Gilbert: The British seems to face the same problem as us - immigration. The anti-immigration party Ukip looks like winning an unprecedented number of seats from the two dominant parties Labour and Conservatives. Will the same thing happens to us in GE 2016? ********** On Thursday, in the Newark byelection, Ukip hopes to repeat its recent successes. Regardless of the result, Nigel Farage and his Eurosceptic peoples army have already successfully exposed the electorates profound discontent and alienation from the current political system . A range of issues, including the impact of cuts, the cost of living crisis, hostility to aspects of the European Union and a belief that Westminster is a metropolitan elite uninterested in the ordinary man and woman, has fuelled Ukips advance. Alarmingly, it has successfully reduced that discontent to the shorthand of foreigners. In spite of Nick Cleggs best efforts, Farages negative narrative on immigration is reshaping the position of both Conservatives and Labour. Labour has lost millions of working-class votes since the 1997 general election. The party is increasingly split on how to woo them back. On one side is Frank Field MP, calling in a letter to his party leader for an end to open borders that allow the free movement of 500 million citizens from 28 EU countries. The implication is that by restricting the intake a series of social ills may be addressed, communities restored, employment found, incomes returned to health. On the other side is the former prime minister, Tony Blair, who argues that immigration has brought much that is positive economically and socially and Labour will gain nothing if it tries to ape nasty and unpleasant Ukip. Of the two courses, Blairs is the right one. For hundreds of years, waves of immigrants – Irish, Jews, Poles, Italians and West Indians among them – have hugely enriched this island. Placing widespread curbs on immigration would not address the economic and social inequalities that blight Britain – a direct result of deregulation, the dominance of the free market, the dismembering of the welfare state, the decline of the trade unions and a drastic shortage of real jobs and housing. Turning our back on the rest of the world would not help a million young people not in employment, education or training who are held back by an inadequate education system. John Denham and Alan Milburn, former Blairite ministers, have argued strongly that immigrants did not take jobs under Labour, and did not abuse benefits on the scale that many fear. Meanwhile, in a speech last week in Thurrock, scene of a Ukip triumph in the recent elections, Ed Miliband pledged tougher measures including an end to the undercutting of wages, an insistence that employees in the public sector speak English and measures to ensure that immigrants earn entitlements. He said he was in favour of immigration, but in couching his response in such a negative framework, he nods towards the toxic assumption that immigrants are a problem. The issue requires an acknowledgment that lessons have been learned from the mistakes that New Labour made but in the context of a far more robust endorsement of immigration as part of a thriving and fair economy. The danger, in the current climate, is that words delivered on the stump to win the vote of those left behind, ramped up by parts of the media, may split communities and trigger hatred and mistrust against the stranger in our midst. Of course, it isnt racist to discuss immigration and its economic, social and cultural impact. It isnt inflammatory, for instance, to question whether £30m of child benefit should be sent to EU families overseas. But the framing of the issue and its management matters. In 2004, the UK opened its doors to citizens from new EU entrants, who settled mostly in fewer than two dozen cities, which were unprepared for the strain on housing, schooling and health provision. At the same time, the immigration service dealing with non-EU arrivals proved shambolic. Still no one has a clue about the level of illegal immigration. At the time of the 1997 election, Moris issue tracker recorded those citing race or immigration as the most important issue at 3%; by 2009, that had risen to 38%. A year later, the British National Party had attracted half a million votes. Poor management, ignoring fears and a lack of appropriate policy response fuelled the far right. Traditional Labour voters were further alienated because they felt their wages were most likely to be depressed by competition from an influx of EU workers prepared to sell their labour cheaply, a trend hastened by the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. According to the independent Migration Observatory, in the UK, low-wage workers lose while medium- and high-paid workers gain. The new employees also exposed the lack of productivity of many British staff – foreigners work harder. But immigration has filled vacant posts in the NHS and foreign students have contributed billions to the UK economy. Immigrants pay taxes, provide skills we need, and inject dynamism and commitment into our economy. In addition, immigration has contributed hugely to our cultural life, to entrepreneurship and to innovation. Many of the working class are also the most likely to open their arms to newcomers. Diversity has become the norm. The number of people uncomfortable, for instance, with mixed-race relationships has dropped to 15%, a record low. A recent study by the thinktank Policy Exchange said immigrants are not only more likely than ever to identify as British, they are more likely to be accepted as British by their white neighbours. Immigration, however, is not all about economics. It also has a moral dimension. We live in a globalised world rent apart by conflict and profound economic disparities. Populations are on the move – from Libya and Syria in search of a better future. Investing in their economies to generate jobs and brokering peace is vital. But so is asylum. A hunger exists for a fairer, more inclusive society but appalling economic circumstances have triggered a dark mood in Europe. The MEP Jussi Halla-aho of the Finns party, for instance, accuses Islam of sanctifying paedophilia. The Institute of Race Relations records 32 serious racist attacks in the first three months of this year in the UK, including a recently arrived African student losing the sight in one eye. Two years ago, at the Olympics, Britain was viewed by the world as proudly diverse – and united. We need to see that reflection of ourselves again. Instead, there is a danger that in the coming months that this optimistic vision will be fractured beyond repair. • Comments will be turned on later this morning Observer editorial The Observer, Sunday 1 June 2014
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 01:06:06 +0000
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