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12 Mar 2009 : Column 159WH—continued
The hon. Lady raised a substantive concern, however, which is not a myth, about the allocation of finite resources. Housing is a good example. When demand is
greater than supply there will always be rationing, and the way in which those finite resources are rationed is important. The debate about need versus entitlement has gone on for 40 years, and it is important for politicians to be alive to the need for openness and transparency in the allocation of finite resources. The hon. Lady’s point about that was important and welcome. However, I would say—I am still trying not to be party political, but I cannot help myself—£8 billion pounds of investment in the next three years for building more houses will increase the supply of housing. Of course, we have spent the last 12 years trying to improve the quality of the existing supply, but there is a huge demand and we need to ensure that we can meet it.
The hon. Lady’s second point was about segregation, particularly in schools. She and the hon. Gentleman will have witnessed as I have so-called middle-class flight in an area and the ability of some parents to buy a house next to a good school. We have taken steps to try to ameliorate some of the problems with the recently introduced school admissions code, which will help, and, for example, by having Ofsted inspect schools to ensure that they promote community cohesion. The hon. Lady cited twinning, the sharing by schools of resources, and the curriculum as possibilities for good practice. We need to ensure that all schools try to improve integration, not only within the school—intra-pupil integration—but between schools. The hon. Lady made an important point, which was not just pious words, but something that we need to take on board and act on—that all schools need to be good schools. The sooner all schools are excellent schools, the less concerned parents will be that they cannot get the choice they want for their children.
The final point that the hon. Lady made was in the important passage in her speech about Islamophobia. She said something which is sometimes lost on the media: some perpetrators of horrific acts of terror may be people who claim to follow the faith of Islam—although they have a perverse interpretation of it—but many of the victims follow it too. That is missed by the media. Muslims died on 9/11, on 7 July 2005, in Istanbul, Bali and Mumbai, and in the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. The six police officers and one driver who died in Lahore were all Muslim. We should not forget that, and should bear it in mind that in a city such as London, where 40 per cent. of British Muslims live, the victims of terrorism will inevitably include many Muslims. It is worth pausing and realising—I am not talking about self-interest—that that is probably one reason for the fact that the vast majority of Muslims are also committed to and obsessed with making sure that they deal with the pernicious individuals who pervert their religion.
The hon. Lady talked about the media. It is often said in jest—perhaps it will become reality—that if only we could nationalise the media it would be possible to control what they say about us. She knows the limitations affecting us, but we can make sure that young citizens are empowered to challenge the media by writing to editors—and in other ways. We have a Muslim young advisory group and a Muslim women’s advisory group, who are becoming more empowered and taking on the media as empowered citizens.
I cannot end without commenting on the hon. Lady’s comments about my noble Friend Lord Mandelson. First, she should not believe all that she reads in the press; he is not the bogeyman. I take on board the point
that positive action is not the same as positive discrimination. The Government are aware that equality is good for the individual, society and the economy. We know that and understand the strength in it. That is one reason for our keenness on a single equality Act to deal with inequality and bring about a fairer and more equal society, in preference to several different items of primary and secondary legislation, and directives from Europe.
My hon. Friend made an important contribution about something that is hot and relevant because of events this week. In a clever and acute way, which I wish the media had adopted, he disentangled the rights that people may have to protest—and we have a long and rich history, including in this place, of political dissent. He will know that the 20 or so individuals who wanted to use the rights accorded to them as British citizens caused huge problems of tension within the community for the vast majority of other citizens of Muslim faith who disagree with them. Those people may disagree about what happened in Iraq or Afghanistan, but they do not agree that it is appropriate or sensitive to act in such a way at a homecoming march for people who have risked their lives and some of whose colleagues have died—and my hon. Friend will know more about that than I do from his previous life. It must be put in context.
There were people at that homecoming march whose prayers had come true, because their loved ones had come home. Some had lost loved ones overseas. What happened was an act of callous insensitivity on the part of the 20 or so people concerned. That is not to take away their right to protest and express their opinion. My hon. Friend is right to say that we must be careful, when we belong to organisations, about putting across an opinion and perhaps giving the impression that it is the opinion of a faith, race or group, when it is really just an individual opinion. No one faith or race has a monopoly on protest or political dissent.
This has been an excellent debate. I thank hon. Members for its quality and the seriousness with which they have contributed to it. People who read the report of the debate will see that hon. Members of all political parties in the House are determined to make Britain the fairest, most equal country in the world. The parliamentarians in this place will make that happen sooner rather than later.
3.28 pm
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