BBC Poll and Immigration

By Roshan Doug on Apr 18, 08 09:19 PM in

There's no doubt that immigration's going to remain a hot contested issue at the next general election if the BBC poll this morning is anything to go by.

Apparently almost two-thirds of people in Britain fear that race relations are so poor tensions are likely to spill over into violence. And three out four people think there is more racial tension today than ever before.

Moreover, what might surprise some critics is that 60% of the 1000 people interviewed said there were too many immigrants, and yet the number of people who described themselves as 'racially prejudiced' was down from 24% in 2005 to 20%.

This doesn't surprise me. Of course this is alarming but...

Immigration is a complex issue and doesn't just concern the white indigenous population. No. I think it's quite prevalent in various quarters of our existing immigrant communities of 40s, 50s and 60s who - along with their children - are now part and parcel of British mainstream society. They, as well as everybody else, are all concerned about the increasing number of people entering Britain - particularly those entering illegally. There's no doubt that the current rise in new immigrant communities from eastern Europe is going to impact on social benefit services, housing, education, NHS and so forth. And I suppose, you don't have to be white to say that we need to monitor the increasing rate of migration - in fact, it's commonsensical to do so, isn't it?

Every country in the world does it. So why - I wonder - is it considered racist when we talk about it in relation to Britain?

And - more importantly - why is it regarded strange when someone - perhaps not too dissimilar to myself - argues that, irrespective of its benefits, immigration has to be controlled and managed more effectively?

Honestly, as much as some people might want, we can't have free for all at immigration control at our national ports. Surely, that would be just madness, wouldn't it?

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4 Comments

Mike Olley said:

I’m very happy to express concerns over the levels of immigration we have in currently in the UK. I feel there is too much of it and there needs to be sharp controls placed upon it. The fact that I am white, middle class has no bearing on the matter, a point my beautiful black (Jamaican and Irish mix) wife will readily confirm. What we need is a good stout, open public discussion on the matter. Let our political leaders understand exactly what and how we feel. Let’s grow bold and defy those trendy red fascist leftists who shout Nazi at the drop of a hat when immigration is disgusted. I happen to like my country; I like the rural beauty of our Shires and the cosmopolitan mix of the urban hearts. What I don’t like is the manner in which we address immigration as a taboo subject. For nice middle class people like me (and the wife) it matters not in many ways. Immigration impacts primarily on the urban poor, irrespective of what ethnic background they stem. It’s the poor, and they are allowed to be any colour..., that get denied access to housing, suffer high rates of crime and grime or their hourly work rate diminished. Not us that live in the posh leafy suburbs. So let’s open this one up, and if those horrible little racists get involved, so be it. Most people can spot a proper racist a mile off, and we don’t really like them; the election results tell us that. We don’t need red fascists to tell us the obvious.

April 19, 2008 4:00 PM

Roshan Doug said:

There's a certain truth in what you say, Mike. Like you I love this country - it's my home - and also like you I do feel that immigration is a taboo subject, almost on par with the notion of criticising a religious ideology! Anyone who says we should try and curb the current trend in the influx of people into Britain is automatically shot down as a racist - or ignorant, as a certain national columnist called me when I attempted to illustrate this very point.

Yes, immigration has brought benefits to this country - there's no doubt about it - but equally it has also created problems. But to recognise one but not the other is nothing but blinkered and stupid. And part of me blames left wing, liberals and politicians who think it's fine to run down our country as long as it wins them votes.

I blames their feeble, half-baked ideas and policies.

For instance, you might remember that multiculturalism in the 60s and 70s meant allowing, nay actively encouraging - various ethnic groups and races to hold onto their sense of cultural difference. That's why we had so many leaflets in all kinds of languages but, in the light of the continuing immigration trends, this practice seems somewhat ridiculous. It's only now that the government is waking up to the problem that they engineered - it's their creation. Now Brown is going on about inclusivness and creating a sense of Britishness. Isn't it a case of 'too little, too late'?

April 19, 2008 4:58 PM

Jennifer said:

As an immigrant myself (American - married to a British Citizen) I also believe that immigration should be controlled in England. It would make is easier and less expensive for the people who have a reason to be in the country. There should be harsher punishments for people entering sham marriages, and for people who over stay. I've made an effort to abide by the law and respect the country I am a guest in - and I don't see enough people doing that. I also think there should be a requirement for people to speak English before they are admitted to England on a settlement Visa. They are doing a better job with the Life in UK test - which I support. I also support the National ID's for foreigners which I will be signing up for when they become available.
People think they have a right to immigrate to england and it's not a right, it's a privilege.

May 22, 2008 10:54 AM

Ashleigh said:

Immigration has always been a thunder topic to debate, we heard so much from the politicians about the impact of immigration. An army of journalist have wrote countless articles for their relative newspapers regarding the dangers and benefits of immigration.

But what we can do about it?

Surely the politicians offer us no solutions instead of using immigration as a major tool to incite the racial tensions between different communities to gain their own political goals.

Humans have been immigrating and emigrating for the search of better life from thousands of years. I dont want to give you history lesson but the facts are, that the vast continent of America has been transformed due to the mass immigration of europeans, who were not even welcomed by the natives at the first place.

The main reasons of mass immigration from the eastern europe is the membership of european union itself and the free movements of peoples. In other words the citizen of any member state can travel to any other member country freely without any visa.

Not many people in Uk knows and understand the whole concept of european union and its member states except the educated ones. I will give u an example of that where I live, I hardly seen any polish, romanian or bulgarian until now. In our street and next to it there are quite a few living here for last few years, some have gone back and some are still here.
I dont have any problem with them, they came here for a better life and they are very hard working people and most of all they have a legal right to come, live and work here as same as we have a legal right to live and work anywhere in europe if we really want too.
But some people do mind them and they blame government to letting them in this country and taking their jobs, without knowing anything about european union and its membership.
The best way is to educate people about the impact of globalisation and the best candidate to do that is Media.

August 4, 2008 9:45 AM