Coffee House Shots: is Britain becoming more sectarian?
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The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 27 August 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
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Summary
Immigration returned to the headlines over the past week after the High Court granted an injunction forcing the removal of migrants from a hotel in Essex – a ruling that could have wider implications for similar cases across the country. At the same time, the sight of Union Jacks and St George’s Crosses appearing in towns and cities has sparked a debate over whether flag-flying is a symbol of patriotism or a sign of growing division.
On this podcast, originally recorded for Saturday's Coffee House Shots, Lucy Dunn is joined by Lord Hannan and trade unionist Paul Embery to ask: what kind of country is Britain becoming? Paul argues that rapid cultural change, combined with economic decline, has left many people feeling disoriented and neglected. Dan Hannan warns that national symbols once seen as unifying risk becoming sectarian markers, echoing Northern Ireland’s politics of identity.
They debate the failures of integration policy to the dangers of what Embery calls ‘soft Lebanonisation’ – a creeping communalism in which people retreat into their own tribes. The political class have been slow to listen, leaving space for rising resentment over immigration and national identity. So, why is Britain so uncertain of its own identity?
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | At Philip Morris International, we're delivering a smoke-free future today. |
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| 0:26.4 | Music Learn more at PMI.com slash progress. Hello and welcome to a special Saturday edition of copyhouse shots. |
| 0:30.4 | I'm Lucy Dunn and today I'm joined by Lord Hannan, |
| 0:33.1 | who is a telegraph columnist and president of the Institute for Free Trade, |
| 0:37.1 | and Paul Embry, trade unionist and writer. |
| 0:40.0 | This week has raised hopes of an end to the migrant hotel protest in Epping |
| 0:43.7 | after the High Court granted a temporary injunction to Epping Forest District Council, |
| 0:47.8 | requiring the residents of Essex's Bell Hotel to be removed within 24 days. |
| 0:52.6 | Other councils are considering taking legal action elsewhere in the |
| 0:55.0 | country, while a raise-the-colours campaign has seen St George's and Union flags going up in cities |
| 0:59.6 | and towns across the UK. Those responsible say the flags are simply a display of patriotism, |
| 1:05.0 | but there are concerns that this signifies a growing sectarianism across a fragmented Britain. |
| 1:10.1 | Paul, you've written a recent essay about |
| 1:12.0 | returning home after a holiday and being unsure exactly what kind of country you were coming back |
| 1:16.1 | to. How do you think Britain is changing? Well, I certainly think it is changing and I think |
| 1:22.3 | it's changing quite rapidly. And I think that's a sentiment that is felt by millions of people across the |
| 1:29.0 | country. I said in the piece that I wrote, look, countries always change. The world always |
| 1:33.5 | changes. We shouldn't be silly about it and pretend that we can stand still. But I think by and large |
... |
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