Immigration and British patriotism

Two interesting, interconnected topics that hit on a lot of political themes. The immigration debate often takes lines over the liberal/conservative divide, though it's also an issue in which many otherwise liberal people take quite a conservative stance. It has interested psychological overtones, is it really a debate over the validity of the various arguments, or is it, as I suspect, more often a proxy debate for people's views on 'outsiders' in general? And what does British patriotism mean today? Let's have a look.

In simple terms, liberals are for immigration and conservatives against it. In simple terms I take the liberal view. Though all my grandparents were born in London further back in my family history I'm a mix of Jewish, Russian, Polish, Belgium, Latvian, Welsh and Irish. I take pride in this heritage, though for all intents and purposes I am a Brit, an Englishman and a Londoner. Growing up in London I know very few people who have more recent ancestors from the British Isles than not. Any politics that attacks immigrants denies the validity of our contribution to society.

Economically speaking I think immigration brings real benefits. Our birthrate is too low to sustain our economy in the long run without immigration and the white, British working class is no longer large enough to do all the jobs on the lowest end of the pay scale that are vital in keeping any country running. I would look to Japan as an example (and here is a good time to note that I will be frequently referring to Japan throughout this blog, I am to be reading Japanese Studies at university come this September) of a country in which a lack of immigration compounded with a falling birthrate has meant serious lack of manpower with repercussions throughout the economy.

In terms of culture I think Britain as a whole, and London in particular have benefited enormously from immigration. In the 1980s Britain was infamous for her bad food. Today London is one of the world's culinary capitals and that's to say nothing of the ways immigration has improved British music and art and slang. Then there are the intangible benefits that having different cultural outlooks brings to society. I have read that the emphasis on education and respect for authority in some Asian cultures translates to better behaved and more attentive students that improve the atmosphere in classrooms around the country. Again, a lack of differing immigrant perspectives could be said to be a cause of the cultural and political stagnation that is ever harder gripping Japan.

Then regarding asylum seekers, I feel that the simple argument that it is inhumane to turn away those facing persecution in their home country when we have the means to accept them into ours, is more than sufficient.

These arguments I feel provide evidence that anyone who would be outright anti-immigration is being unrealistic. Those on the conservative side of the debate do, however, make some powerful arguments which must be addressed.

The immigrant impact on the economy is not wholly positive. Unscrupulous businesses do pay illegal immigrants less that a minimum living wage., this makes it difficult for native Brits to compete for jobs in this sector of the economy. I do think that this is more an issue about persecuting unscrupulous businesses who do not pay their employees a decent living (not to mention the legal minimum) wage. And then there's the issue of immigrants who take more in government services than they pay in tax. I would ask whether immigrants were more likely than the population at large to use government services like that and would blame a system which is vulnerable to exploitation rather than immigration itself.

It is with the cultural costs of immigration that the topic converges with British patriotism. If immigration continues at is current rate, the birth rate states low, and the indigenous British population becomes a minority, will it still be Britain? For all the benefits of a multi cultural society, wouldn't it be a shame is British culture ceased to exist? These are legitimate concerns of decent people that the Left has not adequately addressed. The far right, which has taken up the cause of those who worry about British culture, has stolen patriotism.

End of Part 1.