Across the United Kingdom, Luton is known for two things: its international airport — a hub for budget flights — and racial tension.Luton is one of the few places in the U.K. where those identifying as “white British” are in the minority (45 percent). Located 50 km north of London, its population of 200,000 has been shaped and reshaped by waves of immigration over the last 100 years: Irish, Caribbean, South Asian, Eastern European
Around a quarter of the population is Muslim, mostly originating from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. There are no reliable statistics for the exact number of Eastern European immigrants in the area, but it is widely accepted they have made up a significant proportion since 2004.
Traditionally, Luton was considered a bellwether town: Until 2010, when a Labour MP was elected, the seat for Luton South was won by the party that went on to form the national government in every election since 1951.
As voters headed to the polls in June to cast their vote on whether the U.K. should leave the European Union, national divisions were reflected in Luton. A large portion of the town’s white working class population is disenchanted by immigration, and many support the far right. Meanwhile, its sizeable immigrant community were largely expected to vote Remain.
And yet — even as national debate became increasingly racially charged and politicians fanned fears about immigration — Luton voted to leave the EU by 56 percent, significantly more than the national average of 52 percent.
“Everyone is worried about work, worried about their jobs,” says Darren Carroll, a painter-decorator in his 50s. “They’re looking for someone to blame, and that’s why they voted out.” Formerly an English Defence League (EDL) activist (the far right movement was founded by his nephew), Carroll is now a member of the British Labour Party and is dedicated to improving community cohesion.
While Luton used to be an industrial town — known for its hat-making factories in the 17th and 18th century — it has become impoverished since the local Vauxhall car plant shut down in 2002 after years of declining profits. Several of Luton’s districts are now ranked among the poorest 10 percent in the country.
Today, it is an island of deprivation in a sea of affluence. Bedfordshire, the county in which Luton is located, is home to mostly leafy, green constituencies, a far cry from the deprived estates of this former manufacturing hub.
While the U.K. as a whole experienced a drastic spike in hate crimes in the week after the referendum, police did not note a similar increase in Luton. Many in the town believe that might be because tensions were already high before the vote.
“To be honest, for Luton, hate crimes and expressions of discontent with the immigrant community are such a regular feature of life,” says Adams.
On top of the long-running racial standoff between the town’s white and Asian communities, tensions between Asians and Eastern European immigrants are rising, especially as the new arrivals move into what had previously been Indian or Pakistani enclaves.
Meet the immigrants who voted for Brexit – POLITICO
Around a quarter of the population is Muslim, mostly originating from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. There are no reliable statistics for the exact number of Eastern European immigrants in the area, but it is widely accepted they have made up a significant proportion since 2004.
Traditionally, Luton was considered a bellwether town: Until 2010, when a Labour MP was elected, the seat for Luton South was won by the party that went on to form the national government in every election since 1951.
As voters headed to the polls in June to cast their vote on whether the U.K. should leave the European Union, national divisions were reflected in Luton. A large portion of the town’s white working class population is disenchanted by immigration, and many support the far right. Meanwhile, its sizeable immigrant community were largely expected to vote Remain.
And yet — even as national debate became increasingly racially charged and politicians fanned fears about immigration — Luton voted to leave the EU by 56 percent, significantly more than the national average of 52 percent.
“Everyone is worried about work, worried about their jobs,” says Darren Carroll, a painter-decorator in his 50s. “They’re looking for someone to blame, and that’s why they voted out.” Formerly an English Defence League (EDL) activist (the far right movement was founded by his nephew), Carroll is now a member of the British Labour Party and is dedicated to improving community cohesion.
While Luton used to be an industrial town — known for its hat-making factories in the 17th and 18th century — it has become impoverished since the local Vauxhall car plant shut down in 2002 after years of declining profits. Several of Luton’s districts are now ranked among the poorest 10 percent in the country.
Today, it is an island of deprivation in a sea of affluence. Bedfordshire, the county in which Luton is located, is home to mostly leafy, green constituencies, a far cry from the deprived estates of this former manufacturing hub.
While the U.K. as a whole experienced a drastic spike in hate crimes in the week after the referendum, police did not note a similar increase in Luton. Many in the town believe that might be because tensions were already high before the vote.
“To be honest, for Luton, hate crimes and expressions of discontent with the immigrant community are such a regular feature of life,” says Adams.
On top of the long-running racial standoff between the town’s white and Asian communities, tensions between Asians and Eastern European immigrants are rising, especially as the new arrivals move into what had previously been Indian or Pakistani enclaves.
Meet the immigrants who voted for Brexit – POLITICO
