The overriding issue that was behind Brexit was immigration. There is a fear of terrorism, a feeling that we are being swamped with foreigners – particularly Muslims and Eastern Europeans, a sense that they are taking our jobs, receiving housing and benefits, causing overcrowding, creating problems for schools and the NHS, putting pressure on transport, displacing our culture and not wanting to assimilate and take on British values.
How accurate are these fears?
Is there a basis to them?
Is an opposition to mass immigration xenophobic or even racist?
The British people are a mongrel race. We always have been. We take in immigrants from all over the world, welcome them and assimilate them into our culture. I like the richness of culture that introduces. I like the cosmopolitan communities it produces and I like the way immigrants over the centuries have assimilated, become British, taken on our customs and values while still celebrating their own heritage.
But I do not think it is either racist or xenophobic to be concerned with mass immigration. It is the sheer numbers and attitudes of the recent immigrants that are causing the problems.
We have areas of the country with high Muslim populations who have completely displaced the indigenous people and culture. The perception is that many do not wish to assume British values at all. There are militants in the Muslim community who espouse to take over Britain and bring in Sharia law. The Hijab and Burqa do not fit easy with many people. It represents a culture and attitudes they do not agree with. Many, because of the association with terrorism and this strident, arrogant militancy, find it threatening.
There are a number of Muslims who support ISIS and the Caliphate. People find this traitorous to the country they have come to live in. ISIS is our avowed enemy. We have had terrorism from these militants. It creates suspicion and fear. In reality the number of incidents are few, the Intelligence Services are doing a good job rooting the militants out before they cause atrocities, and most Muslims do not subscribe to these extreme views.
There are Eastern European shops opening all over the place and Eastern European languages all around in many cities. I do not think that people have a problem with this until it reaches a point where they feel saturated and displaced.
Yes it does cause big pressures on the NHS, Schools, housing and the infra-structure. That causes aggravation but I don’t think it is the main issue.
The main issue is not one of racism, xenophobia or pressures on services – it is simply that there have been too many people coming in.
I believe we need immigration. We need labour for our economy. We need to staff the NHS, to pick crops, to work in Old People’s Homes. These people are valued. Their cultures are respected.
But when they come here they should respect our culture and if they are planning to stay, be prepared to assimilate into our communities.
In my opinion this integration is not assisted by more Faith Schools or concentrations of immigrants in any one area.
Education is the long-term solution. But mass immigration needs curbing. We need to stop so many coming into the country and the ones that do come in need processing. We do not need terrorists, criminals or people who do not subscribe to our values being allowed into the country.
We did not need to leave Europe to achieve this. Most of Europe wants the same thing. It surely is not beyond the wit of man to devise a practical system?
Very good article! Have a nice week-end!
thank you. have a good one yourself.
I think if you were to change Muslim to Hispanic or Latino your post would be accurate for the US as well. The one thing that makes me the MOST angry is when, as a country, we refuse to ask those from other cultures to learn to speak EnglisBut sh. So went print all our forms in both English and Spanish. And it is affecting our job situations here. Especially in the retail world. Often now you see retail businesses advertising: Must Speak Spanish or some such thing. That simply is not right. This is NOT a Spanish speaking country. When I was managing the Copy Center I would get Hispanic parents coming in with their five-year-olds to translate for me what they needed. After awhile it began to wear on me. I admit it. That’s probably the thing that sticks in my craw the most.
But something else you said has really been on my mind a LOT lately. You said, “I believe we need immigration. We need labour for our economy. We need to staff the NHS, to pick crops, to work in Old People’s Homes.” I have been wondering what that says about us. Does it demonstrate that we wish to turn our countries into class systems? Why do I assume immigrants will do all those menial jobs? And look at what it’s doing to our young people when we have that idea. They have started to feel so entitled that they refuse to even think of doing menial labor. Where as we had to start at the bottom and earn our way up when I was young, now kids straight out of school expect to go to college (or maybe even not and still) have peachy jobs waiting for them. They’d no more go work in a field than fly to the moon. People here can deny that, but all one has to do is observe to see it happening.
I guess what I’ve been asking myself is how much of that disparity are WE creating? Are we bringing on ourselves? One thing that’s happening here as more and more businesses move out of country, the number of immigrants coming in has slowed down. Not only that, but a great many of them are moving back to Mexico. They honestly came here for a better life. To be able to feed and protect their families. But the jobs are being flushed down south and so they are following the jobs. I’m not sure how that affects the Muslim communities here. But I just read an article on that. And last week Ford announced it was moving it’s compact cars division to Mexico. That’s one thing this country MUST stop doing if it’s every to get back on its feet. We have to stop those jobs being sent overseas or down south.
Good point about the menial tasks. But that is quite a complex issue. What is poor wages here are good wages where they come from. It does have an effect on our youth. They do not want to do the menial tasks. It does create a class system. Not sure what we do about that.
I am also uneasy about the way immigrant labour is being exploited for profit.
I too think that English should be a basic requirement. It is essential for assimilation.
The big corporations tend to go to places they can get cheap labour and maximise profits. I’m not sure what we can do about it other than try to raise standards globally.
Interesting as I have been living in an area very much influenced by successive immigration. To me it seems that communities tend to want to keep together and migrant communities do that and create a sub section of society with their own shops etc. But it’s complex, many in my area were born in the UK and gone through the education system, others are refugee Muslim communities, and white faces tended to be the new incoming Eastern European groups. The whole world lives around me! Unfortunately the vote to leave seems to have lost the opportunity there may have been to look more closely at the patterns of movement of people and the pressures on services and locals.
It seems such a retrograde step to me in terms of a cosmopolitan culture that is varied and outward looking. I hate this little Englander mentality. But I can understand the effect it has had on communities when there is a mass influx. It threatens the stability. People are intrinsically very conservative. We like our routines. It makes us feel safe. When there are big changes we react very badly and get anxious. Throw in terrorism and Islam (which represents a very visual difference) and it creates fear.
Interesting and I think the immigration effect was never really carefully thought about. I’m a Londoner and can feel such a foreigner there! Too much money and a very changing influx of different communities.
Yes – London used to be my stomping ground too, but it changes a lot all the time. I like the richness of cultures you get but sometimes it feels as if white English are a minority. It takes some adjustment. It is when there are such big changes too quickly that I think it creates a backlash.