Immigration

 This is going to be a hard one today. This is one of the topics that right wing populists like Reform have used to get themselves noticed. It is also an argument that brings out a lot of "Feel" politics. By that I mean where people are using emotion to rule their decision making process. Anti immigration rhetoric is used as a smoke screen that deviates the public argument away from what actually needs to get attention. 

Education, Social Care, Health. The list is quite long. 

I find that right wing politicians use the anti immigration argument because it means that no one notices that they have no solution for the other things. Sometimes it is because they haven't thought of it or just don't think it needs public input. Therefore they use a subject like immigration to paper the cracks in their political narrative.

I hope to show that the UK is in need of Immigration. Our very existence might depend on it.

So lets start with a "WHY". 

Here is the official birth rates of the UK as a whole

This wikipedia site demonstrates how the population is changing in the UK. The issue is that, as you can see, the proportion of people living who are over 60 outnumber those that are under 16. This is the first time it has ever been thus in the UK.

The problem for the UK is that without some sort of change, the youngest third of the population will need to cover the cost of looking after the other two thirds of the population. This is quite a burden on your children for the future. 

Immigration is a tool that helps fill that "Demographic time bomb" where there are more people in need than those able to pay for it. Immigration fills that hole in the population that we cant provide for ourselves

This is a fact of Demographic Transition in the UK. 

It has been a thing for a while though. 

The Windrush Generation was not a concept by some bizarre left wing conspiracy group to piss off the incumbent nationals just for the hell of it. It provided a useful tool to plug the gaps in the UK society that we were unable to fill ourselves. We needed them more than they needed us.

As a footnote I feel for that generation. Did they really benefit? Poor climate, racial tensions, low pay. 

What are the driving mechanisms for the anti immigration brigade?

Unfortunately, I believe that a significant proportion is plain old racism. At best xenophobia. I have talked on my blog years ago, when anti immigration was rearing its ugly head, that it was an anti Polish thing effectively. They were the prominant cultural group. But they arrived they worked and had a better work ethic and all of a sudden we had plumbers. 

Anti Immigration largely flows out of fear. Fear of change and fear of different. 

I am not sure what Englishness/Britishness these people seek to preserve. The "virtues" that are commonly extolled are in their minds usually 

On a wider note I would question whether English culture was worthy of saving. When you consider what was done in the name the UK during the British Empire. One that is only seen as a loss in the UK only. The rest of the Empire was glad to be shot of us

Much like Putin in eastern Europe. His Russian narrative is that the old Iron Curtain is a natural part of the Russian Empire but it ignores the fact that these countries couldn't wait to shrug off the Soviet yolk. No one wants them back. 

It is largely the same where ever you go in the world that used to be red white and blue, couldn't get us out quick enough.

Like it or not this country needs immigration. Not just in high quality positions but just in general. Free movement of individuals whilst we were in the EU did largely account for this drop off in younger population.

The asylum seekers coming across by boat is another matter. My concern is totally for their safety and trying to cross the English channel in those flimsy inflatables is not a good way to travel. The rise of the boats has been almost totally down to Brexit. 

I am not going to find evidence to defend that claim. Go look it up for yourself if you don't believe me. Search for what years where boat crossings were at their peak. Or even when they started. 

The reason I won't provide evidence is that it has become increasingly clear to me as I struggle to ignore the right wing nonsense on my YouTube feed is that the great advantage of podcasting and YouTube and stuff is that you can say what you want. Don't bother to back it up. If you do want to back it up cherry-pick your evidence. 

The times I have noticed anyone with a differing opinion comes on they have to know their facts back to front as any chink in your argument is held up as prima facie evidence that your argument is a fallacy, never mind the host doesn't have to provide supporting evidence for their argument.

I do want to see the end of the boats in the channel but mostly because it is a ridiculously dangerous thing to do. You have to wonder how miserable their lives have been to this point that a rubber dingy in the busiest shipping lane in the world is a worthwhile endeavor

Why do I think this is a smoke screen? Well for a start asylum seekers make up a very small part of the population. The money spent on them pales into insignificance compared to the bill for the NHS, Ministry of Defence etc etc. We have bigger fish to fry at this moment. Cost of Living, inflation, energy security, diversification of our energy supply away from gas in particular, social care. I havent even mentioned Defence or direct healthcare there. These are the subjects that will directly affect out lives in short to medium term. We need policies to deal with THESE topics. Stopping the boats will make Zero difference to these factors. Do not allow yourselves to be diverted down a blind alley by thee scaremongers