Danish Minister Calls for UK to Distribute Migrants More Evenly
Denmark's employment minister Kaare Dybvad Bek has issued a stark warning to the United Kingdom, urging the government to ensure that regions such as Somerset take on a greater share of migrants. Speaking at an event in Westminster on Monday, the centre-left Social Democratic Party minister expressed his concern over the stark geographical disparities in diversity across England.
Mr Dybvad Bek highlighted what he described as a curious and problematic separation within British society. He pointed out that while northern English cities exhibit considerable ethnic diversity, southern rural areas like Somerset and Dorset remain predominantly homogeneous. "This is different from our Danish culture," he stated. "I think also that there are some things that are fundamentally wrong – to segregate towns and cities."
Warning Against Segregation and Special Rights
The Danish minister emphasised his belief in a society where everyone enjoys equal rights, without special privileges based on ethnicity or religion. Referencing the popular television series Midsomer Murders, which has a significant following in Denmark, he recounted his travels through England with his family. "I think it's curious that when you go to Somerset, Dorset, these areas, there's fundamentally no one with foreign backgrounds, but then you go to the North and there are majority with foreign backgrounds," he observed. "As a Dane, I think that's strange that you can have these big differences."
He posed a direct question to UK policymakers: "Why don't you make the people in Somerset also take part in this task for the nation?" This challenge comes as the Danish Social Democratic Party, in power since 2019, has shifted rightward on immigration while advancing progressive climate and healthcare policies. UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has sought to replicate aspects of this approach through her own comprehensive reforms to the asylum system and legal migration framework.
Denmark's Tough Immigration and Integration Policies
The United Kingdom's stringent new regulations for permanent settlement closely mirror Denmark's model, which imposes conditions on benefit claimants alongside financial and language requirements. Denmark operates one of Europe's most rigorous immigration systems and has adopted an equally firm stance on integration. A notable example is the so-called "Ghetto law," enacted prior to the Social Democrats' tenure, which permits the state to demolish apartment blocks in areas where at least half the residents have a "non-Western" background.
Defending this radical policy at the Policy Exchange think tank, Mr Dybvad Bek argued that "hostile" concrete estates worsen social issues and hinder cultural integration. He cited an estate in Denmark's third-largest city, housing approximately 9,000 people in concrete buildings, where 77 percent originate from non-Western countries and 52 percent are unemployed. "This doesn't give people who grow up there an opportunity to understand Danish society," he explained. "We want these areas to become more attractive to working and middle class families."
Distributing the Integration Burden
To address this, Denmark has introduced public housing into affluent neighbourhoods, ensuring that all parts of the country share the responsibility of integrating newcomers. Mr Dybvad Bek cautioned against allowing communities to develop in isolation from city centres. While Denmark has explored processing asylum claims abroad and held discussions with the Rwandan government, plans for an East African asylum hub have been abandoned. Instead, the focus is on strengthening relationships with other European nations.
In a broader warning to left-wing parties across Europe, the minister asserted that representing working-class communities necessitates democratic control over migration flows. "There is no other choice for people who want to represent working class communities...you need to also have democratic control of migration flows," he declared. He stressed that public concerns about immigration must be addressed by both centre-right and centre-left parties to prevent the rise of populist governments. Notably, Denmark reports that 95 percent of migrant returns are voluntary, with cash grants provided to failed asylum seekers to facilitate their departure.
