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Reform UK's newest MP, Danny Kruger, has claimed that "whole cities have essentially become Muslim" as a result of migration, suggesting this leads to a "segregated society" where "whole communities liv[e] an entirely un-British life." A fact check against the latest available official statistics, however, reveals the claim is false.
Mr. Kruger, who recently defected from the Conservative Party to join Nigel Farage's Reform UK, made the statement on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast. He expressed concern that Islam "brings with it the expectation that you will live in a certain way that is not conforming to the traditional habits of life of the UK."
The Reality: No UK City Has a Muslim Majority
Analysis of the 2021 Census data for England and Wales shows that no major UK city or local authority area has a Muslim majority.
- Overall UK Muslim Population: Muslims comprise 6.5% of the total population of England and Wales, a significant minority but far from an overall majority.
- Highest Proportions: The areas with the highest percentages of residents identifying as Muslim are local authority districts, not entire major cities, and even these fall well short of a majority:
- Tower Hamlets (London Borough): 39.9%
- Blackburn with Darwen: 35.0%
- Newham (London Borough): 34.8%
- Luton: 32.9%
- Major City Populations: The largest cities cited in the public debate as examples of high Muslim populations are nowhere near a majority:
- Birmingham: 29.85% Muslim.
- Bradford: 30.53% Muslim.
- Leicester: 23.45% Muslim.
The official statistics therefore, do not support the assertion that "whole cities essentially become Muslim." In all major UK cities, Muslims remain a minority group.
Context and Public Reaction
Mr. Kruger's remarks about cities becoming "essentially Muslim" were made in the context of him arguing that "the rate of immigration is simply too great and too swift."
The claim has drawn sharp criticism. One public comment, which provided figures for several areas, noted: "Bradford is 60% white... Birmingham is 30% Muslim... Leicester is 33% Muslim... These are all very strange examples of cities cited as supposedly 'entirely Muslim' when Muslims aren't even a majority in those cities."
The MP's comments echo a previous controversy in which a former Conservative MP, Paul Scully, was forced to apologise after claiming there were "no-go" areas in London and Birmingham, such as Sparkhill. Public commentary on that issue, as seen in the debate around Mr. Kruger’s remarks, also highlighted a complete lack of evidence for such claims.
In summary, the claim that whole UK cities have "essentially become Muslim" is inaccurate and is contradicted by official demographic data from the 2021 Census. The largest Muslim populations are found in specific local authority areas, and even in these locations, Muslims constitute a significant but non-majority proportion of the population.
