In pronouncing multiculturalism a failure, Cameron joins Angela Merkel, who said the same for multiculturalism in Germany. Hopefully, his words also signal a substantive U-turn from the Labour Party’s quiet but deliberate campaign to make Britain “truly multicultural,” as if that must necessarily be a good thing, and something Britain needed in order to be better than it was. After all, if it ain’t broke, keep on fixing it ’til it is.

“Muslims must embrace our British values, David Cameron says,” by James Kirkup for the Telegraph, February 5:

Entering the debate on national identity and religious tolerance, the Prime Minister declared an end to “passive tolerance” of divided communities, and say that members of all faiths must integrate into wider society and accept core values.

To be British is to believe in freedom of speech and religion, democracy and equal rights regardless of race, sex or sexuality, he will say. Proclaiming a doctrine of “muscular liberalism”, he said that everyone, from ministers to ordinary voters, should actively confront those who hold extremist views.

He warned that groups that fail to promote British values will no longer receive public money or be able to engage with the state.

His speech, to an international security conference in Munich, comes after The Daily Telegraph disclosed the extent to which the British intelligence community fears the “unique threat” of terrorist attacks by radicalised British Muslims.

Mr Cameron promised a new willingness to argue against and “defeat” extremist ideologies that lead some to engage in terrorism.

That means abandoning the notion that different communities should be able to live according to their own values and traditions as long as they stay within the law. “Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream,” Mr Cameron said. “We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.”

No, society has bent over backwards to accommodate them. There can be no more waiting around for people to “want to belong.” If they don’t, why are they there?

All Britons should believe in basic values of freedom and equality, and actively promote them, he said. That means ensuring that immigrants learn to speak English and that all schools teach “elements of a common culture and curriculum”.

See below, regarding the enforcement of a core curriculum.

The Prime Minister accepted that multiculturalism has left some members of the white community feeling unfairly treated. Racism and intolerance are “rightly” condemned, he said. “But when equally unacceptable views or practices have come from someone who isn’t white, we’ve been too cautious, frankly too fearful, to stand up to them.”

Allegations of racism and hatred have been a highly successful emotional ploy to silence criticism of Islam and of unacceptable behavior by Muslims.

The speech comes after Baroness Warsi, the Conservative Party chairman, caused controversy by claiming that prejudice against Muslims was widespread and socially acceptable.

Still not touching that third rail:

Mr Cameron will drew a clear distinction between “Islamist extremism” as a political ideology, and the Islamic faith itself. “We need to be clear: Islamic extremism and Islam are not the same thing,” he said.

The Government is reviewing its entire strategy for counter-terrorism and community cohesion amid concern that the state is working too closely with Muslim groups that do not fully endorse liberal values. Mr Cameron said that community groups will be scrutinised in future to see if they promote democracy, equality and integration. Those that fail the “tests” will be cut off. “No public money, no sharing of platforms with ministers,” he said..

One must make sure the scrutiny is meaningful: one problem such attempts at quality control have encountered recently occurred when sympathetic Muslims whitewashed alarming findings on Islamic schools.