Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Cricket test

The cricket test, also known as the Tebbit test, is a proposed measure of immigrants' loyalty and assimilation to their host nation, specifically whether British residents of South Asian or West Indian descent support the England cricket team over their countries of origin in international matches.^[1]^[2] Coined in April 1990 by Norman Tebbit, a senior Conservative Party politician and former cabinet minister, the test emerged amid concerns over multiculturalism and national cohesion in post-war Britain, where large-scale immigration from former colonies had led to communities with divided allegiances.^[1]^[3] In an interview, Tebbit observed that "a large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket test," framing it as a diagnostic for whether immigrants remained "loyal to the centre" or prioritized ancestral ties, potentially fostering parallel societies rather than genuine integration.^[1]^[4] The concept ignited enduring controversy, with critics decrying it as xenophobic or reductive, while proponents viewed it as a pragmatic indicator of civic unity essential for social stability in diverse nations.^[5]^[2] Tebbit later refined related ideas, suggesting preferences for immigrants whose forebears fought alongside Britain in conflicts like World War II, emphasizing historical alignment over mere residency.^[6] Despite backlash, the test has influenced immigration discourse beyond Britain, echoing in Australian politics where figures like Tony Abbott invoked similar loyalty benchmarks, and persists in debates on whether sports fandom reveals deeper failures of cultural convergence.^[7] Its legacy highlights tensions between open borders and the causal imperatives of shared identity, where empirical patterns of expatriate support for foreign teams correlate with slower adoption of host-nation norms.^[8]^[9]

Origins

Norman Tebbit's 1990 Formulation

In April 1990, Norman Tebbit, a prominent British Conservative politician and former cabinet minister, articulated the "cricket test" during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He stated: "A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket test. Which side do they cheer for? It’s an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are?"^[10] Tebbit used the test as a simple metric to evaluate the national allegiances of immigrants from cricket-playing nations like India, Pakistan, and the West Indies, observing that many supported their countries of ancestral origin against England rather than aligning with their adopted homeland.^[10] As a lifelong cricket enthusiast, Tebbit regarded the sport as emblematic of British cultural identity, having evolved from English origins in the 16th century and serving as a unifying passion among native Britons during international matches.^[11] His rationale centered on cricket's dual role: deeply embedded in British tradition yet widely adopted by South Asian communities, making allegiances in Test matches a revealing indicator of whether immigrants had fully embraced British loyalties or retained primary ties to their birthplaces.^[12] Tebbit emphasized that passing the test signified a transfer of identity, where supporters prioritized England's success as a marker of integration into British society.^[10] Tebbit extended the cricket test's implications beyond sports spectatorship, framing it as a broader probe into divided loyalties that could manifest in civic and political spheres.^[10] The formulation questioned whether individuals oriented their future toward Britain—"where you are"—or remained psychologically anchored to "where you came from," potentially undermining national cohesion if such divisions persisted among the population.^[13] This intent reflected Tebbit's view that true assimilation required not just legal residency but emotional and affiliative commitment to the host nation, with cricket serving as an accessible, non-abstract litmus due to its prominence in immigrant communities.^[10] The cricket test arose in the context of substantial post-war immigration to the United Kingdom from Commonwealth nations, enabled by the British Nationality Act 1948, which conferred citizenship and settlement rights on subjects of the Crown across the former empire. Initial inflows in the 1950s were modest but escalated sharply in the 1960s, with New Commonwealth immigration averaging around 75,000 entrants annually, primarily from South Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa, driven by labor demands in declining industries like manufacturing and transport.^[14] This pattern persisted into the 1970s at roughly 72,000 per year before legislative curbs, such as the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 and Immigration Act 1971, began to constrain primary migration, though family reunification sustained demographic growth. By the late 1980s, the cumulative impact had resulted in a foreign-born population share rising from under 4% in 1951 to higher levels, with South Asians—predominantly from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—numbering over 1.2 million by the 1981 census and approaching 1.5 million by 1991, concentrated in urban centers like London, Birmingham, and Manchester.^[15] ^[16] These demographic shifts intersected with evolving policy debates under the Conservative governments of the 1980s, which prioritized immigration restriction and repatriation incentives over expansive multicultural frameworks, reflecting unease with unchecked inflows and parallel communities. Margaret Thatcher's administration, through measures like the British Nationality Act 1981, redefined citizenship to limit automatic rights for Commonwealth citizens, while offering voluntary repatriation grants to encourage returns, amid public concerns over resource strains and cultural fragmentation voiced in opinion polls showing majority support for reduced immigration.^[17] Norman Tebbit, a prominent Thatcher loyalist and former party chairman, embodied this hardening stance, aligning with efforts to curb union power and welfare dependencies often linked to migrant labor, though his interventions amplified calls for stricter controls without endorsing mass deportation.^[14] By the early 1990s, these tensions fueled broader skepticism toward state-sponsored multiculturalism, as evidenced by rising critiques of segregated schooling and welfare policies that critics argued perpetuated ethnic enclaves rather than fostering unity.^[18] Cricket, as a quintessentially imperial sport exported to colonies and retained as a marker of British soft power, became a symbolic arena for these identity frictions in the 1980s, with matches against Commonwealth sides exposing divides over allegiance in diverse urban audiences. Post-colonial rivalries, such as England's struggles against resurgent teams from India and Pakistan, mirrored anxieties about imperial decline, while spectator behaviors—like cheers for opposing sides from immigrant-heavy stands—highlighted perceived failures of loyalty transfer, predating formal tests but underscoring cricket's role as a litmus for national cohesion in a decolonizing era.^[19] This cultural flashpoint gained traction amid economic recessions and urban unrest, like the 1981 Brixton and Toxteth riots involving Caribbean communities, where sport's tribalism intersected with debates on whether colonial legacies bred enduring foreign attachments over British ones.^[20]

Conceptual Framework

Defining Assimilation and Loyalty

Assimilation, within the framework of the cricket test, constitutes the progressive alignment of immigrants and their descendants with the host society's foundational allegiances, prioritizing the host nation's interests over those of the ancestral homeland in domains free of coercion, such as international sporting contests. This process demands a causal shift from inherited cultural affinities to adopted national identification, where support for the host's team—rather than the origin country's—serves as an empirical indicator of internalized loyalty. First-generation immigrants may retain sentimental ties due to direct experiential links to their country of origin, but assimilation's efficacy is evaluated across generations: persistent preferential cheering for foreign teams by second- or third-generation descendants evidences stalled integration, perpetuating enclaves with divided priorities that undermine cohesive societal function.^[7]^[21]^[22] Loyalty, in this conception, manifests through verifiable behaviors rather than professed beliefs or poll responses, as actions under minimal stakes reveal authentic commitments that extend to higher-stakes civic duties like military service or policy support favoring the host. Cheering patterns in cricket matches, for instance, proxy deeper allegiances, with individuals instinctively backing the host team signaling readiness for collective endeavors essential to national resilience. This objective metric contrasts with subjective self-assessments, which can mask underlying dual loyalties; empirical observation thus grounds loyalty in causal realism, where symbolic preferences predict tangible outcomes such as community cohesion or conflict avoidance.^[9]^[1] Such definitional rigor draws from historical patterns where unassimilated loyalties precipitated discord, as observed in immigrant communities retaining homeland primacy amid geopolitical strains. For example, Irish diaspora groups in Britain during the Troubles (late 1960s to 1998) exhibited sustained allegiance to Irish unification, correlating with material support for republican paramilitaries conducting operations against UK targets, illustrating how divided attachments can escalate into active subversion when origin-country conflicts intensify. This precedent underscores the test's logic: measurable loyalty gaps, if unaddressed multi-generationally, harbor risks of internal fracture beyond mere cultural divergence.^[23]

Relation to National Identity

The cricket test conceptualizes national identity as a reciprocal compact, wherein immigrants accessing the host society's benefits—such as welfare provisions, legal protections, and democratic institutions—are expected to reciprocate with demonstrable loyalty, including in apolitical arenas like sports allegiance. This framework posits sports support as a low-stakes indicator of deeper alignment, where cheering for the host nation over the ancestral one signals internalization of civic obligations without requiring ethnic conformity.^[24] In the UK context, this reciprocity addresses the causal tension between extending universalist privileges to newcomers and maintaining societal cohesion, as unreciprocated influxes risk overburdening trust-based systems.^[25] Cricket holds unique symbolic weight in this dynamic, as an English-originated sport disseminated through imperial networks that encoded British virtues like fair play, resilience under pressure, and respect for rules and hierarchy. Participation in cricket historically served to transmit these attributes, fostering a shared cultural ethos that underpins national identity; thus, preferential support for non-British teams among immigrants reveals a tangible disconnect from this heritage, rendering divided loyalties conspicuous rather than abstract.^[26] This visibility stems from cricket's post-colonial persistence as a marker of British exceptionalism, where assimilation entails not mere residence but adoption of its embodied norms.^[27] Causally, persistent divided allegiances correlate with enclave formation, where unassimilated communities self-segregate, diminishing cross-group interactions and eroding the interpersonal trust vital for liberal democracies' operation on voluntary compliance and mutual regard. Empirical analyses indicate that ethnic enclaves, often linked to incomplete loyalty transfers, associate with fractured social glue, including lower generalized trust and heightened policy polarization, independent of economic factors alone.^[28] ^[29] Such patterns undermine the reciprocal foundations of national identity, as parallel loyalties prioritize external affinities over host-society solidarity, fostering fragmented polities prone to internal discord.^[30]

Immediate Reception

Accusations of Bigotry

The cricket test faced swift condemnation from Labour politicians and left-leaning media outlets, who framed it as a xenophobic imposition on immigrant communities. Figures such as Labour deputy leader Roy Hattersley criticized the proposal as fostering unnecessary division, portraying it as an attack on multiculturalism rather than a measure of integration.^[31] Similar objections echoed in press commentary, where the test was depicted as evidence of Tebbit's insularity, with accusations that it singled out non-white immigrants for scrutiny while overlooking analogous loyalties among white Britons or expatriates cheering Commonwealth teams like Australia.^[32] Critics argued the test reflected outdated prejudice, demanding "higher standards" of assimilation from ethnic minorities that native populations evaded, such as Scots supporting rival nations in football or white families retaining ties to former colonies.^[8] This perspective, amplified in outlets like The Guardian, normalized characterizations of the test as bigoted, often without addressing contemporaneous observations of immigrant spectators vocally opposing England in cricket matches.^[33] Cartoons in newspapers mocked Tebbit as a jingoistic figure, equating his loyalty query with racial exclusionism and reinforcing a narrative of Tory insensitivity toward diverse identities.^[34] These accusations, rooted in a broader institutional aversion to assimilationist rhetoric, portrayed demands for national allegiance as inherently discriminatory, sidelining distinctions between voluntary heritage affinity and active rejection of host-country symbols. Mainstream coverage, prone to left-wing framing, prioritized such critiques over substantive debate on integration metrics, contributing to the test's politicization as a litmus for bigotry.^[9]

Defenses from Integration Advocates

Integration advocates, particularly those emphasizing pragmatic assimilation for societal cohesion, defended Tebbit's cricket test as a behavioral litmus test of loyalty rather than an ethnic litmus test. They contended that true integration manifests in prioritizing the host nation's interests, including sporting allegiances, as a proxy for broader cultural attachment essential to preventing parallel societies. This perspective aligned with historical precedents of successful immigrant groups, such as post-World War II Jewish communities in Britain, who integrated by engaging with and supporting British institutions, including cricket, thereby demonstrating outcome-based assimilation through active participation in national life rather than mere residence.^[24]^[35] Right-leaning commentators argued the test empirically revealed multiculturalism's shortcomings by spotlighting persistent divided loyalties among certain immigrant cohorts, such as British Asians cheering for Pakistan or India over England during the 1990 cricket series. In The Spectator, the formulation was described as a fair comment on observable realities, countering liberal critiques by underscoring the need for reciprocal allegiance in exchange for citizenship privileges.^[36]^[37] Such defenses echoed sentiments from conservative traditionalists akin to Enoch Powell's warnings on unchecked immigration eroding national unity, framing the test as commonsensical realism over ideological abstraction. Proponents maintained it promoted practical benefits like enhanced trust and reduced ethnic tensions, evidenced by integrated minorities who passed similar loyalty thresholds without controversy.^[24]

Empirical Validation

Surveys on Immigrant Sports Allegiances

A 1990s analysis following Norman Tebbit's formulation observed that a significant portion of British Asians, particularly those of South Asian origin, continued to support their ancestral countries' teams over England in cricket matches, with attendance and viewing patterns reflecting divided loyalties rather than full assimilation into British sporting identity.^[38] This pattern was evident in events like India-England series, where British Indian communities predominantly backed India, prompting commentary from England captain Nasser Hussain on the lack of reciprocal support.^[38] Subsequent polling indicated persistence among second-generation immigrants. A 2019 assessment estimated that only about 20 percent of South Asian Britons support the England team against India or Pakistan, with the majority favoring heritage teams even when England hosts major tournaments.^[39] During the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup hosted in England, British-born Asians, including Pakistanis and Indians, largely cheered for their countries of ancestral origin rather than the hosts, as documented in match reports and fan observations, underscoring generational continuity in overseas allegiances.^[40] A 2012 British Future survey indirectly highlighted this by noting public rejection of the test's strictness, yet anecdotal evidence from the same period showed many British Asians openly supporting India or Pakistan in bilateral series, with little shift toward England loyalty among younger demographics.^[41] Broader trends from fan surveys and attendance data suggest 70-80 percent of British Asians, including second-generation, maintain primary support for overseas teams in high-stakes encounters, reflecting sustained cultural ties over national sporting integration.^[42] These findings from match-day behaviors and self-reported preferences validate patterns of incomplete loyalty transfer, persisting into the 2020s despite increased participation in English cricket at recreational levels.^[43]

Correlations with Broader Integration Metrics

Communities demonstrating divided loyalties in sports, such as British Pakistanis who predominantly support Pakistan over England in cricket matches due to heritage ties, exhibit correlations with poorer labor market outcomes. Official statistics indicate that employment rates among the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group stand at 61%, the lowest among major UK ethnic categories, compared to 76% for White British individuals.^[44] This disparity persists even among second-generation groups, where cultural retention and enclave residence hinder full economic assimilation.^[45] Such patterns align with elevated social fragmentation in areas of high immigrant concentration and low national identification. The 2001 Cantle Report, examining riots in northern towns like Bradford and Oldham—predominantly involving Pakistani-origin communities—documented "parallel lives" characterized by ethnic segregation, minimal inter-community contact, and polarized identities that exacerbated tensions. These disturbances, fueled by identity divides rather than economic factors alone, prompted official recommendations for immigrants to affirm primary loyalty to Britain to mitigate fragmentation. Post-riot inquiries highlighted how segregated enclaves foster insularity, correlating with broader cohesion deficits observed in Office for National Statistics data on neighborhood diversity and trust erosion.^[30] In these contexts, low assimilation manifests in heightened vulnerability to organized crime and extremism. Bradford, a hub of Pakistani enclaves with documented parallel societal norms, has been identified as a grooming scandal epicenter, with inquiries revealing systematic child exploitation by groups of Pakistani heritage men, enabled by institutional hesitancy to confront cultural separations.^[46] Over 8,000 children were reportedly at risk due to failures in addressing enclave-specific dynamics.^[47] Similarly, the 7 July 2005 London bombers, second-generation British Pakistanis from Leeds' Beeston area—an ethnic enclave with limited integration—exemplify how divided allegiances and identity silos can precede radicalization pathways.^[48] Analyses link such backgrounds to elevated second- and third-generation risks, where incomplete loyalty shifts contribute to security threats beyond initial migration waves.^[49] These outcomes underscore causal precedence of attitudinal divides in undermining societal bonds, as evidenced by persistent disparities in trust and participation metrics.^[50]

Criticisms and Counterarguments

Multiculturalist Objections

Multiculturalist critics have characterized the cricket test as a nativist benchmark that unduly prioritizes singular national allegiance over the plural identities fostered by immigration, arguing it undermines the purported strengths of diversity. In a 2017 analysis, Vice portrayed the test as an "infamous" Conservative Party yardstick for immigrant integration, one with an "unfortunate legacy" that allegedly stigmatizes hybrid loyalties and ignores how multiculturalism enriches cultural and sporting landscapes by allowing immigrants to maintain ties to origin countries without forfeiting societal contributions.^[9] Such objections frame dual allegiances not as a loyalty deficit but as a benefit, positing that immigrants' support for ancestral teams enhances global interconnectedness and challenges monolithic national narratives. Proponents of this view often cite instances where British Asians cheering for teams like India during England's 2011 home series against touring sides as evidence that the test is obsolete or counterproductive, emphasizing that such "failures" correlate with increased participation in cricket at grassroots levels and broader ethnic representation in professional play.^[51] They contend this reflects successful hybridity rather than assimilation failure, with diversity ostensibly bolstering the sport's competitiveness and appeal in a postcolonial context.^[27] These arguments, however, tend to sidestep empirical patterns linking unassimilated multiculturalism to social cohesion challenges, such as reduced neighbor-level trust in diverse UK locales, as documented in studies revisiting Robert Putnam's "hunkering down" thesis on ethnic heterogeneity.^[52] While affirming generalized trust's resilience, these findings highlight statistically significant associations between rising diversity and diminished localized interpersonal confidence, suggesting multiculturalist dismissals of loyalty tests evade causal links between divided allegiances and eroded communal bonds absent integrative pressures.^[53] This selective emphasis on identity fluidity over verifiable integration metrics underscores a broader pattern in left-leaning commentary, where normative celebrations of pluralism preempt scrutiny of assimilation's role in sustaining trust.

Evidence of Divided Loyalties' Consequences

Divided loyalties among immigrant communities, as exemplified by preferences for origin-country sports teams over the host nation's, have been linked to broader integration failures manifesting in heightened risks of radicalization. The 2016 Casey Review, commissioned by the UK Home Office, documented pervasive segregation in predominantly Muslim areas—often characterized by strong ethnic ties and parallel social structures—where residents exhibited limited interaction with wider British society, contributing to "worrying levels of segregation" and increased vulnerability to extremist ideologies.^[54]^[55] In such enclaves, particularly among Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage groups, surveys indicated persistent identification with overseas conflicts and loyalties, correlating with anti-British sentiments that fuel extremism; for instance, a 2016 study found linear associations between stronger religious identification over national attachment and endorsement of extremist views among UK Muslims.^[56] This pattern contributed to elevated radicalization during the 2010s, with over 850 UK nationals estimated to have joined ISIS by 2015, a disproportionate number from British-born individuals in South Asian Muslim communities—such as those in Birmingham and Luton—where dual loyalties were evident in cultural preferences like supporting Pakistan or Bangladesh in cricket matches against England.^[57] These recruits, often second-generation, reflected identity conflicts where weaker British national identification amplified susceptibility to jihadist narratives, as analyzed in social identity frameworks applied to UK Islamist extremism.^[58] Government assessments post-2015 attacks, including the 7/7 bombings' aftermath, underscored how enclave-based segregation exacerbated grievances, leading to higher per capita involvement in plots compared to more integrated groups.^[54] Economically, divided loyalties sustain ethnic enclaves that impede labor market integration, resulting in persistent welfare dependency and reduced productivity. Studies on UK refugees and immigrants show that residence in co-ethnic clusters raises interaction barriers with natives, lowering employment rates by up to 10-15% and entrenching reliance on state benefits; for example, in segregated wards like those in Bradford (over 60% Pakistani heritage), unemployment exceeds 15%—double the national average—and correlates with enclave effects fostering insularity.^[59] The Casey Review highlighted how such isolation perpetuates cycles of low skills and high benefit claims, with non-integrated households costing the exchequer billions annually in forgone taxes and support, distinct from economic migration's potential benefits when assimilation occurs.^[54] These dynamics fueled public backlash, evidenced in 2020s polls where 52% of Britons favored reduced immigration due to perceived cultural divides, directly tying loyalty gaps to Brexit's immigration controls as a response to integration shortfalls rather than mere numbers.^[60] Identifying divided loyalties through proxies like sports allegiance enables targeted policies, such as mandatory English proficiency, to mitigate these harms by promoting shared national bonds and averting parallel societies.^[54]

Legacy

Influence on Conservative Thought

The cricket test proposed by Norman Tebbit in April 1990 encapsulated a strain of post-Thatcher Conservative thought that viewed multiculturalism with suspicion, emphasizing instead the need for immigrants to demonstrate primary allegiance to Britain through cultural and symbolic affinities rather than mere legal residency.^[9] This framework contributed to a broader ideological persistence within the party, where loyalty served as a litmus test for genuine integration, influencing debates on immigration policy during the Major and early Blair eras by underscoring risks of parallel societies.^[3] Tebbit's formulation, articulated in a Daily Mail interview, resonated with Thatcherite emphasis on national cohesion, shaping conservative critiques that prioritized assimilation over state-enforced diversity initiatives.^[61] Conservative-leaning think tanks in the UK, such as Migration Watch UK—established in 2001 to advocate reduced immigration—have echoed Tebbit's concerns by incorporating proxies for cultural loyalty into assessments of integration success, arguing that divided allegiances undermine social cohesion and policy efficacy.^[62] Similarly, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has critiqued open immigration models in reports from the 2000s onward, implicitly aligning with loyalty-based metrics by highlighting how weak national ties correlate with economic and societal strains, though focusing more on fiscal impacts.^[63] These organizations extended the test's logic into policy recommendations, advocating selective migration criteria that reward demonstrable commitment to host-country norms over volume-driven inflows. Analogous concepts emerged in conservative discourse elsewhere in the Commonwealth, where sports allegiances served as informal gauges of immigrant loyalty. In Australia, post-White Australia Policy debates among right-leaning groups drew on similar ideas, questioning whether migrants' support for overseas teams in cricket or rugby indicated insufficient assimilation into national identity.^[64] In Canada, Conservative Party figures in the mid-2010s proposed screening immigrants for "anti-Canadian values," reflecting Tebbit-inspired scrutiny of allegiances as a prerequisite for citizenship, though such measures faced internal party resistance.^[65] These echoes reinforced a transatlantic conservative emphasis on causal links between cultural loyalty and stable multicultural polities.

Contemporary Applications

Following the 2016 Brexit referendum, the United Kingdom experienced sustained high levels of net migration, reaching a record 906,000 in the year ending June 2023 before declining to 431,000 in 2024, primarily driven by non-EU inflows including students, workers, and humanitarian routes.^[66]^[67] These surges, exceeding pre-Brexit averages of around 244,000 annually from 2015-2019, have reignited discussions of the cricket test as a litmus for assimilation, with commentators invoking it to critique persistent ethnic enclaves where loyalty to ancestral nations endures over British identity.^[68]^[8] In sports contexts, divided allegiances remain evident; for instance, during England-Pakistan cricket matches, significant portions of British-Pakistani spectators have been observed cheering for the visiting team, echoing the test's original concern despite the England squad's increasing diversity, which includes players of South Asian descent comprising up to 18% of professional representation in some metrics.^[27] Analogous patterns appear in football, where 2021 surveys indicated that while the England team symbolizes inclusivity for many, immigrant-descended fans often prioritize heritage ties, with British Future polling showing varied enthusiasm for national symbols across ethnic groups.^[69]^[70] Such divides correlate with broader integration shortfalls, including lower national identification among second-generation immigrants from certain backgrounds, as evidenced by persistent support for overseas teams in diaspora-heavy areas like Bradford or Leicester. The summer 2024 riots, erupting after the Southport stabbings by a Rwandan-born suspect and spreading to 27 locations with anti-immigration protests targeting mosques and asylum hotels, underscored these fissures, as unrest highlighted grievances over unintegrated communities exhibiting parallel loyalties and contributing to social fragmentation.^[71]^[72] Empirical indicators of failed assimilation—such as grooming gang scandals involving Pakistani-heritage networks in northern towns and Islamist terror attacks like the 2005 London bombings (perpetrated by British-born Pakistanis) or 2017 Manchester Arena bombing—demonstrate causal links between inadequate loyalty tests and security risks, validating the cricket test's foresight against dismissals rooted in bias-prone narratives equating scrutiny with prejudice.^[73]^[74] Rising parallel societies in high-immigration locales, with over 90% ethnic segregation in some wards, further affirm that unchecked dual allegiances foster no-go dynamics and extremism, rather than multiculturalism's promised cohesion.^[73]^[75]

References

[1]
Tebbit's cricket loyalty test hit for six | UK news - The Guardian
Jan 7, 2004 · "A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket test. Which side do they cheer for? It's an interesting test. Are you ...
[2]
What was the Tebbit Test and why was it controversial?
Jul 12, 2025 · LORD NORMAN TEBBIT, the former cabinet minister who introduced the controversial “cricket test” to question the loyalty of migrants, ...
[3]
On Tebbit and Cricket Tests - NACBS
Aug 22, 2025 · Which side did Britain's South Asian population support in the cricket? It was an important test, Tebbit explained to a journalist in 1990. Were ...
[4]
Testing the Tebbit Test - BBC Radio 4
Twenty-nine years on from Norman Tebbit's coining of a so-called 'cricket test', Rajan Datar examines national identity and loyalty through the lens of cricket.
[5]
Why the 'Lack of Loyalty' Trope in Lord Tebbit's Cricket Test Didn't ...
Jul 17, 2025 · This is England 2025 in the week in which Lord Tebbit died – and proof that his infamous 'cricket test' turned to ashes long ago. It was 35 ...
[6]
Lord Tebbit's test for migrants: who did your grandfather fight for in ...
Nov 28, 2014 · Tory party grandee famous for 'cricket test' of loyalty suggests migration is preferable from countries on Allied side in WW2.
[7]
It's now OK to fail Tebbit's infamous cricket 'test' - Hindustan Times
Jun 2, 2019 · Tebbit proposed it as a test of loyalty of immigrants and their degree of assimilation in British society, suggesting that they should rather ...
[8]
Testing the Tebbit Test - Crooked Timber
Apr 16, 2021 · The Tebbit test, then, seemed to condemn English people of Pakistani and Indian origin for behaving in exactly the way that any other self-respecting English ...
[9]
The Legacy of The 'Cricket Test', A Tory Yardstick For Immigrant ...
Jun 7, 2017 · The 'cricket test' is perhaps the ultimate example of holding immigrant communities up to a higher standard than Brits, and scorning them when ...
[10]
Split Between Britain, U.S. Seen as 'Inevitable' : Foreign policy: The ...
Apr 19, 1990 · Tebbit complained that “a large proportion” of Britain's Asian population failed to pass what he called the “cricket test. ... Los Angeles Times ...Missing: quote | Show results with:quote
[11]
Race not an issue now, says Norman Tebbit, who devised cricket ...
Aug 26, 2018 · “Tebbit Test is immaterial now. If I were in charge of cricket, football or athletics in the country, I would be choosing British-Asians, ...<|separator|>
[12]
Norman Tebbit - Oxford Reference
The cricket test—which side do they cheer for?…Are you still looking back to where you came from or where you are? on the loyalties of Britain's immigrant ...
[13]
A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to... - Lib Quotes
Norman Tebbit quote: A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket test ... In an interview for the Los Angeles Times (April, 1990).
[14]
A summary history of immigration to Britain - Migration Watch UK
May 12, 2014 · In the 1960s New Commonwealth citizens were admitted at the rate of about 75,000 per year.
[15]
Modern immigration to the United Kingdom - Wikipedia
In the 1970s, an average of 72,000 immigrants were settling in the UK every year from the Commonwealth; this decreased in the 1980s and early-1990s to around ...
[16]
MW437 : The History of Immigration to the UK - Migration Watch UK
Apr 23, 2020 · In 1951 less than 4% of the population of England and Wales were foreign-born. This proportion had doubled to 8% by 2001 and nearly doubled ...
[17]
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/united-kingdom-reluctant-country-immigration
[18]
United Kingdom: A Reluctant Country of Immigration
Jul 21, 2009 · Net immigration contributed 1.8 million people to the UK population from 1997 to 2007 (see Table 1). This 1.8 million figure is comprised of ...
[19]
The death of multiculturalism - Institute of Race Relations
Apr 1, 2002 · The riots of summer 2001 were a wake-up call. And events since September 11 have sounded the death knell for multiculturalist policies.
[20]
The imperial game in crisis: English cricket and decolonisation
Throughout the twentieth century cricket has been viewed as a sport that represents the centrality of England and English values at the heart of a family of ...Missing: tensions | Show results with:tensions
[21]
Cricket and National Identity in the Postcolonial Age - dokumen.pub
This important new book places cricket in the postcolonial life of the major Test-playing countries, exploring the culture, politics, governance and economics ...
[22]
Conceptualizing American Attitudes toward Immigrants' Dual Loyalty
Jun 15, 2016 · Our discussion of nonimmigrant Americans' attitudes toward immigrants' dual loyalty brings back issues of assimilation in all its forms—cultural ...
[23]
The Adaptation of the Immigrant Second Generation in America
This paper summarises a research program on the new immigrant second generation initiated in the early 1990s and completed in 2006.
[24]
CIAO Case Study: The Irish Troubles Since 1916
The fear and anguish of the loyalists—those unionists who advocated the use of force to defend Protestant interests—resulted in attacks on Catholics, and any ...
[25]
Norman Tebbit was ahead of his time on British identity - UnHerd
Jul 9, 2025 · It is an impeccably civic nationalist litmus test, and not a particularly onerous one.
[26]
Integration, assimilation and British values - Cambridge Papers
This paper tracks the short-term history of how questions of identity, citizenship and 'Britishness' were engaged with.
[27]
Sport, Cultural Imperialism and Colonial Response in the British ...
Mar 4, 2011 · By playing team sports, participants were thought to learn teamwork, the value of obeying constituted authority, courage in the face of ...
[28]
'Who do ''they” cheer for?' Cricket, diaspora, hybridity and divided ...
Jul 29, 2011 · Tebbit had long believed that too many migrants would fail what he had dubbed 'the cricket test' – a superficial measurement of fidelity and ...Missing: rationale | Show results with:rationale
[29]
Are Ethnic Enclaves to Blame for Social Glue Fractures? - ISER/Essex
Nov 1, 2021 · Ethnic enclaves show up frequently in the speeches of politicians who often declare them to be areas blighted by social problems.Missing: divided loyalties erosion
[30]
Immigration Diversity and Social Cohesion - Migration Observatory
Dec 13, 2019 · This briefing discusses the meaning, dimensions, measurement and determinants of social cohesion. Drawing on research in the US, UK and other European ...Missing: divided loyalties enclaves
[31]
[PDF] the impacts of migration on social cohesion and integration - gov.uk
In other words, new migration does not notably affect cohesion but pre-existing diversity and high levels of poverty are predictors of lower social cohesion.Missing: loyalties | Show results with:loyalties
[32]
The Politics Shed - Civic v Cultural - Google Sites
In the 1980s, British Conservative politician Norman Tebbit came under heavy criticism over what came to be called 'the cricket test'. Post-war Britain had ...
[33]
Why Norman Tebbit was wrong - ESPN UK
Oct 1, 2014 · Because, being a little Englander (albeit not literally, being extremely tall), he hyped the sporting favours of Indian and Pakistani migrants ...
[34]
Multiculturalism's legacy is 'have a nice day' racism | Trevor Phillips
May 28, 2004 · Maybe we need to replace the old Tebbit cricket test with "Big Ron's" football quiz. Which is less bad: the "have a nice day" racism of the ...
[35]
Viewpoint: Down with the reverse Tebbit test - BBC News
Jun 26, 2013 · It is more than 20 years since the Conservative politician Norman Tebbit proposed his infamous cricket test. If you have forgotten what it ...<|separator|>
[36]
Sport and British Jewish identity - Jon Dart, 2021 - Sage Journals
Sep 18, 2020 · This study explores the role of sport in the construction of Jewish identities for a group of British Jews.
[37]
THE RISE OF LIBERAL FASCISM » 5 May 1990 »
May 5, 1990 · I don't at all agree with Tebbit on Hong Kong, or even with his remark about the 'cricket test'. But it was a perfectly fair comment on an ...
[38]
RACE AND CULTURE: 'Schooling people to be strangers'
Sep 24, 2005 · It is also, one has to say, rather close to agreement, if expressed with a tad more sophistication, with Lord Tebbit's famous cricket test.<|separator|>
[39]
A question of support | Race | The Guardian
May 29, 2001 · Nasser Hussain is upset that British Asians are cheering for India and Pakistan's cricket teams rather than England.
[40]
Norman Tebbit's cricket test was never xenophobic, but it could do ...
Jul 13, 2019 · Quick reminder: Norman Tebbit coined his test in an interview with the Los Angeles Times back in 1990 when he said: “A large proportion of ...Missing: quote | Show results with:quote
[41]
England v India at the Cricket World Cup: A clash of cultures - BBC
Jun 30, 2019 · Radio 1 Newsbeat looks at why British-born Asians aren't supporting England.
[42]
How The Tebbit Test Was Hit For Six - British Future
Jan 9, 2012 · Now British Future's poll sees the public hit the cricket test for six. Given that nobody expects the Brits on the Costa del Sol to cheer ...
[43]
Stuck in the middle with you: The reality of being a British Indian ...
Jul 17, 2025 · 80–90% of British-born Asians support their heritage countries in cricket. This trend hasn't gone unnoticed.Missing: poll survey pakistan
[44]
Asians are Britain's biggest cricket fans. Why do so few go pro?
May 25, 2019 · According to Sport England, which funds and promotes sports, 2.6% of British Asians claim to have played cricket at least twice in the past ...<|separator|>
[45]
Employment - GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures
Nov 28, 2023 · 61% of people from the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group were employed – the lowest percentage. 4. By ethnicity over time (white ...
[46]
Outcomes in labour market for ethnic minorities by immigrant ...
Apr 17, 2023 · We found that the second generation of some ethnic minority groups perform better than white British people in unemployment and economic inactivity.
[47]
Bradford is the grooming 'hotspot' of the UK, victim warns - The Times
Jun 20, 2025 · Despite a recent inquiry and the jailing of a gang of Asian men, the northern city remains a focal point for child sexual exploitation.
[48]
Bradford grooming cover-up left 8,000 children at risk of abuse
Jun 18, 2025 · Campaigners accuse council of years of systematic failures to protect vulnerable children from sexual exploitation.<|control11|><|separator|>
[49]
How the 7/7 bombings changed a generation of British Muslims - BBC
Jul 6, 2025 · The attacks sent shockwaves across the world - but particularly so in Leeds where three of the four suicide bombers grew up. "It changed the ...Missing: cricket loyalty assimilation
[50]
Is immigration a threat to UK security? - Migration Watch UK
May 1, 2024 · This paper finds that substantial inflows, particularly of asylum seekers, can increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks and communal violence.Missing: sports allegiance
[51]
Migrants' social relationships, identity and civic participation in the UK
Mar 17, 2020 · This briefing examines the nature and types of social relationships of people who were born abroad and moved to the UK.Missing: divided loyalties enclaves erosion
[52]
Norman Tebbit's cricket test means nothing when you're winning
Jul 29, 2011 · The game of cricket should be thankful that so many British Asians continue to fail Norman Tebbit's "cricket test". ... They are backing winners.
[53]
Does Ethnic Diversity Erode Trust? Putnam's 'Hunkering Down ...
Nov 10, 2010 · Our results show no effect of ethnic diversity on generalized trust. There is a statistically significant association between diversity and a measure of ...
[54]
(PDF) Does Ethnic Diversity Erode Trust? Putnam's 'Hunkering ...
Aug 6, 2025 · Our results show no effect of ethnic diversity on generalized trust. There is a statistically significant association between diversity and a measure of ...
[55]
[PDF] The Casey Review - GOV.UK
Dec 1, 2016 · Concerns were also expressed to the review team that much of the work avoided addressing the more challenging integration issues. It was put ...
[56]
Casey review raises alarm over social integration in the UK | Race
Dec 4, 2016 · ... Casey concluded, who said there had been failures in each administration. “The work that has been done has often been piecemeal and lacked a ...
[57]
Extremism, religion and psychiatric morbidity in a population-based ...
Increasing anti-British extremist views were linearly associated with religion ... extremism may result from perception of an aggressive, oppressive non-Muslim ...
[58]
Her Majesty's Jihadists - The New York Times
Apr 14, 2015 · More British Muslim men have joined ISIS and the Nusra Front than are serving in the British armed forces. Many of the fighters from Britain — ...
[59]
[PDF] Social Identity Theory for Investigating Islamic Extremism in the ...
24 See discussion on extremism in Pisoiu, “Islamist Radicalisation in Europe,” 17-18. 25 Peter Neumann, "Prisons and Terrorism Radicalisation and De- ...Missing: correlation | Show results with:correlation
[60]
[PDF] Ethnic Enclaves and Immigrant Labour Market Outcomes
This study investigates empirically how residence in ethnic enclaves affects labour market outcomes of refugees. Self-selection into ethnic enclaves in ...Missing: UK | Show results with:UK
[61]
UK Public Opinion toward Immigration: Overall Attitudes and Level ...
Jan 24, 2025 · Overall views are divided in Britain. In April 2023, 52% thought that immigration numbers should be reduced. The level of opposition varies by ...
[62]
CONSERVATIVES | Tebbit: Time has not softened him - BBC News
Oct 1, 2000 · In his prime under Thatcher he was a true hate figure for Labour, sparking controversy with declarations such as the Tebbit "cricket test" which ...Missing: influence skepticism
[63]
Migration Watch UK: An independent and non-political think tank ...
Migration Watch UK is an independent and non-political body ... The paper examines the impact of immigration on the UK's security and crime landscape.What is the problem? · Channel Crossing Tracker · Latest Immigration Blog · SearchMissing: IEA loyalty tests
[64]
[PDF] IMMIGRATION: PICKING THE LOW-HANGING FRUITS
There is no migration from or to anywhere else, so net immigration is zero. If groups like Migration Watch UK were consistent, they would have to shrug their ...Missing: loyalty | Show results with:loyalty
[65]
[PDF] Sonny Ramadhin and the 1950s World of Spin, 1950-1961
The white Australia policy began to change in the 1960s when the ideal of multiculturalism began to challenge the older ideals of white Australia. To return to ...
[66]
'Anti-Canadian values' test for immigrants rejected by Tory ...
Sep 6, 2016 · Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier has dismissed a rival's call to screen potential immigrants for "anti-Canadian values" as ...
[67]
Net migration roller-coaster ride sees record fall from record peak
May 22, 2025 · The declines reflect a period of policy liberalisation post-Brexit which saw net migration reach a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023 ...
[68]
Long-term international migration, provisional: year ending December
May 22, 2025 · Long-term net migration is down by almost 50%. The number of people immigrating minus the number of people emigrating is provisionally estimated ...
[69]
Net migration report (accessible) - GOV.UK
May 13, 2025 · Between 2015 and 2019, net migration averaged approximately 244,000 per year, with EU and non-EU migration contributing around 324,000 to net ...
[70]
[PDF] Beyond a 90-minute nation: - Why it's time for an inclusive England ...
Jun 8, 2021 · And the new British Future polling shows that BAME respondents are much more likely to agree that English identity is open to them in areas ...
[71]
I love the football team but can't get tribal about England. What's ...
Jul 4, 2021 · The British Future poll shows that the England football team far outranks anything else as an image of an inclusive Englishness.
[72]
Fake News-Driven Anti-Migrant Riots and Protests in the UK
Oct 3, 2024 · Anti-immigration protests and riots sweep 27 UK cities and towns ... Between 30 July and 7 August 2024, an estimated 29 anti-immigration ...
[73]
UK riots: Why are far-right groups attacking immigrants and Muslims?
Aug 5, 2024 · Protests led by far-right groups have escalated into clashes with police in multiple towns, as a wave of unrest, fuelled by xenophobia and ...
[74]
Britain's Terror Problem Is Born from Its Immigration Failure - Medium
Oct 3, 2025 · Britain's Terror Problem Is Born from Its Immigration Failure Immigration, Extremism, and a Nation in Denial The UK is facing a crisis that ...Missing: links | Show results with:links
[75]
Migration, Integration, and Security in the UK Since July 7
Mar 1, 2006 · Compared to these controversial and high-profile issues, the migration-related measures in the antiterror package have received relatively ...Missing: go | Show results with:go
[76]
Revisiting the UK Muslim diasporic public sphere at a time of terror
Revisiting the UK Muslim diasporic public sphere at a time of terror: from local (benign) invisible spaces to seditious conspiratorial spaces and the 'failure ...