The only ethnic minority in the village?

The news that the producer of ‘Midsomer Murders’ has been suspended for suggesting that ethnic minority characters in the long-running television drama would detract from the imagery of a rural community does, unusually, raise the issue of diversity in the countryside. To be honest, the issues relating to racism always seem to be argued from an urban perspective, as though it is accepted that ethnic minorities do not live in villages or market towns.

And yes, to some extent, that’s true. Or at least, it was. As a London suburban kid, I watched as my community grew more and more South Asian. The schools were good, the houses were big enough, and aspiring middle class Asian families moved in. As they moved in, facilities designed to cater to them sprang up, restaurants, clothing stores, a cinema in Wembley dedicated to Hindi movies. Today, nearly half the population of north Brent is South Asian.

I studied in Norwich in the mid-eighties. There weren’t that many visible ethnic minorities in the city, most of them were attached to the University, and they tended to stand out. But, as was the case with a surprising number of those who studied at UEA, they rather grew to like the place, found jobs locally and stayed. Of course, the ethnic minority population is not as big as that in somewhere like London, but coloured faces aren’t the rarity they used to be.

Now I live in a small village. According to the last census, my ward is 0.95% non-white, a fact that you might guess by taking a gentle stroll along The Lane. Or not, perhaps… that thatched cottage, immaculately kept, where the names on the electoral register are Thai, that charming Mr Valladares on the Parish Council at Belmont Cottage.

Village life does come with some complications, the lack of facilities, transport, the isolation from the wider community, and if you come from a minority group, with particular dietary or religious requirements, you might well think twice before you commit yourself to living in one. The nearest mosque might be twenty or thirty miles away, access to kosher food might be in the nearest big city, your family might all live in the suburbs.

As a result it is true that villages tend to have smaller ethnic minority communities. But they are out there, living the rural idyll dream, as local councillors, or as a part of the social life of their communities, or simply raising a family.

Brian True-May is a fool to suggest that ‘Midsomer Murders’ is the last bastion of Englishness. It isn’t, it’s a television programme. He’s also a knave, if he believes that Englishness is a white-only thing. That isn’t, either. That’s racism.