Immigration The Politics of Scapegoating
Scarlett MccGwire is sick of newspapers and politicians who scapegoat immigrants.
17 Nov 2011, 21:08
Are immigrants being scapegoated?
So let’s pick on foreigners.
This is dangerous nonsense.
The reasons for high unemployment are economic. The Chancellor blames the global recession and the Eurozone crisis. The Shadow Chancellor looks closer to home – public sector job cuts not only throws thousands out of work (and they are not being replaced by private sector jobs) but means less spending leading to more job cuts.
Unemployment is not caused by immigration or foreigners. There are not enough jobs.
It is no accident that both the Mail and the Express led on foreigners grabbing jobs – they were briefed. Politicians have no intention of taking the responsibility for the results of their policies if that means blame: they only want to take credit. So their spinners point to a story to deflect tabloid wrath.
When the BNP and English Defence League take up the cudgels and exploit the seeds sown, mainstream politicians tut tut and condemn. As we are reminded that Stephen Lawrence was killed because of the colour of his skin, we need to be careful about the effect of these stories.
Then we have the stories about disability benefits. A third of disabled people live in poverty and half of all disabled people of working age are out of work. This government is cutting disabled benefits – so we have stories, once again carefully fed to the journalists, about fraud. Sure, there are people who swing the lead, but they are the tiny minority. The National Union of Journalists Disabled members’ Council has said that labelling disabled people workshy and scroungers has led to hostility from the public and even physical attacks.
We can ask for a better media, but the government needs to take responsibility for its policies, rather than finding scapegoats to blame.
The author
Scarlett MccGwire
Scarlett MccGwire is a media trainer and communications consultant.
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Comments (5)
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So, 15 years of 'open-door' immigration, leading to circa 5 million people coming in. (The true figure will never be known)
18/11/2011 08:01UK unemployment standing at around 2.6 million (though in truth it's much higher)
But this has no effect on British unemployment!
Er! you sure?
"Unemployment is not caused by immigration or foreigners. There are not enough jobs."
And, of course, there never will be enough jobs if you keep importing millions of people to do the jobs that are there. Free movement of labour, in the absence of a world government and relative economic equality across the world, is a daft idea, colluded in by employers who think it keeps wages down, governments and employers who don't want to educate people for the jobs that actually need to be done, and individuals with (state encouraged) unrealistic expectations who think that such jobs are beneath them.
18/11/2011 11:37And to the list of colluders I should add those members of the Labour Party who see high immigration as a means of importing Labour votes and north London residents who see it as essential to maintain an adequate supply of domestic help and domestic tradesmen and women.
18/11/2011 11:51"Unemployment is not caused by immigration or foreigners. There are not enough jobs"
FACTS
2011
"What these figures show is that in the year to March 2011 a rise in employment levels of 416,000 comprised of 334,000 foreign born workers – only just over 80 per cent of the total, rather than the 87 per cent quoted by Mr Field."
http://fullfact.org/factchecks/frank_field_new_jobs_immigrants_welfare-2782
Enough said..
EPIC Fail...
Distortions and Lies..
18/11/2011 12:40What complete nonsense the whole article is. There aren't enough jobs, so we need millions of immigrants to do those jobs that there aren't enough of. Get outta here.
21/11/2011 09:28