Defining Britishness is more than a sound bite Mr Gove

EDUCATION Secretary of State Michael Gove has announced this week that "British Values" will be instilled in school children in an attempt to combat extremism.

His statement came in the wake of allegations of attempts by Governors in five Birmingham schools to push forward an 'Islamic agenda'.

As part of his program of values Mr Gove's department will focus on religious tolerance, opposition to gender segregation and respect for the "primacy of British Civil and Criminal Law".

Critics have accused Mr Gove of using the situation in Birmingham as a smokescreen for larger issues, while causing a potential rise on Islamiphobia in the country. Meanwhile British Prime Minister David Cameron gave his support to the plan; claiming that it would be something which would be supported by the "majority of people in the country."

Managing Director of anti-extremist think tank, Quilliam, Ghaffar Hussain, warned:

“Discussions around Islamist extremism need to be more honest, rather than polarised by rival alarmist and denialist factions. Denialists must recognise that extremism is real. Pretending it is not, out of fear of negative repercussions, only encourages such repercussions by making the work of extremists easier, further fueling the far-right and aiding xenophobia.

Alarmists must recognise that the vast majority of parents, pupils and teachers at these schools are not extremists. The allegations, which Ofsted has now verified to a large extent, concern attempts by a small section of entryist hard-liners to paint themselves as ‘the community’. Succumbing to the idea that this faction is indeed ‘the community’ further fuels Islamists by legitimising them as the only interlocutors.”

Mr Gove's plan to force 20,000 primary and secondary schools to "promote British Values"  appears to be a shift from previous statements he has made on the subject. In 2007 he was quoted in Prospect Magazine as saying: "There is something rather un-British about seeking to define Britishness."

It is a statement which opponents of the plan have been quick to reiterate amid concerns over what impact the measures may have on the education system as a whole.

At present in the UK there are approximately 400 private single sex schools and about one third of all maintained primary and secondary schools are faith based.

Mr Gove's greatest challenge may yet be ahead of him as he attempts to further define what values sum up a multicultural Britain in the 21st century. Combining traditional concepts with the reality of a diverse and increasingly disillusioned population will prove a hard task if he hopes to succeed. 

With fears expressed in the media about wider actions being discussed, including secret trials without press involvement, there are many who may argue that this government is not suitable to define "British Values" at all.