I want to talk about immigration

Yes, this is my first blog post in a very long time. I’ve been focusing primarily on Leeds Beer Quest, which is going brilliantly and has recently hit 100 reviews! It may be my imagination, but I feel like I am hearing more and more anti-immigration rhetoric all the time. And the policies of the current government are getting more and more anti-immigration all the time. High-profile incidents recently include the “Go Home campaign” and immigration officers on the Tube randomly stopping people who look or sound foreign to ask for papers. These are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recent changes in the way the government is handling immigration to this country. What is the basis of this crackdown? Why are people becoming more hostile...

Fascism, immigration and the English language

Fascism, immigration and the English language

The BNP and other right-wing groups I loosely term fascist (although some may, legitimately, disagree with my use of the term) are always talking about making sure Britain stays “British”, and keeping its population “indigenous” so that our culture is not polluted by those of the immigrant nations. Here’s a representative quote from the BNP web site1: Immigration is out of control. Britain’s population is now over 60 million and rising, solely due to immigration. Not only is Britain increasingly overcrowded, but the fact is that a country is the product of its people and if you change the people you inevitably change the nature of the country. We want Britain to remain – or return to – the way it has traditionally been. We accept...