Social Cohesion Action Plan

Baroness Scott of Bybrook Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Lords Chamber

The real Britain is where parents put on after-school clubs and summer fêtes to bring their kids together, where towns come out in the pouring rain to support their local football club with the same passion as they would support their country’s team in the World Cup, and where neighbours hold street parties and set up mutual aid groups to look out for each other during Covid. This is a Britain to be proud of, and I commend this plan to the House”.

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful for the Minister’s Statement. When it comes to social cohesion, the penny has clearly started to drop in government departments that something must be done.

As has been highlighted by the leader of the Opposition in the other place, there are groups in the United Kingdom whose loyalties do not always align with our national interest. We should call it out as what it is—separatism: groups of people living apart from our country’s way of life, our behaviours, norms, customs, expectations and standards. That is what matters. We should be a multiracial country, not a multicultural one. This policy paper does not go far enough, in our opinion, as to admit that truth, which is why we have serious questions about whether the measures proposed will be enough to solve the problems we face.

We are all familiar with the rise of extremism. This paper sets out a new social cohesion measure framework, which will try to monitor levels of social cohesion. However, increased monitoring of the problems needs to be followed through with enforcement to make an actual difference. In addition, the paper promises an annual state of extremism report to set out the nature of extremism in the United Kingdom, with a new state threats designation power. These extremists need to be faced head on. Can the Minister confirm whether the Government will name specific organisations?

Last week, I spoke to a group of Jewish university students. Their testimonies of life on campus were harrowing. The Government say that the Office for Students will strengthen its monitoring of universities’ efforts to prevent individuals becoming involved in terrorism. The Government have also said they will codesign a cohesion charter for conduct on campuses, which universities will be encouraged to incorporate into their own codes of conduct. Is “encouraged” enough? Again, will increased monitoring and an optional charter be enough to help those students I spoke to? Which groups will be involved in codesigning this cohesion charter?

The paper seeks to link schools with children of different backgrounds. I would be interested to hear what sort of “social and educational opportunities” are envisaged as part of this initiative. To stop children growing up in communities which are fenced off from wider society, we on these Benches advocate replacing the promotion of multiculturalism in our schools with a curriculum that teaches a national story—one which helps children belong to something bigger than themselves and gives them confidence as to why our culture matters. I understand that my noble friend Lady Spielman will be working with the shadow education team on this issue. I really look forward to seeing their proposals.

I now turn to what has perhaps received the most attention in this policy statement, namely, the new anti-Muslim hostility definition. The previous Conservative Government adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, using language based on existing hate crime laws. Others have asked what this non-statutory definition will do to tackle these specific crimes. The accompanying note also insists that the definition allows things to be said which are “in the public interest”. I ask the Minister once again: who decides what the public interest is and how? What criteria are they going to use?

This definition is complex and we deserve to have all the facts, so can the Minister commit to publishing the working group’s report in full? Moreover, the Government met with so-called relevant stakeholders following the working group’s report. Can the Minister please clarify who those stakeholders are?

Protecting What Matters recognises the importance of having a shared language. This is hardly ground-breaking. Indeed, we should not be campaigning in foreign languages, as was seen recently in Gorton and Denton. It undermines integration. Will the Government support the guidance issued to councils in 2013 by the then Secretary of State, which advised against routine translation into foreign languages? Will the social cohesion measurement framework also measure English language proficiency? These are basics which any social cohesion plan should grasp.

Earlier in my speech, I referenced the leader of my party. She also said this:

“Anyone can throw a match and walk away, but the point of this is not to divide or provoke. It is the opposite”.


Our queries to the Minister today reflect genuine concerns about what the policies mean in practice. We need a plan that is honest about the issues we face and which, crucially, has the teeth to solve them. I look forward to the Minister’s response.