Worm
Taste the diffidence
I see that the interviews were done on October 25 and November 5. According to the article below, there were momentous reports about immigration in the UK during that time. In the Times, Andrew Green wrote about them on November 4.
I've pasted the article below not because I agree with everything he writes but because the news reports he cites could offer some justification for Morrissey's comments-- if Green is correct about the three "events", the subject of immigration did not "come out of nowhere" as the NME claims and-- again, if he is right about public opinion polls-- it would appear that Morrissey's concerns are hardly limited to middle-aged shut-ins.
Would any UK fans care to comment about Green's article? Is it an accurate picture of the concerns in your country? Or, if Green is wrong in his conclusions, is he at least right about some of the stories he cites?
(Apologies in advance if Andrew Green is a Pat Buchanan-style nutcase. I haven't read his stuff before.)
I've pasted the article below not because I agree with everything he writes but because the news reports he cites could offer some justification for Morrissey's comments-- if Green is correct about the three "events", the subject of immigration did not "come out of nowhere" as the NME claims and-- again, if he is right about public opinion polls-- it would appear that Morrissey's concerns are hardly limited to middle-aged shut-ins.
Would any UK fans care to comment about Green's article? Is it an accurate picture of the concerns in your country? Or, if Green is wrong in his conclusions, is he at least right about some of the stories he cites?
(Apologies in advance if Andrew Green is a Pat Buchanan-style nutcase. I haven't read his stuff before.)
Hold back the immigrant flood
Andrew Green
Just occasionally a series of events crystallises public opinion and transforms the political landscape. That is what has happened with immigration in the past fortnight. Three events stand out.
The crucial wake-up call was publication of the government’s latest population forecasts. They were truly shocking. They showed that, if immigration continues at the level the government now assumes, the population of the UK will grow by more than 10m in the next 25 years - that is equivalent to 10 cities the size of Birmingham; 70% of the increase will be due to immigration.
The public were taken aback by these numbers. They are now beginning to realise that we face the most critical decision for a generation. Not since the referendum on the Common Market in the 1970s have we confronted a decision that will so greatly affect the lives of our children and grandchildren. Do we set about a massive building programme, constructing a virtual Birmingham every 2½ years and do we accept the fundamental changes to our society that will flow from immigration on this scale? Or do we take action now to cut immigration sharply?
Next was David Cameron’s decision to speak about immigration for the first time in two years. His speech on Monday called for a “grown-up” debate, set out the dilemma in measured terms and outlined Conservative proposals for both an annual limit to immigration and, importantly, a substantial reduction in numbers.
He clearly struck a chord. It was not long before we had Labour and Conservatives competing to sound tough on immigration - an extraordinary transformation from the days when people hardly dared mention the topic for fear of being accused of racism.
The third event - if such it be - was the farcical episode when the government’s count of the new jobs taken by foreigners changed three times in a day, ending up roughly double where it began. The outcome was another blow to confidence in the government’s ability to manage immigration.
The genie is now well and truly out of the bottle. Public opinion is extremely strong - 80% disbelieve the government’s honesty and competence; 75% want to see an annual limit; two-thirds fear that our culture is under threat. Only one in three believe that immigration brings economic benefit to Britain.
The immigration lobby claims there is little that the government can do. It is all down to some mysterious force called “globalisation”. They are wrong. In fact, immigration to the UK took off in 1997. The prime cause was a series of policy errors by the present government. First, it abolished such border controls as it inherited. Then it trebled the number of work permits to 150,000 a year, plus dependants. Finally, it hopelessly miscalculated the inflow of east Europeans.
...
Failure to act now will mean that our society will be changed beyond recognition - and especially our cities. London is one-third immigrant and half of all babies born there have a foreign parent.
...
Sir Andrew Green is the chairman of Migrationwatch UK
Andrew Green
Just occasionally a series of events crystallises public opinion and transforms the political landscape. That is what has happened with immigration in the past fortnight. Three events stand out.
The crucial wake-up call was publication of the government’s latest population forecasts. They were truly shocking. They showed that, if immigration continues at the level the government now assumes, the population of the UK will grow by more than 10m in the next 25 years - that is equivalent to 10 cities the size of Birmingham; 70% of the increase will be due to immigration.
The public were taken aback by these numbers. They are now beginning to realise that we face the most critical decision for a generation. Not since the referendum on the Common Market in the 1970s have we confronted a decision that will so greatly affect the lives of our children and grandchildren. Do we set about a massive building programme, constructing a virtual Birmingham every 2½ years and do we accept the fundamental changes to our society that will flow from immigration on this scale? Or do we take action now to cut immigration sharply?
Next was David Cameron’s decision to speak about immigration for the first time in two years. His speech on Monday called for a “grown-up” debate, set out the dilemma in measured terms and outlined Conservative proposals for both an annual limit to immigration and, importantly, a substantial reduction in numbers.
He clearly struck a chord. It was not long before we had Labour and Conservatives competing to sound tough on immigration - an extraordinary transformation from the days when people hardly dared mention the topic for fear of being accused of racism.
The third event - if such it be - was the farcical episode when the government’s count of the new jobs taken by foreigners changed three times in a day, ending up roughly double where it began. The outcome was another blow to confidence in the government’s ability to manage immigration.
The genie is now well and truly out of the bottle. Public opinion is extremely strong - 80% disbelieve the government’s honesty and competence; 75% want to see an annual limit; two-thirds fear that our culture is under threat. Only one in three believe that immigration brings economic benefit to Britain.
The immigration lobby claims there is little that the government can do. It is all down to some mysterious force called “globalisation”. They are wrong. In fact, immigration to the UK took off in 1997. The prime cause was a series of policy errors by the present government. First, it abolished such border controls as it inherited. Then it trebled the number of work permits to 150,000 a year, plus dependants. Finally, it hopelessly miscalculated the inflow of east Europeans.
...
Failure to act now will mean that our society will be changed beyond recognition - and especially our cities. London is one-third immigrant and half of all babies born there have a foreign parent.
...
Sir Andrew Green is the chairman of Migrationwatch UK
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