Erm, Quackers, the entire point is that multiculturalism isn't an actual policy or set of policies that can be abandoned, or that can "fail". The idea that "multiculturalism" can "fail" is lazy, dog-whistle politics -- because it completely misrepresents what multiculturalism actually entails. The aims of multiculturalism is simply that other cultures, races, religions etc are treated equally under the law, and demands nothing more than that people of other cultures, races and religions follow the law. Those goals were all broadly achieved by equality laws under the Labour government.
As a statement of fact, there are many different cultures in existence in the UK. You can either accept that (a multicultural "policy"), or you can do as the French do and try to force people to adopt the dominant culture. When Sarkozy or Merkel say that multiculturalism has failed, they're talking bollocks, because their policies are the exact opposite of multiculturalism. When xenophobes hear "multiculturalism", what they really think is "Islam" (or "Blacks", "Jews", "Gypsies", "Micks", etc.) -- so Sarkozy and Merkel dog-whistle those voters by claiming that "multiculturalism" has failed. Now, surprise surprise, Cameron is at it too.
So, well done for identifying three Conservative politicians, all engaging in the same rhetorical tactic. But the idea that Labour never did this too just shows your ignorance: Blairites "rejected" multiculturalism a decade ago. Do try to keep up. David Blunkett, Jack Straw, Jacqui Smith and Hazel Blears all took the idea of "national identity" and tacked it on to the end of "multiculturalism" (by which they meant "equality"). Brown's policies on creating a "Britain Day", for example, were overtly interventionist. Indeed, as I said, multiculturalist goals were achieved under equality laws in the early days of Labour: any further meddling tended to be overtly interventionist, authoritarian, and integrationist.
And yet, the actual policies that result from this "rejection" of "multiculturalism", both by Labour and Cameron, look very much like the multiculturalist policies they supposedly rejected. As Arwon said, "multicultural policies" manifest themselves as support tailored for immigrant and minority cultures. But that is exactly what Cameron proposes we do anyway -- except this time, he's doing it to abate the radicalisation of Muslim youth. Same set of policies, different brand. Multiculturalism is dead: long live multiculturalism?
