Why is there so much more anti immigration sentiment NOW?

[GreyWasp]

Half my family are Indian and came over in the 50s. My British Indian dad (born here) said he has always been very lucky to have not experienced much hate and discrimination. He has a wide friendship network of people from all backgrounds. I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist. Not at all, just that the environments my dad was placed in outright racism was minimal. And he felt pretty much like a normal British lad going to school, uni, clubs, bars etc. My white grandparents had their concerns in the 90s when my parents married mostly in regards to potential bullying any future grandchildren would experience but really they were fine with their marrying. I have genuinely never had one negative experience (granted I have been in somewhat privileged situations in middle class areas in the South plus am white passing but do look ambiguous when tanned).

In recent years I have noticed a shift (for the worse) in terms of negative sentiment towards immigrants/poc. For me, it’s the worst it’s ever been. I certainly did not feel it 10/15 years ago. I see SO many racist comments on social media. Was not the case previously.

Im just interested in having a discussion why this could possibly be the case? People are definitely more woke now than they have ever been.

Is it the social media sites themselves? Less moderation? More political influencers?
More media attention?
People looking for an excuse to blame the economic decline (pandemic, brexit, col etc)?

Just curious what people’s thoughts are?

This level of immigration from predominantly developing countries working in low wage sectors has put significant pressure on existing wages as well as access to housing and public services

I am involved in an advocacy/support charity where I often assist a vulnerable person in claiming benefits. In our local office (not sure if this is a national thing) UC claimants are all having their interviews/meetings in full sight/hearing of those waiting, so I've heard many a conversation. One very interesting one was a woman who looked mid 30s telling her work coach that she's desperate to get a job and her dream job is to be a care assistant, but there aren't any available. The WC immediately turned her computer screen around and pointed out a list of vacancies, to which the woman replied you need at least 5 years experience for all of them. Again, WC must have highlighted ones that don't require this and woman said she has depression and can only work in certain nursing homes So many people say they can't do xyz job because of anxiety/depression. I certainly wouldn't want to work in a home for NMW either, but if local people took these jobs then the government would not have to ship in people from "third world countries".

There's a bit of head in the sand with numbers going up and some politicians ignoring that

Then you get politicians reacting eg Italy, Germany, US and some pretty big shifts happen

It's not just a U.K. thing. And it's likely to keep increasing until a country looks at changing laws

@Fordian

It’s frustrating that the entry grades for medicine are so high & so many students don't get onto courses. Then there is apparently a shortage & so we advertise abroad. Surely we would be better training our own young people? The young people I teach are really keen on NHS jobs. Plus they don't need to bring lots of dependents.

@Fordian your post made me laugh so much and I know it wasn't the intent. I think it was the bit about reading eyeballs on a scan 😆.

I really don't fully understand this and others will know so much more. Is this staffing issue because it's less costly this way, because we actually have no British staff available. I don't fully appreciate reasons.

Having been in hospital so often I am usually treated by someone not UK born and wonder how the NHS would function at all without the overseas staff.

I don't buy the argument that UK born people are just lazy either as the reason.

A quick look at the census data from 1970 (when the UK had 55.5m people and a growth rate of 0.41% annually) to 2020 (when it hit 68.4m, with much higher growth, fuelled by immigration) indicates the speed and scale of the population increase. In addition, bear in mind that organisations like the supermarkets (using data generated via their loyalty card schemes) and water companies have argued that the real population numbers could actually be 5 million higher than the official ONS figures, and it's not hard to see where the stresses are coming from.

One town I know reasonably well is Banbury, because my late mum moved there in 1993. When she moved there it was a smallish market town with (IIRC) Europe's largest cattle market and the population of Cherwell was 117,000; thirty years later, the population is over 171,000 thanks to the M40 corridor and the development that has exploded.

Sounds like your dad integrated

Recent immigrants don't seem to integrate as much

Recent immigrants seem to be young, male and aggressive towards women

Recent immigrants don't seem to always have a good work ethic, unlike many who came over generations ago to fill the need for workers after WW2

Recent immigrants seem to create their own ghettos - i.e. Stoneyholme in Nelson, Bradford

I will never understand the logic of making it harder and prohibitively expensive for British people to train as nurses. The practice of importing nursing staff who have been trained by poorer countries while simultaneously cutting off the potential social mobility of a career in nursing here is wrong in so many ways.

^

Agreed. It should be free (and paid) to train as a nurse, HCP, teacher or early childhood educator

I understood the point perfectly

@GreyWasp , just to say middle class black and brown children also face racism, so you and your father were just fortunate.
The latest aggression I heard off was a teacher insisting a mixed White/Sri Lankan student wipe her eyebrows off. Teacher was quite insistent she must have drawn them on as they are so thick. She's also 'white-passing'(hate that term), in an elitist private school and considered herself quite fortunate; until that incident.

This may also prove useful...

https://theconversation.com/how-stereotyping-increases-during-economic-crises-213295

Yes. And as such, you should be bound in to working for the NHS for years after your training.

Same for doctors. The UK has a good education system to produce healthcare professionals. We should have scholarships for UK nationals and pay them handsomely for their work.

Maybe the program starting on ch4 right now will be interesting!

Teacher was quite insistent she must have drawn them on as they are so thick.

That teacher is a bit dim, but it’s a stretch to call that racist. In an era of ‘high definition brows’ there is probably a uniform policy disallowing them and the teacher couldn’t tell the difference.

Are you privy to all of the "recent immigrants?" Your post just sounds like one of those '[insert town] Immigrant Watch' groups. And what does integrate mean? What do you have to do in order to be considered integrating?

Because 20 years ago immigration numbers were in the 10s of thousands and generally immigrants assimilated really well in British culture and society. We're now reaching nearly a million immigrants net a year. People are finally starting to notice the detrimental effects of this over the last decade or so.

When people's lives are worse or poorer because of something they've had no say over, people start to get a bit pissed off.

Having been in hospital so often I am usually treated by someone not UK born and wonder how the NHS would function at all without the overseas staff

@Tittat50 I was following the news in the summer of the riots in Northern Ireland, where rioting groups were burning out businesses and attacking the homes of 'foreigners'. Non white medical staff in the regional hospital were having to be taxied into work due to mobs attacking them on public transport/walking. The clinical director said the hospital would literally have to close if they couldn't come into work, and that due to the riots and subsequent staff shortage patient care was compromised.

@argyllherewecome stories like that make me feel really embarrassed. The mob mentality is scary.

I have to check myself continually as I think it's harder and harder to just pause and be measured for so many these days. SM is great in many ways but also riles people up terribly.

Britain has been recruiting foreign nurses since the beginning of the NHS, so i can't see that a free degree goes any way in stopping this trend.

For me, I feel as though multiculturalism has meant that my culture is starting to disappear. Growing up I remember us having our own songs, celebrations and way of life. We even had our own language of sorts. Sadly, it's mostly gone now. I am of course glad that we are welcoming as a country and people generally feel safe here, but I can't deny that I feel a sense of sadness at the loss of my culture.

🤣🤣🤣 Most of this is just laughable, but haven't ethnic ghettos been an issue since the 1950s?

I don't believe 'recent immigrants' work ethic is a matter for question when they're supposedly 'stealing jobs' or propping up the black economy/ undercutting wages (being exploited).

What does integration look like to you?

I'm genuinely interested in this. What do you mean by "our songs, own way of life?".

The poor immigrants can't win, they are either stealing the jobs all of 'our' jobs or "not working a day in their lives".

I called it an aggression, not racism. You have to be living under a rock to not know that somefolks are born with thick brows.
And she was insistent they couldn't be hers, after being told many times they were just thick brows. She has very obvious non high-definition brows. Just lovely thick brows and wears not an ounce of makeup.

Right! Can't win any which way.

@GreyWasp , very, very sadly there will always be bigots. Human nature dictates that where people find others who think as they do they will feel empowered to express that bigotry.
On the whole I believe the U.K. has a proud history of offering a home and a new life to those who come here in need of asylum. Many who have come here in great numbers have done so while maintaining their cultural heritage they have assimilated into British society and have become contributing members of their communities.
There is discomfort among a growing number of people in regard to those who have enjoyed our hospitality but have made little effort to assimilate and have not encouraged their children who have been born here to do so either. Often these people live in quiet closed communities and are not particularly welcoming of those outside of their culture. This is problematic to people who may have lived in those areas for generations and no longer feel comfortable there. It is not good for society as a whole.
There is discomfort too about the great differences in culture of some immigrant communities especially in regard to their views towards women. Then again there are other groups of people who sadly seem to be disproportionately represented in knife crime for instance.
Life is tough for a lot of people at the moment and many people have concerns about how much our nation can afford to support all of the people who seek to relocate here.
Increasing numbers of people are asking what can be done about these issues and those people are being branded by some as far right racists. If something is repeated frequently enough people will come to believe it is true. I don’t believe the vast majority are racist at all and I think that accusation is levelled at them in an attempt to silence them. I also think that a tipping point has been breached and that the hope of silencing them is past.
My hope is for my country to find a way forward without ghettos and where all men and women are treated equally, a place where everyone feels part of one society not in some way outside of it. One set of laws applied fairly and equitably to all for the good of all.
I hope we continue to welcome to our shores those genuinely in need of asylum. I hope that we maintain our precious right to free speech and peaceful protest.
And I fervently hope that those who so unfairly condemn as racists those who dare to speak about their concerns would put their arrogant belief in their own righteousness aside and learn to listen.

You friend makes an excellent point. Diversity policies, by definition is divisive. There’s been a growing tide of self flag hating largely middle class white straight people (often women) who have spent so much time and energy wringing their hands over all the diversity boxes which are full of people who probably don’t want to be pigeon holed because of one aspect of their being, that one thing becoming their entire personality yo the outside world.

white straight saviour identity is very much alive and kicking in the Home Counties