White working class 'feels ignored on immigration'

The white working class feels its “acute fears” over immigration are being ignored, the Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears, has warned.

Daily Telegraph.co.uk By Jon Swaine

Last Updated: 11:31AM GMT 02 Jan 2009

 

Ms Blears said that people must be allowed to speak their mind on the subject without fear of being branded racist.

 

Politicians must listen and respond to the concerns that some white people have about changes to their communities, she added.

 

Ms Blears said more candid discussion was needed to prevent myths about people from ethnic minorities "jumping the queue" for housing and services being allowed to circulate.

 

She said: "White working class people living on estates sometimes just don't feel anyone is listening or speaking up for them.

"Whilst they might not be experiencing the direct impact of migration, their fear of it is acute."

 

Her comments came as a Government report suggested a "real and perceived sense of unfairness" is felt by white people on estates around the country.

 

A lack of frank debate on the subject had allowed false rumours spread by far-right groups to be taken as truthful, the report found.

It discovered that people in the most deprived areas were more likely to be hostile to minorities, yet few white people interviewed had regular contact with people of other ethnicities.

 

The report, which was based on interviews in Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Thetford, Runcorn and Widnes, found that the concept of integration was not understood. Respondents believed it simply meant immigrants were to become "like us", the authors said.

 

Ms Blears 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.

"People who care about their communities and have lived there for generations have every right to ask questions about what is happening in their estate, street, neighbourhood.

"We cannot allow people to exploit situations but where there are legitimate concerns or questions they should be able to express them without fear of being branded a racist when all they really want are answers or information.

"The job of politicians and leaders is to listen and respond, to have the very debates that people in these estates are having or we risk losing touch with them altogether."

 

Ministers from the Department for Communities and Local Government are to hold seminars with other departments, academics and councils dealing with issues around immigration. They will seek to "bridge the gap" between authorities and white working class communities.

 

The Conservatives said the report’s findings were a reflection of failed Labour policies. Baroness Warsi, the shadow community cohesion spokesman, said: “What an indictment of New Labour that they have to have an investigation to show that over the last 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. Amongst other things this has also demonstrated the dangers of Labour’s past use of indentity politics for electoral purposes.

“This should be a call to focus on the real core problems of worklessness, debt, welfare dependency, family breakdown and drug and alcohol abuse.”

 

Do you agree or disagree with the viewpoint that the white working class are ignored on issues like immigration or not?

The indigenous working class are the ones that are most affected by the influx of Poles into this country, the poles are taking all the manual labour jobs and cafe type jobs that indigenous white working class will have taken and are also causing wages to be driven down too in working class type jobs as poles are so much cheaper, I think poles represent a far bigger problem to the country than for example dark skinned or asian immigrants

 

In my area poles seem to have almost a stranglehold in construction and tradesman services

If you bring up the word immigration and you happen to be "white" in this country you are immediately branded racist, ususally by the Labour party but by the Liberals as well.

 

Therefore most people say nothing, and just accept things as they are. It doesn't bother me personally but that doesn't mean I believe hundreds of thousands of immigrants is a necessary policy.

 

Yes we needed some immigration, but not at the record levels we have had in recent years. Not everyone coming in, is adding to the wealth of the country.

 

Of course there are our own wasters in society who do nothing, but like it or not they are our citizens born and bred so we have to keep them. Pity though.

in a wrod..... yes

 

but whats new? it was the same in the 70's when mass influx of blacks/asians were in full swing, theres always been moaning about it. the recent eastern european influx though has caused more anger not only because of the influx itself but the pc brigade seemingly eroding 'traditional' values is adding to the ill feeling.

The indigenous working class are the ones that are most affected by the influx of Poles into this country, the poles are taking all the manual labour jobs and cafe type jobs that indigenous white working class will have taken and are also causing wages to be driven down too in working class type jobs as poles are so much cheaper, I think poles represent a far bigger problem to the country than for example dark skinned or asian immigrants

 

And before the Poles it was Asian/Afro Caribbean, before them it was the Irish... There's always an excuse for a moan and always an excuse for looking for scapegoats when things get financially gloomy, I mean, you're part Jewish, so you should be aware of how scapegoating can come about....

 

The facts are that I dont know of ANYONE whether indigenous or immigrant who is particularly happy with their wages or happy with the way they are being treated by their greedy, fat cat employers; I certainly dont know of anyone who would be willing to work for below minimum wage. So I feel that this is all just bullsh!t and is being used as a tool for driving a wedge between the working classes, to "divide and conquer" (indigenous vs immigrant) if you will, it's an age-old tool used by imperialists and oppressors to keep us all in line, if we're all too busy fighting amongst ourselves, then we dont see who's really fukkin' us over.... If the working classes actually came together to fight the common enemy (ie, those in power, greedy employers, the Govt, etc..), then the lot for working people overall in this country would be a lot better if you ask me...

 

Karl Marx was right - "Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains..."

Good grief!!!

 

At last a politician who seems to be speaking the same language as virtually every person on the streets! :o :o :o

And before the Poles it was Asian/Afro Caribbean, before them it was the Irish... There's always an excuse for a moan and always an excuse for looking for scapegoats when things get financially gloomy, I mean, you're part Jewish, so you should be aware of how scapegoating can come about....

 

The facts are that I dont know of ANYONE whether indigenous or immigrant who is particularly happy with their wages or happy with the way they are being treated by their greedy, fat cat employers; I certainly dont know of anyone who would be willing to work for below minimum wage. So I feel that this is all just bullsh!t and is being used as a tool for driving a wedge between the working classes, to "divide and conquer" (indigenous vs immigrant) if you will, it's an age-old tool used by imperialists and oppressors to keep us all in line, if we're all too busy fighting amongst ourselves, then we dont see who's really fukkin' us over.... If the working classes actually came together to fight the common enemy (ie, those in power, greedy employers, the Govt, etc..), then the lot for working people overall in this country would be a lot better if you ask me...

 

Karl Marx was right - "Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains..."

 

Different set of circumstances though mate, blacks were being bought over from the Carribean etc in the 1960's to do jobs that the white working class population wouldn't do at the time, cleaning, London Transport jobs and so on so the blacks were doing what the indigenous population didn't want to do jobs wise but now with the Poles skilled tradesmen and craftsmen of the indigenous population are having their livelihoods eroded by Poles coming in and undercutting them or having their wages cut by employers "Dave I am going to cut your wages by 20%, Stefan there has offered to do the job lot cheaper so if you don't want to work on Stefan's wages the door is that way", that kind of thing

 

The Poles are putting our skilled tradesmen out of business by undercutting them and also forcing down wages so can't compare with the blacks

"Dave I am going to cut your wages by 20%, Stefan there has offered to do the job lot cheaper so if you don't want to work on Stefan's wages the door is that way", that kind of thing

 

The Poles are putting our skilled tradesmen out of business by undercutting them and also forcing down wages so can't compare with the blacks

 

Really.... I hardly believe that "Stefan" has offered to do the job for less money at all mate, it's more that "Stefan" is being fooled into believing that 20% less IS the going rate because it's what his agency is telling him.... This is common misconception and gross lie being profligated by the greedy bourgeoise, middle class employers out there who are themselves very deliberately going through employment agencies to find labour as opposed to looking more locally. It's not a good deal at ALL for the Polish working classes who are very, very clearly being utterly exploited by both ends... British employers, particularly in the construction sector, are just LOVING this, hell, even the leader of the UKIP party had Polish builders in doing his extension on his nice, big mansion - fukkin' HYPOCRITE..... This is what happens when you completely erode the power of the unions and just let employers exploit the workers, the unions have no powers to stop this exploitation, they have no real powers to try and create a better deal for indigenous UK workers either... You're putting the blame on the wrong people mate.... And Ms Blears is just doing exactly the same.... Typical of a fukkin' morally bankrupt government though... They fukk it all up, create a "boom and bust" cycle which makes Black Wednesday look like a chimps tea party, and all of a sudden, now it's the "outsiders" to blame..... Yep, it's the Jews/Blacks/Irish/Heugenots all over again...... :rolleyes:

 

And, just WHY the emphasis on the WHITE working class anyway....? Er, what about the millions of British-born Black and Asian working classes.....? Don't they have a stake in the country then according to Nu Labor....?