Keir Starmer’s Cultural Relativism Locks the UK in a Brutal and Primitive Past
Sarah Rogers, the UK’s free speech tsar, has criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his refusal to ban cousin marriage. She expressed her disapproval of Labour’s failure to endorse legislation prohibiting this practice, describing it as a matter of “civilizational” concern.
To understand why this is such a problem, you must first understand tribal identity. The majority of Muslims are united by more than ideology and religion: they are connected through cousin marriage, an ancient custom prevalent in Pakistan, the country of origin for thousands of UK immigrants. Families with consanguineous marriages are governed by clan affiliations and honor codes that isolate them from civic life and place high priorities on tribal loyalty over national allegiance.
Between 40 and 60 percent of British Pakistanis are thought to be married to first cousins, according to a study by scholar Patrick Nash. Some data indicate that up to 75 percent of marriages among the Pakistani population in the northern town of Bradford are consanguineous. This is compared with just 1 percent among white British parents nationwide.
Marrying within tightly knit groups ensures secrecy and loyalty within the biraderi, or brotherhood. These clan-based groups resemble the mafia, where an oath of omertà safeguards family honor. Any potential for bringing shame upon the tribe is met with similarly lethal consequences.
Somaiya Begum was a promising young medical student at Leeds Beckett University. However, at the age of 16, her father, Mohammed Yaseen Khan, threatened her with violence should she refuse to marry her cousin in Pakistan. Somaiya successfully secured a court order to prevent the forced marriage. This defiance only further infuriated Khan. On June 25, 2022, she vanished from her hometown of Bradford. The following month, her body was discovered on a stretch of wasteland with a four-inch metal spike driven into her back. Somaiya’s uncle, Mohammed Taroos Khan, had murdered her. Taroos Khan received a sentence of at least 25 years in prison.
There is a connection between these familial ties and the rape-gang scandal that has ravaged countless cities and towns in the UK. Last year, Manzorr Hussain and Imtiaz Ali were convicted of drugging and raping five teenage girls. These were not random British Pakistani men, they were cousins. In Rotherham, Arshid, Basharat, and Bannaras Hussain groomed, raped, and sexually abused children for almost 20 years, while Qurban Ali was found guilty of conspiracy to rape and jailed for 10 years. Three of these men are brothers, and Ali is their uncle.
As a result of the biraderi system’s strong in-group loyalty, out-group victims are dehumanized. Among the statements from some of the perpetrators were such gems as: “We’re here to f*ck all the white girls and f*ck the government.” One survivor, who as a teenager was raped over 100 times, was referred to as a “white slag” as she was beaten.
In 2024, there were 2,755 cases of honor-based abuse—which includes female genital mutilation, rape, forced marriage, and assault—a 212 percent increase since 2016. As shocking as these statistics are, the reality is likely far worse. Honor-based abuse is often a hidden crime; victims are often reluctant to report abuse due to fear of family retribution and a perceived sense of shame. As such, honor-based abuse has the lowest conviction rate of all crimes in England and Wales.
At one time, incestuous marriages were prohibited in Britain as a result of a decree issued by the Church. Augustine of Canterbury, under Pope Gregory I’s leadership, forbade first-cousin marriage in the sixth century, and later extended it to seventh cousins by the 11th century. A high-trust society emerged as individuals began marrying outside their immediate clans, effectively dismantling tribal kinship structures. This shift imposed new values, including individualism and cooperation, while fostering a shared sense of national identity.
Anthropologist Joseph Henrich argues that the Church’s prohibition of cousin marriage was a contributing factor in the development of the modern Western world. This ban, which lasted nearly a millennium, was eventually lifted by Henry VIII through the enactment of the Marriage Act of 1540, allowing him to wed Catherine Howard.
Britain should reinstate the ban on cousin marriage. It is a morally indefensible, demonstrably dysgenic practice. A ban on it would not only compel isolated communities to integrate or migrate, but it would also reduce the likelihood of birth defects. Cousin marriages are reported to contribute to 53 percent of all South Asian infant deaths from genetic disorders in Bradford, and account for 20 percent of child mortality in the London borough of Redbridge. Overall, such marriages are responsible for one-third of all congenital anomalies in the British Pakistani population. Ironically, Bradford was named the UK city of culture in 2025.
Rogers is right to condemn the Labour leader. A burgeoning Muslim demographic holds Sir Keir Starmer electorally captive; therefore, he cannot apply any objective ethical principles to other cultures. In thrall to cultural relativism, he is either unwilling or unable to distinguish between good and evil; instead, he relies on the tendentious belief that all cultures are equal and peaceful.