Securitization of Multiculturalism and Immigration: Case of the UK

This research explores securitization of multiculturalism and immigration in the context of the United Kingdom with a view to compare the stance of the two major parties, namely the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. This was done through a Corpus Analysis of the speeches of party leaders in the period between 2000 and 2017. The research shows that there are clear patterns that distinguish the attitude of the two major parties from each other about multiculturalism and immigration. While the Labour Party has rarely tried to securitize immigration and multicultural policies, the Conservative Party has been keener to do so, and has indeed made such an attempt that led to a hostile environment toward immigrants living in the UK. The research contributes to the literature on multiculturalism and identifies securitizing patterns in the discourse of the party leaders in the UK. This thesis also contributes to the literature on immigration and integration by exposing the patterns used by these politicians. In this sense, the research shows how politics of fear, especially in the discourse of the Conservative Party, plays a major role in anti-immigrant, anti-multiculturalism policies. This probability of threats leads to the public‘s tendency to accept assimilationist policies without proper fact checking in relation to the suggested threats, which reflect departure from pre-existing democratic values in Britain. Keywords: immigration, integration, multiculturalism, securitization theory, the UK, Conservative Party, Labour Party