A Birmingham councillor has said the government needs to address “real issues” in youth poverty in the city if they are serious about tackling inclusion.
Following David Cameron’s speech on tackling extremism at Ninestiles School in Birmingham, Lozells and East Handsworth councillor Waseem Zaffar said:
“Integration isn’t just about communities from different back grounds getting on. It’s communities living in a fair and equal society. You eradicate deprivation and inequality, and then you have social cohesion.
“49% of young people in Birmingham grow up in poverty. That’s not integration or cohesion: that’s 137,000 young people having to play catch-up from childhood. These are the real issues that need to be addressed.”
During his speech, Cameron hinted at ‘failures of integration’ as one of the reason for the fast spreading of extremist ideas, saying: “There are people born and raised in this country who don’t identify with Britain.”
In Lozells the ethnic minority population makes up 89.2% of the population. Coun. Zaffar added:
“Lozells and East Handsworth ward has people from 162 different countries that have made it their home since 2007, and by and large they live together in harmony.
“However, the one thing that unites them is poverty – and that shouldn’t be the case.”
Birmingham Conservatives refused to comment.
The post Birmingham councillor to Cameron: ‘49% of youth in poverty is not helping integration’ appeared first on Birmingham Eastside.
