“To be born an Englishman is to have won first prize in the lottery of Life.” So said Cecil Rhodes over a century ago.  

Call me an old traditionalist, but I believe that this is still true today. Yes, not everything in this country works as it should all the time. And, yes, we are still facing an enormous economic crisis that has a way to run.

 

But we are the best country on earth in which to live. And the latest Census tells us that people from around the world think so too.

 

That’s why immigration into the UK was a boom industry in the last decade.

 

We all nod in the direction of social cohesion and inclusiveness when immigration is mentioned. But the new Census paints a picture of urban areas with high levels of immigration; and shires, like Suffolk, where holding a British passport is the norm. Some say that, as a result, there are two very different Britains.

 

Let me be controversial for a minute. We live in a democracy. Yet the British people had no say in how many people have come into our country. There was no consultation over immigration levels despite the impact that the large influx of migrants is having (and will have) on our NHS, housing and schools. The last Government didn’t really discuss it with us, did they?

 

Well, as a country we now have to face the economic and social consequences. My friend Theresa May, the Home Secretary, reckons that the recent burst of immigration has pushed up house prices by 10 per cent.   

 

The latest Census has confirmed that Suffolk is one of England’s jewels. It is a traditional county where your neighbour is more likely to be British born than not. A massive 92 per cent of Suffolk residents’ country of origin is in the UK. Only 3 per cent came from the EU and only 5 per cent from outside the EU.

 

Only 2 per cent of Suffolk households have no native English speakers. Walking down the high street of Bury St Edmunds you are unlikely to hear too many foreign voices - unless they are tourists appreciating the beauty of our town. Compare that to the East End of London – Hackney, Tower Hamlets – where on average there are over 150 languages spoken by significant parts of the local population.

 

For the first time, the Census collected data on national identity. In England and Wales, 91 per cent (51 million people) reported having a British national identity. In Suffolk that figure is higher - 94 per cent of people identified themselves as having English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish national identity.

 

When it comes to family life Suffolk people have a more traditional view of marriage than most of the rest of the country. In our county over 51 per cent of the population are married and 29 per cent are single. For England and Wales as a whole 46 per cent of people are married and 34 per cent are single. For civil partnerships Suffolk is equal to the national figure of 0.2 per cent of the population.

 

In Suffolk only 6 per cent of households contained a lone parent with dependent children. Only 3 per cent of households with dependent children have no adults employed.

 

What about religion? Six out of ten people in Suffolk identify themselves as Christian. Three out of ten categorise themselves as having no religion. Less than 1 per cent of our residents are Muslims.

 

Compare this with London. One in eight of the population are Muslims and one in five of the population have no religion at all. Under half of London calls itself Christian.

 

Britain as a whole has always, in cultural terms, been a Christian country. No point in denying it. Bede. Cranmer. The Reformation. Puritanism and the English Civil War. Christianity is key to understanding who we are and where we come from. The Church of England in particular has been part of our rich heritage for longer than other denominations. And whilst it may be going through a rocky patch at present it has often acted as our moral guide and conscience.

 

You only have to look at other parts of the UK to realise how real is the English rural idyll of Suffolk. The Census reminds us how London in particular has an entirely different population to ours. And it skews the figures for the UK as a whole with its huge proportion of foreign - born citizens.

 

One in three Londoners were born outside the UK. Just over one in eight of households have no one with English as their main language. How do those households manage to find jobs and get by without speaking the English language?

 

The latest Census tells us that Britain as a whole has a changing face. The immigrant population has increased by 3 million over the past decade.

 

Traditional British values and way of life are changing as a result. The effects are most keenly felt in London and the South East where schools, hospitals and land are increasingly overcrowded.

 

But great shires like Suffolk reflect different, more traditional cultural patterns and values. Aren’t you pleased you live in Suffolk rather than anywhere else? I know I am.