No ‘Great Replacement, No ‘invasion’

 There is no ‘great replacement’, no ‘invasion’ into the UK. These words are used by right-wing influencers and right-wing politicians to weaponise the immigration issue and incite violence on the streets.   

16% of the population are born outside of the UK, so 84% of us are British. Migration to the UK has increased over the last 20 years, most if it legal and the general consensus is that immigrants contribute positively to the UK's public finances, helping to reduce deficits and manage public debt. More is taken in tax than ever goes out in benefits. 

There is lots of disinformation around ‘asylum seekers’. They are not allowed to work while their application is being processed. They receive a small weekly allowance much lower than universal credit. They are mostly refugees from war or persecuted groups. Anyone who is not, will have their application denied and should be removed. The UK is obliged by international treaties to take in people claiming asylum and Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Greece take in more and Turkey more than all. Delays in processing applications, again is down to not funding the border agencies properly. Boats wouldn’t be used if applications could be allowed from France with British officials operating from there.   

However, anger has risen over this time due to perceived ‘uncontrolled’ immigration. Once you get past the ‘white Nationalists’, the Tory Party, Brexit/Reform and their cynical manipulation of this issue for political gains, you find justified concern on infrastructure. 

Successive governments, over decades, have failed to build social housing, fund NHS and social care properly, redistribute wealth from the top 10% to the bottom 10%. Failed to ‘level-up’ ‘left behind’ communities who disproportionately suffered ‘de-industrialisation’ and its replacement with insecure and low paid jobs. While other parts of the country boomed and ‘gentrification’ swept across cities. 

After the financial crash, as Banks were bailed-out, the rest of the population got ‘austerity’ and increases in the cost of living. It is in this context, that many of those living in the ‘left behind’ towns and those struggling to make ends meet, turned towards immigration as a major reason why they were failing to thrive. Rising numbers of people obviously increases pressures on public services, if investment doesn’t rise with it. Competition for low paid jobs will happen if employers rely on ‘cheap foreign workers’. The fault here, is poverty wages that barely cover rent and bills.   

So, the elephant in the room! The UK actually NEEDS immigration. We have an aging population that is increasing(they’re living so much longer than before)and a diminishing working population paying taxes to look after them. The crisis in social care funding exacerbates the demographic problem, we need migrant labour to care for gran and grandad, the NHS needs doctors and nurses. One study indicated that EEA migrants contributed 34% more in taxes than they received in benefits, tax receipts needed to fund GP practices, hospitals or for housebuilding.  

Immigration is the scape goat, the easy target to distract voters from the failures of redistributing wealth, lack of investment and encouraging a low wage, low tax economy. 

Another elephant in the room, is the cause of so many desperate refugees displaced and crossing the world in search of security for their families. We in the West have brought a lot of this upon ourselves. Firstly through our Colonial past  and then by our ‘forever wars’, especially in the Middle-East. Most asylum seekers coming from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and many from Libya. There is of course a large population of refugees from Ukraine, but most will return when the war ends and are on ‘temporary visas’. 

Migrations from the poorer parts of the world are only going to continue while there is underdevelopment, but also with environmental disasters only increasing. A reason why the proposing of going back on ‘net-zero’ targets is ridiculous. We need more action on climate change, not less!

Politicians are keeping very quiet about a much bigger threat to workers jobs and livelihoods. Something far, far more ominous and not very far away. Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to revolutionise industry and business. Robots and machines will replace most migrant labour and will sweep through jobs, through every part of the economy causing mass lay-offs and unemployment. 

 Lastly, with anger rising and community cohesion at risk of breaking down, with a serious risk of arson and people losing their lives, remember that this issue is not simplistic and straight forward. And remember the words of Martin Luther King, that people, any person, should not be judged ‘by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character’.