How diverse is YOUR street? After Robert Jenrick claims there are areas in Britain with 'no white faces', the Daily Mail deep dives the truth behind his claims

How diverse is YOUR street? After Robert Jenrick claims there are areas in Britain with 'no white faces', the Daily Mail deep dives the truth behind his claims
By: dailymail Posted On: October 13, 2025 View: 58

Extraordinarily detailed maps today lay bare the demographic make–up of every neighbourhood in England and Wales.

Using figures harvested directly from the 2021 Census, the Daily Mail's interactive graphics show how many residents identified as white British then.

The tool, which requires you to type in your postcode, also shows which countries your neighbours were born in and how many couldn't speak English.

Results are broken down into 7,265 'MSOAs' – pockets of the country home to around 8,000 people.

White Brits were an ethnic minority in 1,000 neighbourhoods, including in parts of Oxford and Milton Keynes. 

In one district of Southall, west London, just 2.1 per cent of people identified as white: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British – with one white Briton for every 31 Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.

At the other end of the table came Brotton in Redcar and Cleveland, where 98.3 per cent of residents were white British. Just 92 of 5,400 residents were of another ethnicity.

Divided into even smaller geographical sections called 'LSOAs', the Census revealed just three white Brits lived in one suburb of Leicester between Highfields and Spinney Hill, just a mile from the city centre.

Another zone of Leicester topped the nationwide table for having the most foreign–born residents. Some 28 per cent of people in Belgrave South were born abroad. Just behind came a neighbourhood minutes from Wembley Stadium (29.6 per cent).

North of 98.5 per cent of residents in a rural part of Caerphilly, outside Merthyr Tydfil, were born in Britain. 

In terms of English speakers, Spinney Hill Road – another MSOA in Leicester – came top. There, 26.5 per cent of people over the age of three whose main language wasn't English couldn't speak it well or at all in 2021.

For comparison, everyone's main language was English or they could speak it well in one neighbourhood nestled along the Dorset coast and another in Cumbria.

Again, however, when broken down into LSOAs (there are 35,000–plus in England and Wales), 43 per cent of residents in a zone east of Leicester's city centre spoke little to no English. 

Made up of just a dozen streets and 1,670 people, the pocket of North Evington is home to two mosques, a Hindu temple, an infant school and a cinema. It is part of an enclave of 34 districts stretching through Leicester's North Evington, Belgrave and nearby suburbs, where at least a fifth of the population cannot speak English.

 

 

How Robert Jenrick’s comments have reignited an age-old debate about multiculturalism and integration in Britain's 'melting pot communities' 

Robert Jenrick’s comments this week have reignited an age-old question – what does multiculturalism really look like?

On a visit to Handsworth, Birmingham, known for its diverse community, the shadow justice secretary was secretly recorded branding the area a ‘slum’ and complaining of 'not seeing another white face’.

He remarked that it was ‘one of the worst-integrated places’ he’d ever seen, where residents were living ‘parallel lives’.

The claims, which he has since doubled down on, have sparked controversy, with some declaring the statement as ‘racist’ while others have rallied behind him.

Whatever the verdict, it has inadvertently brought some pressing questions to the forefront of British society.

Has integration worked? Can you still be and feel ‘British’ if you were not born in the UK? If you do not speak the language fluently? If you are not ‘white’?

While Jenrick’s comments may have been made about Handsworth specifically, there is no place where these questions remain more prevalent than in the melting pot of the UK: Leicester.

Leicester was named one of the UK’s first ‘super-diverse’ cities in 2022 after it was found more than half its residents were from minority ethnic backgrounds.

When the Daily Mail visited the most diverse parts of the city this week, there were undeniably mixed views on how well communities had integrated.

Narborough Road, in Leicester, was named the 'UK's most diverse street' for having shops and restaurants from 23 different ethnicities
A mosque in Highfields, Leicester. Highfields was found to be one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in the city, where the Indian Muslim population is the most prominent
Ian Smalley, 90, has run the Tin Drum Books bookstore for 40 years and says he has seen the area change from consisting of two communities to more than 20

The former textiles capital, which has a long history of welcoming those emigrating from across the world, is 43.4 per cent Asian and a 40.9 per cent white, according to the 2021 census.

And in certain parts of the city, the demographics are even more skewed.

In Highfields, one of the most diverse spots in the country, 1,626 out of 1,865 residents were found to be of Indian background, compared with 61 of Pakistani heritage and 48 of Bangladeshi background.

Only three people identified as 'white British' - seemingly making it the neighbourhood in the UK with the lowest number of white British residents. However, during the visit, the Daily Mail encountered significantly more than three white Britons.

While the inner-city region hosts mosques, churches and temples, it is a predominantly Muslim area.

And on the famous Narborough Road, which is lined with cuisines from around the world, residents say there is 'no majority ethnicity'.

The stretch was named the 'most diverse street in the UK' in a London School of Economics study, with shops and restaurants from 23 different countries.

On either side of an Indian restaurant is a Romanian shop and a Turkish restaurant, and by the corner is a Lebanese takeaway. Opposite the street is an African restaurant, and at the end of the stretch is a temple sat beside an Pentecostal church.

Cherian Koippuram, 50, moved to Leicester with his family in 2018, having first lived in Swindon after migrating from Kerala, South India.

He runs a unique South Indian and Caribbean fusion restaurant on the vibrant Narborough Road, which is packed to the brim with cuisines across several continents.

Speaking to this publication, he told of how he is proud of how multicultural the area is and says his children have grown up embracing both their Keralan and British backgrounds.

The father-of-three said: 'It is very multicultural here, there is a Polish shop down to the left, there are lots of Turkish restaurants, African, Indian, lots of different cuisines.

'Everyone gets along very well here. Narborough Road is known as the food street so it is full of all cultures. 

'Everyone loves food, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, so it brings everyone together. We get all kinds of people come here and all kinds of people live here.

'There is a Hindu temple here, a Christian church up the road. Within a two minute walk you get a Muslim masjid, a Christian church, and a Hindu temple.

Cherians Food Court, which serves a fusion of both Caribbean and South Indian cuisine
Cherian Koippuram, 50, with wife Sindhu, 44, and kids Kalyani, 12, and Jonathan, 10
In Highfields, one of the most diverse spots in the country, 1,626 out of 1,865 residents were found to be of Indian background, compared with 61 of Pakistani heritage and 48 of Bangladeshi background

'I wouldn't say there is any one prominent community here, there is a big mix. We are Christian but we have a lot of friends who are Muslim, so we make sure all our food is halal.'

Asked about how integrated the different communities are, he said: 'My children are very proud of the area because of how mixed it is.

'My son was saying at his school there is a great respect for each others' cultures, he is very proud of it.

'Everyone shares their cultures with each other, they have a culture day where they can come into school in their cultural clothes.

'He has never been to Egypt, Dubai, other parts of the world, but he knows so much about it. I'm so proud of that.

'It's just like in Kerala for me, there is no area where you will find just one people. Everywhere in Kerala there will be a church, a mosque, a temple. It's the same here, just the language is different.

'My kids grow up both British and Indian.

'They start to absorb our culture from us as they grow up. So now my daughter didn’t used to speak Malayalam, but now she does.

'They are proud of being Indian and proud of being British.'

Cherian's restaurant was originally Caribbean when they took over, but as more Keralan people began migrating to Leicester over the years, he decided to fuse the two cuisines.

'When we opened it was a Jamaican place. We had a Jamaican chef, but he has since passed away. We keep the Caribbean food as it was to carry on his legacy, and his friends still come to eat here.

'The only thing I would say is that the council don't look after this road. It's a food place that attracts many visitors so they should put more effort into it. But they invest very little resources.

'There should be more cleaning and more police in the area.'

According to the 2021 Census, only 57 per cent of the Leicester's residents were born in England, down from 65 per cent in 2011.

But while many of the street's shop owners do not originate from England, and many do not speak fluent English, they have built their own lives and businesses in the city, sat side by side with those of different ethnicities.

Further up Narborough Road, seemingly out of place sandwiched in the midst of international restaurants, is an old book shop.

Tin Drum Books, sits on Narborough Road amid an array of multicultural restaurants
Hindu pictures hang from the walls of the bookshop, which owner Mr Smalley says is a 'hangover' from the earlier years
Pictured: Narborough Road. An African cuisine sits beside a Romanian and Polish supermarket

Here, 90-year-old Ian Smalley, who has run the shop for 40 years and lives in the flat above, sits waiting to serve the few residents who still browse there.

'It's definitely very diverse, but I wouldn't say it's integrated as such.

'Once upon a time back in the 80s, it was two cultures here, the ancient white culture and the incoming Indian culture. 

'The Indian Hindu community had come from Africa having been kicked out by Idi Amin. The two groups got along very well.

'Back in the day, we would all get together as a community and run a big Diwali festival. But now we haven't got the mechanism to pull together that sort of thing.

'Now its split between so many different cultures so there is no central culture or leadership as it were. 

'Now we are all very separate, we used to be very integrated, there was more of a sense of community.

'People did work together and socialise together, but now they tend not to because the communities have become self-sufficient. You don't get the idea that there's much collaboration, by and large we are separating. There isn't so much community spirit.

'If you are here a long time, you do see things. 

'You certainly don't see the integration anymore. We all live peacefully together, everyone is nice and friendly to each other, but we're not integrated.

'I have wondered why but I don't know. Now there's so many different cultures so it is just harder.

'Everybody sticks together, the Albanians are all in the Albanian cafe, the Moldovans are all in the Moldovan restaurant.

'But it's not a problem, everyone is still friendly and get along.'

Asked whether there is much of a white population in the area, Smalley, who migrated from Canada in the 80s, said: 'There are not many of them left.

'There used to be a large white community. But they have all died or moved away.

'It's natural, people move away, go to other places. People trade up, if they can move to a more affluent area, they will.

'But we love that it is so multicultural. Our only complaint is that many people can't speak English, but that's not their fault. If you move here from another country, you can't expect them to just know the language.'

Asked whether there is still an element of being 'British' in the area, he said: 'No, you couldn't say it's very British.

'You would have to look hard here to find an English flag or anything like that.

'You couldn't really say it is British, but they probably cheer for the English football team, and that's the test isn't it.

'It's properly international here.'

Omar Jaber said there is 'nowhere like Narborough Road' as he told of how well-integrated the area is
Dawood Patel, 78, has lived in the area for over 50 years and says there is no division between faiths, whether that be Hindu, Muslim or Christian
Pictured: Shre Jalaram temple, on Narborough Road. There is a community centre affiliated with the temple next door to it
Beside the temple sits a Pentecostal Church. Not far from both is a mosque

A look around the quaint book store shows the remnants of a society he says was once integrated.

There are depictions of Hindu gods on the walls, which he says are a 'hangover from the past', placed next to a large poppy.

'By an large the Narborough Road people are not really English speaking people, in terms of reading. They do get by with their English, but they don't really come to buy books.

'But bookshops are dying everywhere, it's not just here.'

Omar Jaber, Arabic, 37, lives behind the bustling Narborough Road, and says the street is one of the most integrated places he knows.

He said: 'I've lived in a lot of areas around the country and there is nowhere like Narborough Road.

'We get a diverse range of people. I grew up here so I'm used to it but I know from people that visit this area that they always notice that there's a wide variety of places that offer different food and cuisines.

'And people definitely respect what other people are doing and their cultures.

‘There are a lot of different cultures but we are still English, there is a sense of being British.

'It is fully integrated and extremely diverse, probably the most diverse area in Leicester. You will find every ethnicity going.

And if you go to any of the restaurants on a Saturday night, you will get people from all parts of the world dining.'

Westcotes councillor Sarah Russell, which covers Narborough Road, says integration is thriving in her ward.

She said: 'It is really exciting to live in an area with lots and lots of different communities. Everyone works hard but they also keep an eye out for one another.

'My kids always used to say you could eat around the world on Narborough Road.

'And that opportunity to share in each other's celebrations, each other's food, each other's culture, means they were able to celebrate alongside their friends at school and celebrate being different and being the same.'

Over in Highfields, thought to be home to one of the most diverse communities in the country, one woman told us how she has lived in the area for more than 20 years but feels it is 'segregated'.

Emma, not her real name, told of how she feels unsafe as one of few white women in the area.

She has lived in the area for almost 25 years but says it has 'gone downhill' over the past decade and feels the area has become 'segregated'.

She said: 'It’s absolutely awful living around here. It’s abhorrent. They think it’s culturally diverse but it’s not. It’s not.

'I’m all for cultural diversity but it’s got to the point where if you’re just a white woman you can’t walk down the street without sexual harassment.

'I've lived here about 25 years and I'd say the last ten years it's really gone downhill.

'There was a time, like for example, 20 years ago, when it was really diverse, lots of different cultures, and everyone would really socialise together.

Asian clothing and fabric stores line the streets in Highfields, where the 1,626 out of 1,865 residents are Indian
One man working at a fabric shop told of how all the communities get along and that the area boasts 'temples, churches, synagogues and mosques'

'But now it's just become everyone is in their own cultural group. It should be integrated.

'As a white woman, there is nowhere here I can go socially. I tried getting a cup of coffee from the cafe there, and I just get pushed out of the way by every man that came in because I am a woman.

'They don't want to integrate, they like to be in their own little groups.

'Some people can be friendly, there are some neighbours on my street who do look out for each other, but that's becoming less and less and less.

'If you'd asked me 10 years ago, I'd say yeah you know it's a bit scruffy but it's alright.

'But now, it's very rare you'll see me walking anywhere. I'll normally get in my car and drive.

'I feel like I can't even walk to work because I'm going to be harassed.

'I walked to the gym about 6.30am one morning and some man said to me in his high-vis "morning", so I said "morning", then he goes "oh come in my house, come have sex, my house". I was just minding my own business walking down the road.

'That is a regular occurrence. And it's always certain groups of men, non-English. I don't want to say a certain race because you can't tell 100 per cent looking at them, and I don't like to judge people on their religion or race.

'But it's certain groups of men here, and they are never English, that behave like that.

'I would do anything to leave, but I can't afford to.'

The woman told the Daily Mail that while the white community in the area has become smaller over the years, her problem lies more with the 'segregation' between the different communities.

She said: 'There are less white people now, it's less and less, they are moving away. Not just white people though, people of Caribbean background have become less and less as well.

'It's like the schools as well, if you hang around here after school time, you can spot how many English parents come to pick their children up. And I don't just mean English as in white people, I mean if you listen to how many people are actually talking English.

'But I don't care about the number of white people. I don't care about the colour of people's skin. It's how they behave, how they treat people.

'If you go slightly out, there are areas that are like another world. It's still very multicultural, but everyone gets along, there is no segregation of different groups.

'Here, it is very much segregated. It's the way you are kind of ostracised.

'If you're here at 2pm on a Friday, there's a mosque down there, they look down their nose like "what is that woman doing out uncovered". It's that kind of thing. I respect other people's religious views, but that's their views it doesn't have to be mine.'

She said that there is a big drug and prostitution issue in the area, but admitted this was a problem across all communities in the area.

Aysha, 50, has lived in Highfields for 30 years and feels, unlike Emma, that the community is well integrated.

'There are definitely more Asians in this area, but people have an open mind.

'My neighbours on either side are Hindu, and we've never had any issues.

'I used to live a few roads down on Haddon Street, and my neighbours were Persian. So yes, it is very mixed.

'It’s like one big family here. 

A high street in Highfields, where there are Asian food shops and cafes. Across the road is a primary school, and further down the road sits a mosque
Rushabh Shah said the area is 'as integrated as it can get', though admitted there is a language barrier which sometimes make communication between different communities more difficult

'It’s an example of somewhere that multiculturalism has worked well. We don’t just live in our own communities.

'There aren't many white families here, compared to when I moved here. The people that used to live here, I think they have passed away, and the kids tend to move out.

'I think it's just if you’ve lived here, then you don’t want to move, but the younger people, like my boys who were born here, if they had choice they’d move away.

'I would say it is still British. Everyone still speaks English.

'A lot of the children don’t know their mother tongue. I’ve got two boys and they hardly speak my language, they only speak English.'

Another local echoed her thoughts: 'I would say it’s quite integrated, it's very multicultural.

'We have all kinds of neighbours of all backgrounds on our street; white, black, Indian, Pakistani...

'You’ve got mosques, church, temples, synagogues. I run this fabric shop and get all sorts of customers.

'There are not many white people to be honest but it’s always been like that. I think they prefer to live in a more quiet area, and Highfields is quite busy.'

Naina Par, 55, has lived in Leicester all her life. 

She said: 'Apart from the drugs and that kind of thing, it's a safe place.

'I’m Hindu and this is a Muslim area but there is never any trouble.

'Leicester is like that, you've got some areas that are Pakistani, this area is mainly Indian Gujarati. Then you have newcomers from Bangladesh.

'But there is no divide, I've never had any grief.

'You are more likely to have trouble with the drugs gangs.

'Leicester is full of small communities, pockets of different cultures.

'We're Indian and we came from Africa to the UK and to Leicester to start up a business in the leather industry.

Naina Par said there is never any trouble between the different races or faiths, and says she is a Hindu in a predominantly Muslim area
A south Asian restaurant sits next door to a halal butchers and a Turkish barbers

'There are only small pockets of white communities. Most white families have moved out, this happened through the 80s, 90s, early 2000s, but I can't say I know why.'

Speaking outside a local shop, one white Christian man said: 'Well you can see for yourself.

'It feels like people here make an effort to emphasise and show where they are from or what religion they are. 

'All the women are covered up, and I just saw a group of tiny kids go by all with their religious hats on. So they make a point of it.

'I guess it's human nature that you congregate with people similar to you, who can speak your language, but it takes away the need for integration.

'There becomes less of a reason to integrate and everyone begins living in their separate communities.'

Dawood Patel, 78, has lived in the area for over 50 years and disagrees.

He said: 'It's very good here, everyone gets along and everyone talks each other. It doesn't matter Christian, Muslim or Hindu.

'I’ve lived here since 1973, I came from India but this is my home.

'Everyone can speak in their own languages, everyone can speak Hindi.

'There used to be white people here everywhere but now not really. Before houses here used to be £400, now it is going for £300,000. So they are moving away, they are going abroad.

'But I think it is a very good place to live.'

At the local family-run pharmacy on Eggington Street, Sandeep Shah, 56, told the Daily Mail: 'It is fairly integrated here but people also have their strong cultural backgrounds they hold on to.

'People who are able to speak English are able to mingle more easily and understand more cultural differences. They tend to be more willing to accept other cultures and learn.

'But everyone here respect each others' ethnicities and religions.

'They just also have their own strong values so the adaptability eventually goes down.

His son Rushabh Shah, 30, added: 'It is as integrated as you can get. 

'We get native British people, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistanis, Eastern Europeans, West Indians, Arabic people, and they all get along.

'A lot of people don’t speak English so it helps when our staff can speak different languages like Hindi and Gujarati.

'In general in terms of socialising some people do struggle sometimes because there is a language barrier.  

'But there is still a lot of intermingling in the communities and everybody knows everyone.'

Read this on dailymail
  Contact Us
  Follow Us
Site Map
Get Site Map
  About

Read the latest local and international news from trusted sources in one place.