 Canakkale Bridge will leave this history of collision and conflict behind and will be a bridge between East and West, starting a new era of peace and prosperity.' And speaking further after the completion of the project, Erdogan added: 'Canakkale, which has been the apple of the eyes of various civilizations, cultures and societies for thousands of years, embraces a brand new future today. 'We have come together to inaugurate the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which we see as a ruby necklace over the Canakkale Strait.' The Canakkale Bridge is not only the longest suspension bridge in the world, it is also the second tallest, with the tallest being the Millau Viaduct in France which reaches a staggering 1,125 feet (332 metres) above ground. The Turkish bridge is 72.8metres high and 45.06m wide and there are six lanes of motorway and two walkways used for maintenance. According to AP, the Turkish President claimed a reduction of fuel consumption and carbon emissions from the bridge saves the country €415million per year. This would mean that they would have saved £3.3bn over the next decade.
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Faith leaders rally to support immigrants facing deportation in Southern California
Outside a Southern California immigration court, the Rev. Oona Casanova Vazquez sat beside a nervous Peruvian national as he waited for a judge to call his name — talking, smiling, even handing him a mint. Vazquez, lead pastor of the South Bay Church of the Nazarene in Torrance, has been spending her Thursdays this summer with other faith leaders and church volunteers observing court proceedings and handing out leaflets about the Trump administration's immigration enforcement. 'I come here to stand and bear witness to these people who have more courage than I have,' she said. 'They walk through these doors knowing they could be detained. I'm here to offer them strength and to let them know they are valued and prayed over.' Since early June, the Trump administration has significantly ramped up immigration arrests and raids, especially in Southern California, taking people into custody at businesses, farms and public spaces like parking lots. Fear has spread in the region's immigrant communities, especially among those without legal status. Many faith leaders and groups — including the Catholic Church, which has millions of adherents in the region — have come out in support. While clergy in collars have registered a moral presence and show of support in the courts, numerous churches and nonprofits have mobilized to deliver food and medicine to those afraid to leave their homes. Some churches are offering rent assistance to members who have lost or quit their jobs out of fear. Congregations are streaming worship services so people won't need to take a risk by coming to services, which are no longer immune from immigration raids. Department of Homeland Security officials have maintained there will be no safe spaces for those who are in the country illegally, have committed crimes, or tried to undermine immigration enforcement. They have consistently said their efforts are intended to safeguard public safety and national security. People in the country illegally can avoid arrest taking the government's offer of $1,000 and a free flight to their home country, said department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. 'We encourage every person here illegally to use the CBP Home app and take advantage of this offer and preserve the opportunity to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream,' she said. Offering support in immigration court Clergy say the immigrants they are seeing in immigration court are not criminals, but working people trying to follow the process and protect their families. The Rev. Terry LePage, a member of Irvine United Congregational Church in Orange County, said she has seen people whose cases have been dismissed get immediately picked up by immigration officials in courthouse hallways and taken away in vans. 'You see a family broken up, a life go down the drain in front of your eyes,' she said. 'I cry a lot these days. But I know I am where God needs me to be. I'm able to bear this pain, which is very small compared to theirs.' Laura Siriani, archdeacon with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, led a midday prayer vigil outside the courthouse July 31. About 25 people participated. 'When we can pray together and learn about what's happening to our neighbors, it energizes us,' she said. 'We have to speak out and be the voice of those who have none.' Jennifer Coria, an immigration organizer with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, a group that holds prayer vigils across Southern California, trains pastors and lay leaders in 'what to do and what not to do' in court and how to relay information from detainees to loved ones, she said. Coria said the volunteers don't ask people how they came into the country; their goal is simply to support individuals trying navigate the system. The Rev. Scott Santarosa, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, helped start an interfaith program in the Diocese of San Diego called Faithful Accompaniment In Trust and Hope to support migrants seeking asylum. He said volunteers, including himself, feel 'gutted' and helpless as they see people being arrested in the hallways and taken away. In his 2,300-strong parish, where six of seven Masses are in Spanish, the priest estimates that up to 40% of worshippers may be in the country illegally. Santarosa takes inspiration from the story of Christ rescuing the Apostle Peter when his faith wavers, he said. 'We're being asked to do the impossible,' he said. 'No one likes to be powerless. But we are being asked by the Spirit to come and stand with people in this difficult moment and be powerless with them.' At Our Lady of Soledad Catholic Church in the Coachella Valley, about 7,000 gather for Mass every weekend. The Rev. Francisco Gomez says about 20% of his parish members are in the U.S. without legal status; some have been for decades, and have children and grandchildren. He worries about parishioners becoming isolated because of fear. They're within the Diocese of San Bernardino, where Bishop Albert Rojas gave parishioners a dispensation from attending Mass after immigration detentions on two properties. Gomez wants to let the community know 'the church is not going away.' 'We're here. What happens to any one of us is going to happen to all of us.' Helping with food and other essentials Last month, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles launched its Family Assistance Program to deliver groceries, meals, medicine and other essentials. Monsignor Timothy Dyer, pastor of the largely-Latino St. Patrick Catholic Church in South Los Angeles, helped start the program, which is helping about 150 families with essentials such as rent, food, diapers and toilet paper. 'The community is rallying around these people,' he said. 'This is what a church ought to be.' Pastor Ara Torosian, who ministers to Farsi speakers at Cornerstone Church of West Los Angeles, a multiethnic Protestant congregation, came to the U.S. in 2005 as a refugee after being arrested for smuggling Bibles into Iran. He said he came through Catholic Charities and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society programs, which have been gutted under the Trump administration, leaving no legal pathways for religious minorities fleeing persecution in Iran. Torosian's congregants were among those detained in a wave of immigration arrests after the Iran-Israel war in June. The pastor said his congregants came as asylum-seekers under the Biden administration and had work permits. While a couple he had baptized and married in his church were arrested at their home, another family — a couple and their young daughter — were arrested during an immigration court appearance. The couple remains in detention awaiting Farsi translators, but the family of three was released with ankle monitors, Torosian said. 'We were all in tears when they came back to the Sunday service," he said. The pastor is raising money to help these families with rent while their cases proceed. He worries about keeping up the rent assistance, given his church's limited resources, and is asking members living in the U.S. without legal status not to come to church. 'This is heartbreaking in a country like America,' he said. 'We are praying that the situation will change.' ___ Associated Press video journalist Krysta Fauria in Los Angeles contributed reporting. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Awkward conversations, communal prayers and a trip to Margate: David Lammy and JD Vance's big weekend
US vice-president JD Vance and his family fly to the UK for their summer holiday today, starting with a trip to see David Lammy at Chevening, the Foreign Secretary's grace-and-favour pile in Kent. The visit, expected to last three nights, promises to be a classic of the political odd-couple genre. We are told that Vance and Lammy have struck up an unlikely friendship rooted in their difficult childhoods and shared Christian faith. When Vance hosted Lammy and his wife, Nicola, earlier this year, they took mass together. It has been reported that they will pray together this time, too – one up on those other great transatlantic pals, George W Bush and Tony Blair, for whom joint communion was a step too far. From the outside, however, Lammy and Vance could hardly be more different. The latter is Trump's America-first rottweiler, whose most memorable trip to Europe so far involved him berating leaders for their liberal attitude towards immigration. And Lammy is the urbane member for Tottenham who was one of the MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader. Lammy has tried to play nice with the vice-president, saying Vance's book, Hillbilly Elegy, reminded him of his own childhood and 'reduced me to tears'. The Foreign Secretary has even spoken of having an 'epiphany' while sharing drinks with the vice-president, during which he realised the pair were 'not just working-class politicians, but people with dysfunctional childhoods'. But as the weekend unfolds, Lammy still might have to explain what precisely he meant in 2018 when he tweeted that Donald Trump was 'a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath'. Other subjects our Foreign Secretary might want to steer clear of: Ukraine, Nato, China, Israel, the climate, trans rights, immigration or the EU. Vance, for his part, might opt against bringing up (again) Britain's lack of freedom of speech, incipient Islamism and lacklustre defence spending. Still, he is apparently quite the Anglophile. James Orr, the Cambridge academic who is a good friend of the vice-president's, has said Vance criticises our leadership not because he hates us but because he loves us. He just has a funny way of showing it. Moreover, as a generally polite and articulate man, except in the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky, Vance will be keen to avoid awkwardness as a guest. Contrary to usual dinner party advice, you can imagine both men doing all they can to desperately haul the conversation back to religion. Alastair Campbell reportedly said: 'We don't do God.' Vance and Lammy may find it's all they can do. Sit-downs aside, Kent, with its mix of affluence and deprivation, Oast Houses and oysters, should appeal to Vance. The vice-president grew up between Iowa and Appalachian Kentucky, the latter a wild and backwards place, full of violence and inbreeding. Where better to pick up on those themes than the Isle of Sheppey, a place with three prisons but no Waitrose? In the car on the way over, Lammy can entertain the vice-president by explaining the differences between Tonbridge and Royal Tunbridge Wells. That is if his passenger isn't intent on a deep and meaningful conversation about the fact the foreign secretary once called his boss 'deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic' and 'no friend of Britain'. From Sheppey it is a short hop to Margate, a town that proves economic regeneration is possible in the least promising of circumstances. All it takes is Tracey Emin, a few good restaurants and the determination of the untold thousands of north London immigrant hipsters who have arrived in recent years, bringing with them the small-plate and natural-wine customs of their Hackney homeland. Lammy may even recognise some émigrés from his Tottenham constituency. After a meal at Sargasso, Vance would surely dream of a similar transformation in Appalachia. Expect a special US visa scheme for east Londoners to follow in short order. They already have the lumberjack shirts. The pair could then pop around to Folkestone, where renewal has depended on a billionaire, Roger de Haan, who is determined to build hundreds of luxury flats. Perhaps Vance could pick up some pointers, on the off-chance he knows anyone else fond of real estate deals. On a short walk down the coast they could see the Battle of Britain Memorial. It would be an opportunity for Lammy to gently remind the vice-president that occasionally, British soldiers have not only died alongside Americans in defence of liberty, but died while America neglected to get involved. Though Vance would have his turn further down the coast again, as he could point out where Julius Caesar landed, a chilling warning to nations that do not maintain sufficient military spending. By this point both men will no doubt be tired from their excursions and Lammy will have run out of excuses not to reply to Keir Starmer's WhatsApps asking for a 'quick update' on 'how it's all going'. Starmer went to great lengths to secure a trade deal with Trump earlier this year, and will be paying close attention to this geopolitical family holiday, keen to ensure that whatever improbable rapport his foreign secretary has built with Vance pays dividends. Certainly, at the end of the weekend, both men will have learnt valuable lessons. If nothing else, Lammy will have met some ordinary British voters. He might also have learnt a thing or two about how to describe the American president when one has designs on high office oneself.
