One could imagine the hurried exchanges between No. 10 officials and political advisers over the weekend of 18-19 July as they put the latest tracked changes into the Prime Minister’s speech on extremism, which he delivered at a Birmingham school that Monday. The speech was a curtain-raiser to the Government’s Counter Extremism Strategy, to be published in the autumn. The text at times showed a subtlety of thought which was lacking in earlier policy discussions; the unpacking of the issues of confused or conflicting identities and the isolation of some groups. Some good initiatives featured, such as Louise Casey’s work to build greater cohesion in society through boosting integration and community engagement. But the speech also raised concerns about the power of the sta