Now that members of that sleeping dragon, The Townswomens Guild have decided to speak out against mass immigration, perhaps it is overdue for me to assess the roots of the problem with a few, limited, key points in a giant issue.
(Before that - an apology for the cartoon which is based on the South of the USA - but I liked it!)
1) Immigrants are human beings and not just statistics. That obviously does not mean that they should be automatically entitled to work/settle here.
2) Refugees who are genuinely in fear of their lives should be considered but the question must always be asked as to why they have crossed so many borders in order to come to the UK. In UN terms we have no neighbouring countries with threatened citizens and consequently no legal obligations.
3) All people have the right to seek to better themselves - but this does not mean that this should be at our expense.
4) Invariably, immigrants come from the poorest of nations - to one of the wealthiest. They cannot be blamed for trying this but England has now got the densest population in the world (And I am not referring to the tendency to put Labour governments in power - or am I?)
5) Many have claimed rights to settle here by having held passports from Commonwealth countries. This loophole has been largely closed.
6) Consider the EU. 'Our citizens have the right to go anywhere - so it is only reasonable to expect reciprocation'. The problem here is that France & Spain apart, few of our population want to move to EU countries. France & Spain are considerably larger than England with much greater available space. It is also necessary to consider who is going where. The Brits who leave these shores are largely the retired who take vast amounts of money with them to bolster the economies of France & Spain. The other point is that the workers who go there are our skilled workers we cannot easily afford to lose - perhaps a majority to serve the needs of expats.
7) 'Immigrants do the jobs that British people will not do.' This statement is true but makes me extremely angry.
That the unemployed may choose not to take a job because it is low paid or unpleasant is just unacceptable. What is more, if you believe this - it means that you are justifying a practice which is immoral as you consider willing foreigners to be 'less' than our shirkers.
If people want 'good jobs' they must take the poorer ones until they have made themselves more employable at a higher level.
8)' Immigrants bring needed skills to the UK.' This is true to an extent. But are we stealing needed skills from developing countries? Are they always actually needed or are they frequently displacing skilled people of our own?
9) 'Well, the UK is a multicultural society'. No it isn't! It is British and happily accepts valid incomers who choose to integrate. 'Multiculture' is the pernicious invention of the liberal-left.
10) 'Numbers aren't the issue.' ROT! Extra pressure on: transport, housing, medical care, schools, employment et al are real and very serious. What of the newly created ghetto areas in many cities?
The Guild are right. (Is right?)
(Before that - an apology for the cartoon which is based on the South of the USA - but I liked it!)
1) Immigrants are human beings and not just statistics. That obviously does not mean that they should be automatically entitled to work/settle here.
2) Refugees who are genuinely in fear of their lives should be considered but the question must always be asked as to why they have crossed so many borders in order to come to the UK. In UN terms we have no neighbouring countries with threatened citizens and consequently no legal obligations.
3) All people have the right to seek to better themselves - but this does not mean that this should be at our expense.
4) Invariably, immigrants come from the poorest of nations - to one of the wealthiest. They cannot be blamed for trying this but England has now got the densest population in the world (And I am not referring to the tendency to put Labour governments in power - or am I?)
5) Many have claimed rights to settle here by having held passports from Commonwealth countries. This loophole has been largely closed.
6) Consider the EU. 'Our citizens have the right to go anywhere - so it is only reasonable to expect reciprocation'. The problem here is that France & Spain apart, few of our population want to move to EU countries. France & Spain are considerably larger than England with much greater available space. It is also necessary to consider who is going where. The Brits who leave these shores are largely the retired who take vast amounts of money with them to bolster the economies of France & Spain. The other point is that the workers who go there are our skilled workers we cannot easily afford to lose - perhaps a majority to serve the needs of expats.
7) 'Immigrants do the jobs that British people will not do.' This statement is true but makes me extremely angry.
That the unemployed may choose not to take a job because it is low paid or unpleasant is just unacceptable. What is more, if you believe this - it means that you are justifying a practice which is immoral as you consider willing foreigners to be 'less' than our shirkers.
If people want 'good jobs' they must take the poorer ones until they have made themselves more employable at a higher level.
8)' Immigrants bring needed skills to the UK.' This is true to an extent. But are we stealing needed skills from developing countries? Are they always actually needed or are they frequently displacing skilled people of our own?
9) 'Well, the UK is a multicultural society'. No it isn't! It is British and happily accepts valid incomers who choose to integrate. 'Multiculture' is the pernicious invention of the liberal-left.
10) 'Numbers aren't the issue.' ROT! Extra pressure on: transport, housing, medical care, schools, employment et al are real and very serious. What of the newly created ghetto areas in many cities?
The Guild are right. (Is right?)
