We MUST reduce immigration... and focus on integration.

by Lynda Goetz

“My grandfather was Hungarian”. Not such a loaded statement as, “My father was a toolmaker”, and although I may have said it before, I certainly haven’t repeated it 68 times, or however many times Sir Keir Starmer  pointed out his family background during the course of the UK’s General Election. Nevertheless, both statements are important in indicating one’s origins and ancestry. Clearly, neither of us come from the British aristocracy.  Genetics and the status of our parents and grandparents are just a part of the ingredients which make up who we are. Of course, having some Hungarian DNA is not noticeable in the way having African or Asian DNA is noticeable and nor is it in any way likely to send me scurrying off to Europe to ‘discover my roots’ (although a visit to Hungary is long overdue). I am probably also unlikely to claim ‘à la Meghan’ that I felt “at home” were I to spend time there, as she did when visiting Nigeria. Nonetheless, the fact remains that part of my origins can be traced back to an economic migrant. Hence, it is easy for me to sympathise with those who have the ambition or desire to seek a better life somewhere other than where they were born.

Having said that, it is also the case that this small island does not have an infinite capacity to take on the fortune seekers and dispossessed of the rest of the world. We simply cannot afford to do so on any level, either economically or culturally (in spite of the arguments put forward for the economic benefits, most of which have been shown not to be valid in the long term). The British are, as can be evidenced by our history, reasonably racially diverse (although not to the point of having black and mixed-race noblemen in centuries gone by as the BBC seems to be trying to convince us was the case*) and have, over the centuries, absorbed incomers of all kinds. However, the numbers have never been as they are now: overwhelming and unaffordable. That has become obvious to the vast majority, but seemingly not understood by most of our politicians. There are many on the Left who feel strongly that it is our bounden duty to help and somehow accommodate the incoming flood of ‘refugees’. Except of course that they are not all refugees. Huge numbers are opportunistic young men who are seeking a better life, just as my grandfather did.

In 1913, he was one of a handful. He rapidly found work (you had to in those days) and married an English woman, my grandmother. Although he was interned as an ‘enemy alien’ during the First World War he later became integrated into English society. They lived, perhaps unsurprisingly, in London until he died in his sixties. My grandmother lived on until her nineties and lived with our family for the last twenty-five years of her life. I don’t think my grandfather ever went back to Hungary. It was a trip that would have been too expensive to make in the days before mass tourism.

One of the big issues during the latest election was immigration and the inability, in spite of numerous promises, of the Conservative government to get to grips with it. Although they focused almost exclusively on illegal immigration, legal immigration was as much of an issue and one that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared not to want to deal with. In spite of a number of top Tories, notably Suella Braverman, attempting to persuade him that this also needed his attention, he insisted on applying his energies to “stopping the boats”. Whilst this is an issue, the fact that the revised points system introduced by Boris Johnson was itself leading to problems seemed to be something he did not want to face.

The net migration figure for the UK in 1993, according to Statista was 1,000.  Last year it was 685,000 (Office for National Statistics, ONS).  This is a massive, massive increase in just 30 years. Of the 1.22 million people who migrated to the UK last year, 968,000 were from non-EU countries. Looking ahead, this may not become the new norm, especially as the last Government did restrict the rights of students to bring in family members as of January 2024. The new Labour government has also pledged to “stop the boats”, although it is not obvious how they plan to do this. Granting an amnesty to the 100,000 most recently-arrived illegals and agreeing to ‘process’ them alongside those who have arrived legitimately does not seem like a good start. As things stand at present 14% of our population is foreign-born, (The Migration Observatory) which is not dissimilar to percentages in other developed Western countries. Many of these new arrivals stand out because of where they come from and all over Europe the fact that the percentage of the population which comes from outside Europe has increased exponentially is causing a revolt. To say that the cultures of many of these incomers do not align with our own is not to state anything unknown or outrageous. People have become scared to say it, nonetheless.

The fact that many immigrants are not integrating into our society, but existing in their own communities within it, is causing divisions. It is testing the tolerance of ordinary people who on an individual and personal level are more than happy to be accommodating, friendly and welcoming. Where the beliefs and cultures of those coming here are resulting in them calling for separate rules and laws to apply to their populations we need to be concerned. Where those coming here do not actually respect the cultures and beliefs of their adopted country and in many cases do not respect the female half of our population we should be worried.  These things should not be swept under the carpet as ‘Islamophobia’. These are genuine and legitimate concerns, which many ordinary people are prepared to express only within the safety of conversations amongst family and friends. This is not right and is a serious matter in a country once celebrated for its championing of the right to speak freely and openly in all situations (unless deliberately inciting others to violence).

The ridiculous situation on trans issues had seemed to be getting to the point of being allowed to be a subject of public debate following the publication of the Cass Review. But the appointment of Anneliese Dodds, who in 2022 was unable to define a woman ( "it depends on the context”), as Minister for Women, and Bridget Phillipson as Secretary of State for Education means we may have taken a step backwards. It is to be hoped that Sir Keir Starmer will not make the mistake of applying the All-party Parliamentary Group (APPG) definition of Islamophobia** to appease his Muslim supporters, many of whom defected to non-Labour candidates who supported an anti-Israel/ pro-Palestinian stance.

These movements will only serve to increase, rather than diffuse, any anti-immigrant feelings amongst the wider population. Islam as a religion is not tolerant. It seeks to convert, and if not to convert, to destroy. Whilst we, the British, may well have long since abandoned the idea of converting the rest of the world to Christianity, many of those single young men arriving in Europe from countries to the east are not necessarily well-disposed towards those who are not of their faith. The elements of radical Islam building within those immigrants already established here and their increasingly vociferous demands are also incompatible with our society. The increase in violence all over Europe laid at the door of the migrants is not a figment of imagination. It is fact and one which should not be ignored. That is not to tar all Muslims with the same brush. That would be ignorant and foolish in the extreme, as Nigel Farage has repeatedly insisted when faced with Reform being labelled a ‘far-Right’ or  racist party.  What he wants is for society to be ‘colour-blind’ (although not presumably in the same way as the BBC) and for people to be accepted and included for who they are and what they can contribute, not which ‘victim’ group they belong to. Surely not an unreasonable aspiration? The Muslim businessman, Zia Yusuf, who donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to Reform UKs campaign also believes that the UK has lost control of its borders and that mass immigration is straining public services.

We need to acknowledge that if we succumb to the bullying tactics and intimidation of any group, whether it be Black Lives Matter, the trans lobby or the pro-Palestinians, we will be undermining our own history and culture. They all need to understand what this country they have chosen to live in is and what it stands for; to respect our culture and our history. The history of the country is a part of what we are, has brought us to this point and cannot be apologised for retrospectively or rewritten to suit certain interest groups. This is not racism, xenophobia or even paranoia, but simple self-preservation. We are made up of many incomers, but there is a limit to the numbers we can continue taking in. This is not the time for accepting huge numbers of outsiders. At this point we need to regroup and assimilate those we have already taken in. If this means leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) then so be it. Its definition of refugees was written at a different time with different purposes in mind. As tennis player Raducanu said over her supposedly controversial decision to opt out of the mixed doubles with Andy Murray, “you need to make your own calls and prioritise yourself”. This country needs to make its own call and stop trying to be the solution to the problems of everyone from around the world. We cannot help everyone. We have plenty of problems of our own at the moment and the new Labour government needs to prioritise those who are already here and forge us into a united rather than a sectarian society. Well, at least it could try.

 *Non-white actors playing Tudor courtiers in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light and Anglo-Saxon noblemen in King and Conqueror

**Islamophobia is “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”. This definition was rejected by the Conservative government at the time but has been put in place by around 1 in 7 (mostly Labour-led) councils.