Migrant scandal - Britons feel neglected and betrayed

BRITAIN’S white working class feels it has been “betrayed” and “abandoned” in favour of immigrants, a Government report has revealed.

Immigrants Arriving at London s Victoria bus station Immigrants: Arriving at London's Victoria bus station

Poor white people living on some of the country’s most deprived estates believe they are the biggest victims of a decade of mass immigration, according to the study.[>

Critics say the report proves that Labour’s failure to heed warnings about the impact of its uncontrolled immigration policy has created growing resentment and community tensions.[>

Many people believe immigrants are better treated in terms of housing, benefits and jobs and now fear that their territory and “national culture” are under threat.[>

But they also feel unable to complain for fear of being branded racist. The stark report warned there were “grave” risks that the anger felt by many white working class Britons could be exploited by the Far Right because of a lack of “open and honest discussion”.[>

Baroness Warsi, Tory spokeswoman on community cohesion and social action, said: “What an indictment of New Labour that they have to have an investigation to show that over the past 10 years they have completely lost touch with their so-called roots.[>

“The danger for the rest of us is that this has now created a ticking time bomb of racial and class prejudice.”[>

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, whose department commissioned the report, admitted that white working class people “sometimes just don’t feel anyone is listening or speaking up for them”.[>

She said: “Changes in communities can generate unease and uncertainty. These changes need to be explained and questions need to be answered or the myths that currently surround the treatment of ethnic minorities ‘jumping the queue’ will become increasingly hard to shift.”[>

Politicians had to listen and respond or risked losing touch with people on such estates, she said.[>

She added: “Where there are legitimate concerns or questions they should be able to express them without fear of being branded a racist.”[>

But former Labour Minister Frank Field, co-chairman of a cross-party group demanding immigration control, said: “Hazel Blears says that people on council estates feel ignored. That is exactly our point.[>

“It is not only on council estates. Eighty per cent of the public want to see a substantial reduction in immigration but the Government refuses to address the issue.[>

“No wonder people feel the Government is riding roughshod over their wishes.[>

“Unless further action is taken soon, immigration will add nearly 10 million to the population of England in the next 20 years.”[>

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of pressure group Migrationwatch UK, said: “This report is a devastating indictment of the Government’s failure to communicate with ordinary British people after 10 years in power.[>

“The root is the massive level of immigration that the Government has not only permitted but encouraged. The working class has been the most affected but it has been silenced by the forces of political correctness.[>

“The remedy is in the Government’s hands. It must cut immigration very sharply.”[>

Researchers interviewed people on estates in Birmingham, Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, Thetford in Norfolk and Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire.[>

Although some voiced sympathy for asylum seekers and immigrants doing unpleasant jobs, there was a widespread perception that immigrants were competing with them for public resources.[>

Many white working class people felt it was harder for them than for refugees to get council houses and that politicians had washed their hands of them.[>

The report also found hostility to immigrants was worst in the most deprived estates, as “people who have the least are more likely to be afraid of things being taken away from them”. In Milton Keynes, residents had even voted against plans to replace poor quality housing with better homes because they feared that when they moved out while the work was done, their places on the estate would be taken by immigrants.[>

Among the “emotions” the researchers reported that people felt were “resentment, betrayal, abandonment, loss, defensiveness, nostalgia, unfairness and disempowerment”.[>

A spokesman for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: “We cannot ignore the fact that many people are deeply unsettled by the pace and nature of change.[>

“Any policy of managed migration and active integration has to be a policy embraced by the whole nation.[>

“That policy has to acknowledge the pressures that come with the benefits of immigration and address them.”[>

He also warned that Britain risked becoming an “economic backwater” if it did not use the talents of migrants.[>

The allocation of council and housing association homes has become an increasingly difficult problem for Labour in recent years, particularly in high migration areas.[>

Former Culture Minister Margaret Hodge complained last year that migrants in her East London constituency were being given priority for homes over those with a “legitimate sense of entitlement”. Waiting lists for social housing have almost doubled under Labour to 1.7 million people.[>

Homes are handed out on the basis of “need”.[>

But this means that single parents and people who are homeless or workless often get priority over those with jobs and long-standing local connections.[>

Around one in 12 council or housing association properties – more than 300,000 homes – is occupied by foreign citizens.[>

Eighty per cent of the public want to see a substantial reduction in immigration

Former Labour Minister Frank Field

[>

Comments Unavailable

Sorry, we are unable to accept comments about this article at the moment. However, you will find some great articles which you can comment on right now in our Comment section.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?