Nigel Farage has drawn condemnation after claiming streets in Oldham are “literally” divided by the colour of their residents.
Speaking to young libertarians at Lock Haven University, Pennsylvania, the Brexit Party leader described parts of the town that “on one side of the street everybody is white and on the other side of the street everybody is black”.
He added: “The twain never actually meet, there is no assimilation. Whole streets in Oldham of people who have lived in my country for over 30 years who don’t speak a word of the English language.
“These, folks, are divided societies in which resentments build and grow.”
The comments were described as “scaremongering” and “just bigotry”. Labour MP for Oldham West & Royton, Jim McMahon accused Farage of “looking to stoke up tensions and create division”.
Another Twitter user claiming to be an Oldham resident invited Farage to the town to see the situation himself and said the real issues were the football team and the weather.
But another Twitter user claiming to be from Oldham agreed with Farage – to a point.
According to the 2011 census, 77.5 percent of Oldham is white. The largest ethnic minority is Pakistani (10.1 percent) followed by Bangladeshi (7.3 percent).
Census data also shows these groups tend to live in the same areas of the town.
Ofsted reports also highlight schools where the vast majority of pupils are from ethnic backgrounds.
But there is no evidence of individual streets where “on one side of the street everybody is white and on the other side of the street everybody is black” as Farage suggests.