Broken Britain in ten insane maps

WHAT makes a healthy, functioning and cohesive society? I think it’s one where the following factors are present:

• the state prioritises people who are from that state, whose families have contributed to that state, when distributing scarce goods such as social housing;
• people who rely on the state, in turn, actively contribute to that state by working and paying tax so that others can benefit from the same support;
• people identify with the main identities of that state, such as feeling British or English;
• and people can speak the main language in that state.

I think, at a minimum, this is what’s required to ensure a basic level of social cohesion.

Conversely, when citizens perceive that the state no longer prioritises its own people when distributing scarce goods, when newcomers receive those goods but do not contribute to the collective pot by working and paying tax, when large numbers of them do not identify with the state or speak the main language of that state, then things will – in my view at least – soon start to fall apart.

Harvard scholar Robert Putnam once alluded to this when he warned that if you subject nation-states to rapid demographic change with no real social cohesion the result will be a ‘low-trust’ environment where people withdraw from supporting things like the welfare state and ‘hunker down’, turning away from their neighbours.

And as I’m about to show you through ten mind-blowing maps, this is very clearly what’s happening in some parts of England today, where the sheer scale and speed of demographic change, combined with the failure of the state to prioritise its own people and ensure that newcomers identify with a unifying identity and language, are creating highly segregated, parallel and fragile communities.

Drawing on the excellent Migration Facts website, alongside detailed information on local areas from the latest census, we can build up a pretty comprehensive picture of what’s happening in some specific areas of England – areas where the social contract that underpins a healthy, cohesive and prosperous society is visibly breaking down.

These are just a handful of many places I could have chosen in England today where the vast majority of scarce social housing has gone to people who were not born in the UK, where most of the people who rely on the state are also not contributing to the state by working, where many do not identify as British or English, and where many are living in households where no adults speak English as their main language.

I think these maps paint an incredibly troubling picture of what is now happening in some areas of the country which often escape the attention of our national media. So, in no particular order, here are ten maps of England where the social contract is breaking down and where, I hope, people in government will be prompted to think about what kind of country their policies are creating. I’ve avoided including multiple neighbourhoods from the same areas, such as Brent or Ealing, so we can look at a wider range of areas across the country.

1. St Matthews & Highfields, Leicester

In this neighbourhood in Leicester, more than 80 per cent of people who are living in social housing were born outside the UK, of whom only around half (52 per cent) are in work. According to the latest census, only 43 per cent of people who live here were born in the UK, compared to an average in England of 83 per cent. A larger number of people in this area were born in the Middle East or Asia (51 per cent) than in the UK. Three-quarters of residents here are Muslim. Fewer than two-thirds of people identify as British or English. Close to one in three say they identify with a ‘non-UK identity only’. And more than four in ten live in households that contain no adults who speak English as their main language. This is one of the most striking places in the UK.

2. Southall Green East, Ealing

In this part of the London borough of Ealing, more than 75 per cent of people who are living in social housing were born outside the UK, of whom only 43 per cent are in work. Not even one in three (31 per cent) people here were born in the UK while close to 60 per cent were born in the Middle East or Asia. Close to four in ten people here have lived in the UK for less than ten years, reflecting the remarkable churn in some of these ‘hyper-diverse’ areas. When asked about their identity, only a minority of people here identify as ‘British’ (46 per cent) and almost nobody identifies as ‘English’ (2 per cent). Nearly two-thirds of people here are Muslim, Sikh or Hindu while more than one in three people here are living in households that contain no adults who speak English as their main language.

Here are another eight maps which really bring home the scale and speed of immigration and demographic change taking place in modern Britain.

3. Tokyngton/Monks Park, Wembley

In this area of north London, close to Wembley Stadium, nearly 73 per cent of social housing tenants were born outside the UK, of whom only 43 per cent are in work. Only 40 per cent of residents were born in the UK, compared to an average of 83 per cent in England, while almost as many were born in Africa, the Middle East or Asia. Nearly one in three people here have lived in the UK for less than a decade. Fully 35 per cent, more than one in three, refuse to identify with a British or English identity and instead choose a ‘non-UK identity only’. One quarter of people here are living in households that contain no adults who speak English as their main language.

In this area more than 69 per cent of social housing tenants were born outside the UK, of whom fewer than half, 46 per cent, are in work. Fewer than half of residents were born in the UK while more than 40 per cent were born in Africa, the Middle East or Asia. One in five residents have lived in the UK for less than ten years. Close to 30 per cent identify with a ‘non-UK identity only’. More than half of all people who live here are Muslim, compared with an average in England of 6.7 per cent.

5. Lozells East, Birmingham

In this part of Birmingham, close to two-thirds of social housing tenants were born outside the UK, of whom only 40 per cent are in work. Just over half of residents, 56 per cent, were born in the UK, one-third were born in Africa, the Middle East or Asia. More than two-thirds of people are Muslim. Only half of all people here live in households where every adult speaks English.

6. Alexandra Park, Oldham

In this part of Greater Manchester, close to 70 per cent of social housing tenants were born outside the UK, of whom only one in three are in work. While most people here were born in the UK, 63 per cent, close to one-third were born in the Middle East, Asia or Africa (compared with an average of 6 per cent in England). More than 83 per cent of people are Muslim and only 9 per cent are Christian. Only four in ten people live in households where all adults speak English as their main language.

7. Burngreave & Grimesthorpe, Sheffield

In this part of South Yorkshire, more than 68 per cent of social housing tenants were born overseas, of whom fewer than half are in work. Only around half of residents were born in the UK. More than half are Muslim. One in five have been living in the UK for less than ten years. When they are asked about their identity, close to one in three people here select ‘non-UK identity only’, while close to one-quarter are living in households where no adults speak English as their main language.

8. Shearbridge & University, Bradford

In this part of West Yorkshire, more than 61 per cent of social housing tenants were born outside the UK, of whom only 21 per cent are in work. Only around 52 per cent of people here were born in the UK, compared to a national average of 83 per cent. One in four people here have been in the UK less than ten years. More than one-quarter identify with a ‘non-UK identity only’, and 71 per cent of residents are Muslim. Close to one in three people live in households where no adult speaks English as their main language.

9. Sparkbrook South, Birmingham

In this part of Birmingham 64 per cent of social housing tenants were born outside the UK, while only one in three of those are in work, contributing to the economy. Less than 58 per cent of people in this area were born in the UK while close to one-third were born in the Middle East or Asia. Only one in twenty people here are white and close to 84 per cent are Muslim. People here are four times more likely than the national average to live in households where no adults speak English as their main language.

10. Kingsbury South, Brent

In this part of the north London borough of Brent, 63 per cent of people living in social housing were born outside the UK while only a little over one in three are in work. Only 42 per cent of people who live here were born in the UK while more than half were born in Africa, the Middle East, Asia or continental Europe. One in five people here have lived in the UK for less than ten years and only 56 per cent identify as British, with close to one-third instead identifying with a ‘non-UK identity only’. One quarter of people here live in households where no adults speak English as their main language.

This article appeared on Matt Goodwin on March 4, 2025, and is republished by kind permission.