“The happiest city in England” Brighton’s narratives of diversity between “success stories” and sidelined issues

ABSTRACT

This article contributes to the literature on diversity. Through a focus on the local government, I enquire if the dominant narrative of Brighton and its community entails the multiple identities encompassed by the concept of diversity. If that is not the case, what significance does effectively lie behind it? And which are the consequences of this? Informed by qualitative research, this article compares the local government's narrative on the city and its community to the oppositional narrative shared by members of grassroots BAME associations. Brighton markets itself as an open-minded city: mainstream sources, such as the University of Sussex, portray it as “the happiest city in England”, arguing that it thrives thanks to its diverse community. However, the data gathered reveal how very often representatives of the local government discuss “diversity” while actually referring to gender identity and sexuality and how this selective understanding has overtime generated resentment in racialized communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Diversity
• narratives
• local government
• racism
• ethnicity
• UK

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 I deliberately do not mention the names of the Council departments, charities or associations to respect my interviewees’ preference.

2 Although I am personally wary of the ethnic categories listed in the Census, I used them to ease the communication with the local government and reported them for coherence.

3 For reasons of coherence in the context of the wider research, I only interviewed people who had migrated to the UK during their life.

4 The 2011 Census is still the most recent complete report on Brighton’s population. The next one will take place in 2021.

5 The two definitions are not mutually exclusive: someone born outside the UK might be ethnically white British, while, analogously, members of different BAME groups can be (and mostly are) born in the UK.

6 This is another reason why I did not include a discussion on intersectionality – although I acknowledge the relevance of it.

7 Interviewee’s emphasis

8 A couple of respondents omitted comments on racism and discrimination, both when talking freely and when I prompted them.