A Nation Still Dividing: The British Census and Social Polarisation 1971–2001

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the degree to which the population of Britain has become more or less geographically polarised as compared with 1991 and earlier censuses. We use the Key Statistics for local authorities from the 2001 Census, released on 13 February 2003 by the census authorities. All of the variables from the 26 Key Statistics tables which can be compared over time with the 1991 Census are examined. The analysis is then extended for a subset of variables that were similarly measured in 1971 and 1981. We conclude that for key aspects of life in Britain, as recorded by the censuses, the nation has continued in the 1990s to divide socially geographically, often at a faster rate than was occurring in the 1980s or 1970s. Where there appears to have been a reduction in polarisation it tends to have been for those aspects of life which are now poorly measured by the census. The paper concludes with speculation about the possible reasons for the continued division of the country into areas now more easily than ever typified as being old and young, settled and migrant, black and white, or rich and poor. Finally the potential for the continued sociospatial polarisation of Britain is discussed. The paper begins with a fictional vignette.

How Spatial Segregation Changes over Time: Sorting Out the Sorting Processes

“…The overall trend has been for rising spatial segregation across the UK, although the underlying picture is more complex than is often assumed, with some groups becoming less rather than more segregated (Dorling and Rees 2003). For the groups examined here, spatial segregation actually fell between 1991 and 2001, as measured by the Index of Dissimilarity (Table 3).…”

“…Many studies have measured changes in the degree of spatial segregation or polarisation over time or have tracked changes in the number of highly deprived neighbourhoods (Massey and Eggers, 1990;Jargowsky, 1997;OECD, 1998;Dorling and Rees, 2003). Between them, these studies have used a range of measures or indicators of socio-economic status, and they have analysed change at a variety of spatial scales.…”

“…There are important variations over time and between places, and differences between groups in terms of the pace and sometimes the direction of change but, in general terms, socioeconomic segregation has been rising, reflecting rising social inequality (Dorling and Rees, 2003;Fahmy et al, 2011). Rising segregation is widely regarded as problematic due to the evidence on 'neighbourhood effects' -in particular, the negative impacts on individual welfare and economic efficiency that arise from having neighbourhoods with high concentrations of deprivation (Ellen and Turner 1997;Galster 2007;van Ham et al 2011).…”

Modelling Multilevel Variations in Distance Moved between Origins and Destinations in England and Wales

“…For instance, levels of deprivation, ethnic heterogeneity and population stability have been noted as important drivers of neighbourhood desirability given their perceived role in influencing levels of social cohesion, crime, the physical environment and positive/negative social externalities (Galster and Killen, 1995;van Ham and Clark, 2009 (Clark and Dieleman, 1996). However, as with individual/household characteristics, the neighbourhood is also thought to act as a selective mechanism where, particularly for the most deprived neighbourhoods, those without sufficient resources are restricted in their opportunities to act on mobility desires and particularly to move over sufficient distances in order to reach the more desirable neighbourhoods (Galster and Killen, 1995), neighbourhoods, in the UK context, that are often spatially segregated (Dorling and Rees, 2003).…”

Spatial scale and small area population statistics for England and Wales

“…The particular focus in this article is on characterising how population sub-groups are spatially distributedfor example, how large, on average, are differences within regions as opposed to differences between areas? The article builds on research conducted by, among others, Voas and Williamson (2000), Dorling and Rees (2003) and Lloyd (2015). Voas and Williamson (2000) sought to assess unevenness in population groups using 1991 Census data for England and Wales.…”