The Changing Face of Liverpool's Ethnic Diversity

Yesterday I was listening to Thinking Allowed on BBC Radio 4, when I heard it claimed by Professor John Belchem that Liverpool was now one of Britain's least ethnically diverse cities.  This is surprising because, as a significant sea port, it had once been one of the most diverse.  In the city's 700th anniversity celebrations, it was celebrated as "the great second city of empire", and possessed (relative) ethnic diversity to match.

City	% White British (2011)
Birmingham	57.9
Bristol	84.0
Cardiff	80.0
Leeds	85.0
Liverpool	88.8
Manchester	66.7
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne	85.6

Source: England & Wales census, 2011.

Although we think of Black British History as beginning 'post-Windrush', in Liverpool we can look back much further, with some Liverpudlians reportedly able to trace 10 generations of Black ancestors in the city.  The story of Black Liverpool cannot be separated from Britain's role in the slave trade (see yesterday's blog post for more on the slave trade in general!), however in terms of race relation in Liverpool, Belcham cites the turn of the 19th into the 20th century as "when things really begin to go awry".

Commentators noticed the ethnic diversity that once displayed itself in the city.  Referring to primary school children, J.B. Priestley said:

"All the races of mankind were there, wonderfully mixed....  A miniature League of Nations assembly, gone mad... They seemed like the charming fruits (as indeed they were) of some profound anthropological experiment." - J.B. Priestley, 1933.

Belcham claims that this description really only characterises the view of young children.  Adolescents and adults were held in much less high regard, as they found they had much lower access to more advanced education, and in particular to the labour market.  There was a very 'complete spacial segregation of Liverpool' - it was possible to live in Liverpool whilst never passing into areas with more than the occasional Black British person.

Added to that, Liverpool possessed a much greater level of sectarianism between Catholics and Protestants, with some firms refusing to employ Catholics.  Indeed even today, Liverpool is notable for its much higher Catholic population than other English cities.  It was asked whether this sectarian history may have discouraged newcomers, leading to Liverpool becoming one of the least ethnically diverse cities in the country.  Belcham's explanation is that the typical hard-done-by Irish Catholic migrant (who most historians have regarded as being from the most disadvantaged group) actually become, as Liverpool slipped down the hierarchy of British cities, the classic Liverpudlian, or prototypical Scouser - there is no room in that description for the Liverpool-born Black, who remains outside and marginalised.

Does this adequately explain to you why Liverpool has become so much less ethnically diverse than other British cities in recent decades?  Do you live in Liverpool?  Do you have another explanation?  Please comment with any suggestions!