The website of Nick Timothy shows him wearing the claret-and-blue scarf associated with the Aston Villa football club in Birmingham. We can assume, then, that the UK Conservative party MP knows something about this English city’s political divisions and the strong religious undertow to them.
Something Mr Timothy said last week with reference to not only Birmingham but also to the UK’s future struck me as an admission that religious divides are now shaping politics in the country.
Across the board, there is still a reluctance to abandon the concept of the state as a neutral arbiter between its many parts. But raw politics is changing how some are thinking about those internal relations, and something different is driving how politicians see policies as acceptable on the one hand or untouchable on the other.
For those of us who are familiar with sectarian politics, it is clear that the tipping point is coming closer and that its inevitability is becoming more certain.
In a speech to the Policy Exchange think tank – which on the same day launched a highly critical report of a panel charged with agreeing on an official definition for Islamophobia – Mr Timothy called for everyone to envision a state that polices the boundaries between the country’s various ethnic and religious groups.
The purpose, he said, is to foster a new, more interventionist form of social re-ordering, which he called “ordered pluralism”, and allows individuals to live their lives as they choose but requires a shared identity. In the case of the UK, he pointed out, this would involve a recognition of the country’s history, traditions and laws with roots in “Christian thought”.
Mr Timothy conceded that this could lead to a more intrusive and dictatorial state. Further, this type of politics is bound to be unfair regarding how certain groups are treated.
If there is a Petri dish needed in England for politics that deals in community tensions, you could do no better than Birmingham. As far back as the 1960s, the unsparing Conservative cabinet minister Enoch Powell looked at the influx of mainly Caribbean migrants to the city and saw a “foaming river of blood” coursing through UK politics.
Robert Jenrick, one of Mr Timothy’s colleagues, hit the headlines last month when a speech was leaked in which he called one Birmingham district a slum because it was one of the worst-integrated places in the country. “I did not see a white face,” he said.
With the decision of a municipal committee to ban the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv from travelling to the city to play a game against Aston Villa – something championed by an Independent Muslim MP for the constituency – the city’s divisions were put on a whole new plain. Troublingly, what has started in Birmingham has not stayed in Birmingham but taken on the flavour of a national political driver.
The governing Labour party insists it will have nothing to do with sectarian politics. It has described Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party as a force bent on sowing divisions across the isles. It has also sought to gain political mileage from the Conservative party’s drift away from the mainstream, particularly with leaders like Mr Jenrick and Mr Timothy specialising in hardline community politics.
Yet, siren politics are setting the tone on hot-button issues like migration and welfare. And if the Labour party declines as a political force – much like the Conservatives appear to have today – then it is likely that the beneficiaries of such a trend will be those who seek to dive into picking good and bad community behaviour.
The rise of sectarian politics in the UK should be viewed against the backdrop of a government that is spending too much and raising too little from its overburdened tax system. There are currently no good solutions to tackle the country’s economic problems, which becomes a recipe for deepening community divisions that eventually infect the country’s main political arena. Opportunistic politicians are bound to use this opportunity to burnish their own brands.
Fundamentally, a country where the state arbitrates by imposing itself over certain religious identities becomes a nasty place very quickly. In the UK, unfortunately, a foundry for this type of politics is already up and running.
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
More on Quran memorisation:
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Khaldoon%20Bushnaq%20and%20Tariq%20Seksek%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20100%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20to%20date%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2415%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Read more from Kareem Shaheen
HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 1:39:46.713
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 00:00.908
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 00:12.462
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 00:12.885
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 00:13.276
6. Fernando Alonso, McLaren 01:11.223
7. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 1 lap
8. Sergio Perez, Force India 1 lap
9. Esteban Ocon, Force India 1 lap
10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren 1 lap
11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso 1 lap
12. Jolyon Palmer, Renault 1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen, Haas 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll, Williams 1 lap
15. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber 2 laps
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber 2 laps
17r. Nico Huelkenberg, Renault 3 laps
r. Paul Di Resta, Williams 10 laps
r. Romain Grosjean, Haas 50 laps
r. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 70 laps
