It is interesting that someone who has done most to impose this multi-cultural nightmare on us (Tony Blair) and someone who has done the least to oppose it (David Cameron) choose not to send their children to local schools that have high percentages of immigrants. Ordinary English people can't afford such luxuries and their children's education and cultural identity have to suffer for it. Meanwhile those whose actions and inactions are responsible for this appalling state of affairs are completely unaffected. It really is a wonder, when such a great majority of the population are disillusioned with government policy and opposition apathy on immigration, that more don't look to the far-right as an alternative.

Steve, Hertford,

Hmm, Chantel. I served for over 23 years in the UK Immigration Service and reckon to have a slightly more realistic view of the state of immigration than you appear to have. "Insular" is, of course, entirely appropriate to the British - We're an island, or haven't you noticed? Not that our island status has insulated us in any way from the hundreds of thousands of immigrants that have descended upon us in the last ten years, to the point that their presence is no longer tolerated, but more resented. You wouldn't know it, but the purpose of the immigration service, as mandated by the government, has always been to regulate (!) the flow of immigration into the country. I think someone went out without turning off the taps.

Tony Adams, Deal , Kent

Bravo and well said Tim from Tampa! A point which I confess to have overlooked! Just WHY are our soldiers sent off to fight for a government which won't allow us free speech on - for instance - immigration?

Archie, Thrapston, England

To: Sylvia, Bedford, Bedfordshire. The next time you meet an immigrant, ask to see what is stamped in their visa, it will be: No Recourse to Public Funds. That means immigrants PAY into a system they CAN NOT claim from.

Chantel, UK,

Lets face facts, the Brits have a bit of a reputation for being an insular bunch.

Chantel, UK,

TO: Charles, Tulsa Ok, USA - You are obviously an immigrant in the USA. Should they treat you as you would treat immigrants in Britain?

Chantel, UK,

To: Rehan Qayoom, LONDON, United Kingdom - If they are illegal it means they are not making themselves known, which means... yes just a little further thinking here... they can't claim benefits... wow.

Chantel, UK,

"Adriana of Barcelona, if I decided to come to Spain, would I get immediate free health care, housing benefits, child benefits and all the other things that we hand out? Would I be provided with a translator at taxpayers, expense whenever I needed to make a claim of deal with the authorities? If not, why not, seeing as the benefits of having immigrants are so obvious?" Dave Proctor, Leeds,

Yes Dave, you would. In fact the Brits are putting quite a lot of pressure on the Spanish Health system... but if you did research, instead of merely making assumptions, you would know that.

Chantel, UK,

The crime is that the left has shied away from criticising mass immigration when they should be attacking it, and the social inequality it has caused.

People say that they are doing the jobs the British won’t do. This is absolute nonsense, pay a decent wage and they will do the job. But that doesn’t suit the company boss who wants cheap labour to increase their profits, clean their house, and look after their children. It doesn’t suit the politician who wants cheap labour to boost GDP figures and constrain inflation. It doesn’t suit homeowners for whom increased population means housing demand, which means rising house prices.

But for those a little further down the social ladder, either due to youth or economics, it is a disaster. House ownership is more out of reach than ever and wages are suppressed by the competition of cheap immigrant labour, many of whom are being exploited outrageously. Britain is more socially unequal now that at any time since the Victorian era.

Tom Forrest, London,

The key phrases are 'mass immigration' , 'skill shortages' . Few mind immigrants comming to this country possessing skills that are in short supply. These people will make a possitive contribution to the economy. However, what we are seeing is mass immigration from third world countries, people who often cannot speak English and whose only skills are in subsistence farming. Even when these people are employed 'doing the jobs that the British won't do' they do so for low wages. Picking crops for a farmer, for example, may benefit the farmer, but if the immigrant worker is entitled to state benefits for himself and his family, it is the Britsh taxpayer that pays the subsidy. As we learnt under Maggie T, there is no point in mining coal if the taxpayer has got to pay a heavy subsidy for doing so. Better to leave it in the ground. Same goes for low paid unskilled jobs. Better left unfilled, or we will rapidly become a third world economy.

John Burrows, Gillingham, England

The vast majority of British people never wanted large scale immigration yet they have been consistently ignored by the mainstream political parties. Is this democratic? The people's wishes have arguably been overuled by the wishes of big, multi-national businesses? Is this democratic? They [the ruling party] have systematically encouraged immigrants into this country over the last fifty years or so, and/or implemented ineffective measures to counteract illegal immigration.
Now, we have the dire contemporary situation facing us. It will surely become more acute, with further legal/illegal immigration, and a much greater birth rate amongst the ethnic minorities than the indigenuous populace. I personally feel that Enoch Powell's apocalyptic phrophecies could come true unless drastic action regarding immigration is implemented very soon.

phil w., wuhan, china

I get perplexed when people go on and on about immigrants. White people seem to forget that there are many White British people all over the world. In Nigeria, they live like Kings, they are bosses over people who are more qualified than they are and what qualifications do they have? They are white and they are British. They work for a multinational organisation and so, they deserve to be the boss. I dont see any reason why choosing to migrate should be the exclusive preserve of the white man. The British forcefully and without the consent of the natives invaded nation after nation. The world at large has changed because of this. English has become a universal language. It is the language spoken by a third of the world population. Even acceptable dress sense is modelled after the English. You can't eat your cake and have it. It is impossible to influence other cultures without getting influenced yourself. The most important thing is to create a balance in immigration.

Temi, London,

Obviously everyone has the right to move around the EU freely and look for work, why is it that Eastern europeans can come to England and find work within 1 month of arrival, yet we as a country have over 2 million unemployed?, so we attract them, then when they're here who knows what they were in their own countries???.
The other side of the coin would indicate that we give our unemployed to many benefits (how many times have you heard the phrase "I couldn't earn this much if I worked", make them a little less well off then they will look for work, less jobs has got to mean less immigration!!!!! and a lesser problem.

Patricia S, SEDGEFIELD, GB

I believe that time has come for immigrants to think seriously about their life in the UK. I have seen the tempo against immigration rising in the past two years and the hatred that oozes from columns and interviews is frightening. For those of us who are strangers in this land time has come to evaluate the wisdom of staying in the UK. The strength of feeling against immigrants amongst the local population may not be strong enough to lead to a holocaust but it definitely should cause concern to immigrants. It appears that most people agree with BNP policies on immigration only they are too civilised to openly support the party.

Tony Gunn, Stoke on Trent,

Congratulations on expressing the views of so many people. It seems though that this government wishes to turn a blind eye to any problems as after all they deliberately encouraged this situation. Didn't David Blunkett say that there was no limit to immigration that he could envisage?
What is needed is a clear policy of integrating people that will allow all creeds and colours to successfully work with each other and hopefully avoid future conflict between people in the UK.
Please keep writing about this topic so that politicians do take the issues seriously.

Mike, Bristol, Somerset

Yawn. Will we be calling for all the emigrants we sent to Australia, America, New Zealand, Africa, India, Asia etc to come back to their homeland? Britons complaining about immigration is hypocrisy of the highest order. We have sent out more than our fair share of emigrants and are reaping the 'benefits' of our imperial past. New Zealand, Australia and America are examples of Britons imposing themselves on local ethnic populations to the extent of wiping them out by our own over-population and subjugating them. We forget our own sins once the shoe is on the other foot.

Zimbabwe, an African country trying to rid itself of its 'immigrants' is vilified by the West - why? Is it because Mugabe has the audacity to kick out white people?

Adapt or die. We have wiped out whole cultures with our imperialism. Our chickens are coming home to roost. We either adapt to multiculturism and add our own ten pence to it or we die out like those we have exploited for centuries.

Carys Mathews, Chester, uk

Has it occured to any of the heralds of doom that everyone here is descended from immigrants? And anyway, diversity in culture is fantastic!

Ben, York,

What I want to know is where this sense of entitlement comes from.

Under the British Empire, Britons felt entitled to go overseas and subjugate native populations.

Now Britons feel entitled to decide who is worthy of setting foot on British soil and who isn't.

So what entitles you? The Anglo-saxon blood flowing through your veins? Your attachment to this land? Your official passport?

Accept that it is only an accident of history that some of us have certain privileges and some of us don't. Don't talk to me about rights - what a bogus concept.

You should be grateful that you don't live under a tyrannical government. That you don't live in the midst of armed conflict. That no one's forcefully displacing you. That you can more or less say what you want, believe what you want, do what you want.

No one's taking these freedoms away from you. What exactly are you defending but some archaic and idealised notion of "Britain"? And for what?

NH, London, UK

I heard via the BBC that we (the British) should feel 'proud and privileged' that people want to come to this country.

My back went up immediately and there it has remained.

Dennis Wills, Portsmouth, UK


What a pity that the cultural Marxists at the BBC and the rest of the Left didn't emphasise this when they embarked on their social engineering experiment. Instead they preferred to vilify the indigenous people with accusations of racism or xenophobia and worse. How much more successful they might have been in creating a harmonius multi-ethnic society if they hadn't resorted to a negative campaign against the British people but had given some credit to them for their basic decency and patience in absorbing people from all over the world into our society. Their tactics have aleinated too many of of the British people now for their experiment to end in harmony.

Tam Earl-Aine, Cheltenham,

We have a million immigrants here in N Ireland and they have been here for three hundred years I for one would not reccomend it, not good for the health.

Michael Campbell , derry, n of ireland

The problem is not immigration but picking and choosing the right immigrants. Even better would be to scrap immigration completely and have 2,4 or 6 years maximum working visas, which can be renewed based on reference from their employer. People don't have to live here permanently, in order to work.

Mohammed, London, UK

Carol, I share your concern about the environment.
We have cemented the whole eastern coast of our country and our islands to provide "second homes" for foreigners wanting to live under the sun for most part of the year. Some of the urbanisations built would make you cry. Rows and rows of flats, one exactly lke the other outside and inside and thousands of pools and many a green lawn growing in places where there is a big shortage of water because there it hardly ever rains.
The funny thing is that these flats and houses are being built, cleaned and looked after but the very same inmigrants nobody seems to want anywhere.
Honestly, this world !

Txaro, Menorca, Spain

Er, importing voters? Only British citizens can vote in a General Election (as opposed to local elections).

maskahl, Maidenhead, UK

Minette, whilst it might be convenient to blame hordes of evil foreigners for the breakdown of UK society, most of the problems are home grown.

Certainly hard working Eastern Europeans are much preferable to welfare dependant home-grown NEETS.

Peter , London,

When before the immigration issue had reached the serious problem it is now, I heard via the BBC that we (the British) should feel 'proud and privileged' that people want to come to this country.

My back went up immediately and there it has remained.

Dennis Wills, Portsmouth, UK

I agree with every word that Minette Marrin has written in this article. I can only foresee revolution. I for one am sick to the eye teeth with feeling a stranger in my own town and having put into the NHS and taxes for over 50 years to see immigrant families arrive and taking it out in benefits including housing benefits and family allowances, whilst I and my age group are struggling on one of the lowest state pensions in the so called 1st world European advanced countries. We put in, they are taking out. And for what? Goodbye Green belt,(we need to build build build because the towns and cities accommodation have been taken over) Goodbye Britain that we fought so hard to defend our way of life , welcome degradation. Our government must be barking mad.

Sylvia, Bedford, Bedfordshire

Well, I suppose the Labour party has a philosophy that as we are all created equal, there is no justification at all in discriminating against foreigners. This was rather similar to the argument 50 years ago that the UK at the head of an empire should allow all British passport holders to live in Britain. The government also has a policy of looking after all those resident in Britain wherever they may come from and in this case treating foreigners and native born Britons resident abroad as not belonging. This is all rather confusing, since most other countries do rather like their own culture, history and languages and reject interference in their internal affairs and national sovereignty. We do have to decide fairly soon: Are we now part of an international community where culture, history and language no longer matter much, or is there something worth preserving in a little offshore island that once was very proud of itself. Not much time left, I'm afraid.

Brian Lewis, Manila, Philippines

Britain's generosity on immigration seemingly knows no bounds and extends beyond east Europe to the old Empire - many Antipodeans stay for far longer than the young persons' two-year working holiday permit thanks to having a UK-born grandparent. Just try getting permanent residence in Australia, NZ or South Africa because your grandad was born 'down under'... People come to Britain because there are good work, living and travel options here in a county that is by no means as run-down and decrepit as some of its detractors claim. I have visited many of the popular countries to which British emigrants flee - I don't think they're necessarily better in all respects, just different, and an adventure to move to. Yes, aspects of UK immigration are a problem, so find the political will to put in proper border control, and it could be dealt with very quickly. I suggest Australia (points system, everyone checked in AND out, and a Spartan existence for 'asylum seekers') as a starting model...

Peter Thomson, Northampton,

Thank you, rachel: you are right when you say people who can't bear to live with people from other cultures should get out.That kind of racial intolerance that is one of the nastiest, most dangerous forces in our society whether in terrorism, race crimes on both sides, or the build-up of ghettoes. I simply cannot understand some of the attitudes expressed here. The 'they take our jobs, they take our houses, they scrounge off benefits, they blow up our cities' attitude is sympotamatic less of fact than scare-mongering by some of the worst dregs of the media: LOOK AT THE FACTS. Before you denounce people and marginalise (and possibly radicalise) them, remember that migration happens as an economic necessity: employers need hard-workers and migrants need jobs.Everyone since the Celts has been a migrant at some point, so how can any of you turn someone away for wanting a better life for themself?And dont delude yourselves that immigrants bring all the crimes and ills: that's simply a lie.

Natasha, London, England

Although there are many negative sides to the sudden influx of foreigners there is a plus side that will benefit the british economy greatly. Without immigration on such a large scale the pensions scheme put in place by the government wouldn't be able to cope. The extra hundreds of thousands of shoulders ease the burden younger generations will have to carry financially. But I also understand that this is trying to solve a problem created by the government with a possible longer term problem of immigration and, more importantly, intergration. And as for the drinking and violence that we are so happy to pin on immigrants, there are plenty of fully English youths causing more touble on the streets. The wave of immigrants can be a force for good if the government control entry to england properly and handle deportation of criminals successfully.

John Davies, Worcester,

Immigrants come to Britain to further their own prospects, in other words, out of self-interest. There is no sentimental reason for most immigrants to live in Britain.
It is time Britain started to be just as hard-headed as these immigrants, and to demand certain standards and assurances from all immigrants - starting with a grasp of the English language, and British laws and values.
The British should protect their own self-interests, that is a national duty.
I am a Brit who has spent her working life abroad where I have found more opportunities to earn and save for myself and my family. I have nothing against economic migrants, as I have been one myself. But the countries I worked in were not backward on insisting I follow their rules and live up to their standards, whatever my own opinions (no alcohol in one country, no mention of Armenian massacre in another, and no criticism of the King in a third, for example).
It's time Britain started standing up for its own values.

Barbara Suzuki, Norwich/Manila, UK/Philippines

As far as i'm aware, a decision was made to encourage immigration by the fact that in years to come - given the figures at the time - there would be more elderly people in Britain than working, tax paying people. What this would mean is that there wouldn't be enough money in the Treasury to pay for such things as NHS, pensions, police and so on. In other words - no services at all or very limited services indeed! So I think that what we are seeing is the initial 'burden' (to NHS, housing etc.) of a decision that was made some considerable time ago. I agree that the majority of people in this country had no say in the matter, and they certainly should have, and, after the situation being made clear to the British people, it should have 'gone to the vote', but it didn't. If the Government had brought this to 'the table' of the people, and a JOINT decision made, it would have made a world of difference. Perhaps important matters will be a two way discussion process in future?

Tarni, London, UK

Don't forget how British immigrants acted in other lands in the past.
We didn't respect the culture of the Aborigines and the American Indians, to name just two, so why should we expect other immigrants to respect ours.
No, we stole their lands and carried out a what amounted to 'ethnic cleansing' so perhaps we are now getting a taste of our own medicine only on a much smaller scale.

R Aiken, France,

The absolute cheek of people from New Zealand and Australia moaning about mass migration to the UK. YOU are mass migrants in a foreign land too yourself. Perhaps you could all go back to the country of your origin

Raymond, Liverpool,

Could someone please explain to me how, exactly, large scale immigration benefits us, either economially or culturallyy.

Also how is immigration good or the environment?. There is only a finite amount of water or land, increasing the population in this way cannot be good for the envirohnment. All talk of climate change etc., is just that, talk, unless we begin, as individulal countries and as a world, to look at population levels.

Carol, UK,

And no one really cares...or if they do are made to feel they should suppress this 'thought crime' by the all pervasive broadcast media.
In particular hard figures, eg 200 houses per day needing to built to cope with the current inflow, are kept well out of public view - or else maybe they would begin to care...

Jake, Witney, UK

SAME HERE!
We have the same problems in the USA, due to illegal immigration.

Those who profit from cheap labour do not want any
restrictions on the supply.

In "The land of the Free and the Home of the Brave" people are increasingly afraid to speak out or to discuss anything political.

John Bull, New York, NY, USA

This is absolutely correct. We have been luck here in Australia that our Government has been tough on immigration. You come here through the proper channels, not by over staying a visa and disappearing into the community or paying the high price (often the highest there is) for a rickety boat ride from Indonesia.

Australia is a nation of immigrants and we do not particularly care of what ethnic or religious background you are so long as you put Australia before any other consideration. Immigrants are only allowed to settle where and when we are able to support them. If there is a problem we talk about it. We have learnt from problems like Cabramatta and the Bondi race riots that it is too dangerous and destructive to do otherwise.

Many culutures can live together, but you cannot have a nation that is multicultural because no one, old or new to the country, will know who they are or who they want to be.

Learn from us before it is too late!

Grant, Hobart, Tasmania Australia

No mention online yet that refers to the late Enoch Powel. I have sitting beside me a very nice young brown man and I too am a guest worker in Thailand. We are all hostages to mass immigration now. But for the record. Enoch Powel prophesised the river Tiber will flow with blood from mass immigration into England. He quoted the Roman poet Virgil in the first century B.C. The river Tiber was the mass transit of Rome of Virgil's era. I don't want to be cute about a terrible tragedy. But someone I think should bring up that man's classical reference.

llloyd, bangkok, thailand

In our repressive world of thoughtcrime and guiltspeak, it now takes great courage to tell the truth, even when it’s obvious.

I you people can't speak freely, why are you sending your family members to fight wars in Iraq and Afganistan? It seems to me the enemies of your people are in your own government. Why would you do anything that might benefit them?

Tim, Tampa,

The cost of illegals in Texas is $4,600,000,000. What is it in your County?. Plus the closing of Hospitals, new diseases, increased crime-MS13 as an example. Another question, why is the Government building houses?. They only become the slums of 5 years hence. Has anyone learned anything?. Rhetorical question as the answer is NO!.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, Usa Tx

And what other explanation could there possibly be for the obvious overcrowding of England? Just look at the trafic jams to get into major - and not so major - towns in the "rush hour", the galloping erosion of the countryside (shortly to accelerate). Not to mention the fact that almost everyone in non-police uniform is obviously not European.
Who is to blame for this state of affairs? Who voted for or against any of this? Was it on any political parties' manifesto?
Nice to see the bien pensants finally becoming as concerned as ordinary folk. Finally!

Archie, Thrapston, England

Numerous people here in the UK and in the USA are complaining about being overrun by foreigners taking of both countries' immigration generosity and porous borders. Given the inexorable increase in size of the EU and the increasing talk of Canada the US and Mexico being merged into NAFTA (with NAFTA superhighways and a Euro-like 'Amero' single currency, perhaps this is intentional? The Internet's one-world-government conspiracy theorists certainly think so.

Alex, Milton Keynes,

Eddie Pratt- An excellent response to an excellent article- right on the money!

Richard, Woodham, UK

Provide foreign language teaching? If only we could...School rolls are surveyed and the numbers counted once a year. The money that schools then receive are based on the number of pupils which they have at that cut off point. Any new arrivals, english speaking or not, attract no extra funding whatsoever.
A friend of mine teaches in an industrial town in the north west - her small high school received over 100 additional pupils last academic year, with no extra funding.
My own school, being in a semi rural area, is not eligible for 'Excellence' money because Labour is only interested in funding their own constituences in cities and urban areas. Yet our levels of deprivation far exceed that in neighbouring school, which are over the county border and in the catchment area for 'Excellence in Cities' money. We cannot apply for the Ethnic Minority grants either because it is assumed that we have no ethnic minority pupils, being in the countryside.

Sadie, UpNorth,

This is just another 'Immigration does this, Immigration does that' article.

The comments of the policewomen in cambridge have been taken out of context, she was not commplaining about the amount of immigrants coming into the country, her anger was directed at the Government who refused to give the police money to handle the amount of migrants coming into cambridg. She highlighted widely the benefits migrants rought to the town and praised their working efforts.
Stop praising the women like a martyr for 'raising the issue of immigration like no-one else has'. Don't be stupid, the topic of immigration has been around for years now. Yes, let's discuss it but can we also maybe have a bit of positive talk about migrants in general. Don't try and tell us all that we never hear the negatives of immigration. Have you ever read the Mail, or the Express? Or watched TV? Let's have a bit of balance please and a proper discussion instead of the same old rehtoric.

Annes, Northern Ireland. ,

So prevent the ghettos, help the ethnic minorities integrate, and set up some kind of test/system where immigrants must learn to speak basic english either before they come, or within the first year of their stay in the UK.

Houses running out due to immigrants- what a lot of rubbish! No the problem is that it costs about £90k more to demolish old houses and build new ones that it does to renovate, but people will insist on wasting money knocking down houses, or building them in the wrong places, or building three bedrooms for just one person to live within. The problem there is rising house prices, or unfair distribution, and its disgusting that immigrants are being used as a scapegoat.

This country woulnd't fall apart without immigration, but it wouldn't get the rubbish yet essential jobs done so efficitnely either. Then, as pointed out, we're trying to follow EU rules and have some moral responsibility over some asylum seekers. Blanket ban on immgration is not the answer!

Nasreen, London, England

Im not British. Im Polish and when reading your posts it's hard not to agree with you.
It might seem funny to comment in such a way on a subject which is ralated to me as an immigrant myself but as a person coming from a homogenous culturally and racially country I trully understand your frustration.
I just hope and pray that examples and mistakes of Britain and other West European countries will be a good lesson for the government in my own homeland.
I'm afraid it's already too late for Britain...

Chris, London,

People have been moving to the British Isles from mainland Europe and elsewhere for the last 3000 years. Long may it be so. We are all immigrants if you go back far enough. Just be glad that people want to move into the UK and that we are not losing population as we were under the ghastly Socialist experiment in the UK in the 1970s

Douglas Pointing, London, UK

Controlled, restricted immigration of highly educated persons who can contribute key skills to the economy is a good thing, but the mass influx that has entered this country since 1948 has radically changed the social structure of the nation and created a deeply divided society. Labour, since coming to power, has shown itself to be keener than ever to increase the influx, for obviously cynical electoral reasons. This situation is leading to a scenario in which extra-parliamentary action may be the only way to save this country from the social chaos that Labour is plunging it into.

Mark LV, Reading, UK

'In casting about for an answer, perhaps it’s worth considering the Mori survey into black and ethnic minority attitudes to voting and to politics at the 2005 general election. Of those who voted, 58% chose Labour, 10% Conservative. '

Silly me, I thought that you were about to launch into a serious debate on immigration until I reached your final paragraph.

David Dee, Canterbury,

What a bunch of hypocrites, the Brits had no where to go after the second world war and Canada took in millions and millions of Brits . Literally . you bump into a Brit ( irish, Scot or Londoner everywhere in Toronto ) . Only a smalll portion of immigrants cause a problem, of course you knew this already. The backlash is due to the fact that the new immigrant always wokrs harder and longer than the native and usually is seen as someone who is taking his/her job. When the Brits went to Austrailia or Canada thye were accused of being pushy, rude, know -it -alls , etc. when in fact the real issue was jealousy of there hard work ethic.
Please leave the immigrants alone, you are lucky to have immigrants. cheers,,

Jerry McCullough, St.Catharines, Ontario, Canada

There have only been restrictive immigration laws for about 100 years and many of the commentors who believe they have a right to live here in splendid isolation will have benefited from the historical welcoming of foreigners to this country. Whether immigrants have a positive or negative impact on the economy, education, health etc. is irrelevant. We have no right to say that we got here first and nobody else can enter. If you don't like living with people from other cultures, you can leave.

Rachel

ps I was amused by the conspiracy theorist who didn't believe in Home Office incompetence. He has obviously never worked there...

Rachel, London,

I completely agree.
What is Britain turning into? The answer--a dumping ground for not the best and brightest but a sordid country noted for friction,alienation and BIG problems--all associated with uncontrolled Third World immigration.The self righteous pc prigs wave their fingers and espouse their mantra of multiculturalism and diversity.The rest of us hate what is happening to our beloved Britain..

Charles, Tulsa Ok, USA

Your last paragraph, that it may be policy to allow immigration to go unchequered in order to create more Labour voters in England is Machiavellian, but not without merit. The vast number of immigrants ( legal, illegal, asylum seeker, criminal, terrorist ) settle in England. According to demographic figures Scotland is not seriously affected. The quality of life and erosion of nationality is confined to England.

Government funding is already being transfered away from Southern England to the northern Labour heartlands, and Scotland is the beneficiary after application of the Barnet formula, and the West Lothian question, so the weakening of political opposition in England wthout disturbing their homeland - Scotland, is the natural progression towards the final solution.

Harry Maddock, Bristol,

Unfortunately the illegal immigrants arriving in the UK and not only living here at the taxpayer’s expense but receiving all kinds of benefits on Earth and the government losing control of them will lead to bizarre and nonsensical legislation being passed. The government require these zombies to run their workforce which their own citizens can’t. Furthermore it is the intelligent and qualified people that are no longer required. Their skills, talents and potential is put to no use because the outlets through which these were channelled in the past have been closed or privatised by Labour so they now run on minuscule funding that boils down to membership fees of a few aged individuals who know that the world they inhabit is doomed.

Rehan Qayoom, LONDON, United Kingdom

Precisely the same things are happening here in the U.S.A. We've been sold down the river by elitist governments who seek to boost the profits of corporations and their affluent officers and shareholders via cheap labour while forcing less-educated natives out of work. The result is that the middle class is all but disappearing, and natives are being forced out of our larger cities into smaller towns and rural areas where crime and social bedlam are not yet rampant and costs of living are not yet untenable (save for the immigrants from Third World nations who are wiling to live like animals in overcrowded squalor and filth because, compare to life in, say, Guatemala, such conditions in the U.S.A. are downright luxurious (especially with all the goodies thrown in by tax-paying natives: food stamps, welfare checks, schooling and hospital care, etc.).

I expect in 2020 or so we'll all meet up somewhere in Wyoming to make one last stand against the immivasion.

Shannon, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A.

I think every country these days need immigrants, and not at all is a drunk, bad guy whatever have serious people move to another country to make part this new society, working, learn new language and culture and pay tax. So u can look, immigration make part of this world, and dont have just immigrants in 1st world, have many immigrants in 3rd world like Brazil, Argentina and maybe u dont know have many illegal immigrats there.
Immigration today is not exclusive problem from 1st world.
Principal in Europe because here dont have young people, it is a big preocupation about future in Europe, right? One country can't survive without youngs..

But I need agree have many bads immigrants all around the world, just move to another countries to make bad things, but not at all. Have good people just wait receive one opportunity.

Sérgio Morais, Konstanz, Germany / Baden-Württemberg

The crucial point avoided by all politicians is that the whole world is vastly overpopulated, and Britain, together with Western Europe, both having welfare states are magnets to those countries that are breeding themselves into poverty, at one and a half extra mouths to feed every week.
I can see no way of avoiding armed conflict, when too many world citizens keep chasing too few
goods. To prove my point check on world commodity prices over the last 5 years. I'll vote for any political party that has a population policy.
It's no good the PM shouting about 'growth. it's growth per head that counts!

David Vinter, Louth, Lincs., UK.

I have always believed in multiculturism, and the benefits to all, but now believe that with the sudden explosion of new immigrants we should stop immigration for a period. This would enable the education, housing, health and other parts of society to play catch up.

We cannot, financially or logically keep allowing the current surge to continue, where will all these new people live? Make our own young work and not pay them benefits. I see daily young men and women not working, but still living well.
If there is work for all the newcomers, then make an english person available first. Three refusals for work, then drop benefits accordingly, there must be a point where it is worthwhile to work!

bee, Newcastle, UK

Isn't it a clear case of climbing the moral high ground when there appear to be no grounds?! In Indian newspapers ,umpteen advertisements appear calling for chefs,bakers,cleanrs,nurses and an assortment of "brown skinned charlies" to work in Britain.What could be the reason? Shortage of British born and bred men and women or the inability of the native popualtion to take up jobs labelled " only for third world blighters"? Whatever the reason it is apparent that migration happens because of necessity at both ends,the migrants looking forward to a better future and the natives looking to ride on the coattails of cheap and readily available labour. And if Britain is witness to a potpouri of tongues and if local schools bristle with the floatsam and jetsam of several countries, aren't British policies vis-a-vis the poor nations to blame? Where can a Somalian or Iraqi or Palestinian head except to a country where he can bide his time till some semblance of peace returns to his country?

Vishwanathan, secunderabad, India

Kevin O'Neill, London, wrote, "Ask a nurse how she feels to serve only foreigners and be treated like dirt".

Funny that. I spent this summer doing work experience at a hospital (i hope to read medicine at university) and often found myself appalled by the attitude and behaviour of BRITISH nurses, who would often patronise and condescend to patients and generally deny them any dignity or respect and then go back to the nurses station and complain about them! If they weren't being rude to patients they were complaining about them at the nurses' station.

On the other the hand, the 'foreigners', mainly Filipino, nurses were always jovial and respectful, never complained or moaned, and never lounged round while there was work to do (ie never outside their lunch breaks). The thing that most appalled me was the general disdain many British nurses had towards the elderly patients who had been admitted not because of any illness but whose families had simply got fed up and dumped them in A&E.

Dorothea, London,

The really depressing thing is that we only just seem to have woken up to the fact that Labour, and Labour Councils, encourage immigration for the guaranteed votes that it provides, and that will keep them in office, more or less unchallenged, possibly forever. Secondly, without condoning Enoch Powells rivers of blood speech, it seems to me that Trevor Phillips' speech a couple of years back on the same subject was practically the same as Powells, barring the language used. Yet Powell's career ended while Phillips' flourishes. We have now reached a stage where only a black man can say what a white man can't, or is not allowed to, neither now, nor forty years ago. How could this state of affairs ever have come about?

Robert, London, England

Its till the Government put a stop to immigrants coming into the country. When they arrive they receive newly decorated, furnished, and equiped homes, and are given money.
On the other hand the people here requiring homes, are handed keys to some of the most disgracefully decorated homes imaginable, are given no allowance or time to rectify this and not given any assistance with furnishing, etc.

Its time we looked after our own, FIRST.

JOHNSON, Tipton, West Midlands

One of the problems / challenges that we have is that the majority of white British youth has an "attitude" nowadays to manners, disipline, respect for ones elders, learning at school, training for a job/career etc

The families from India and Pakistan, China and Korea insist on hard work and respect and have a level of disipline in the home that is totally absent in the average UK /secular home.

Young even pre-school childreare left at home with computer games and junk food, and parents who probably grew up in the same way without proper parenting, meals, disipline and without respect for anybody - not family nor school nor authority of any kind.

These youngsters are high when they start school, and are dependent on fast moving action at home and cannot settle down in a quiet classroom to listen. Listening is an essential skill that they have never learned.

We have two lost generations and we need to have compulsory parenting classes for pregnant mothers NOW

Patricia Niblock, Edinburgh, Midlothian

The current situation of open doors for all is clearly failing and I'm not sure I agree with Ms Marrin that one would be called a neo-nazi for saying this. Rather, I believe such accusations come about when the proffered solution is merely to close the gates and throw away the key. Neither extreme is economically or socially responsible or beneficial to anyone. Rather, the acceptance process should be shaken up; those with little or nothing to add to society except crime and benefit strain should clearly not be let in, while those with skills needed by Britain (for example, doctors) should.

Abioye A Oyetunji, London, UK

I believe that New Labour knows exactly what it is doing. While it often talks tough on immigration, as it knows how unpopular it is, it has engineered an astonishing change to the population of Britain. And this new population is predominantly Labour voting. It has exploited political correctness to stifle criticism from legitimate sources and, as usual, used the civil service to deny/alter/fudge the facts on the matter until it can no longer hide the truth.

Richard John, London,

Canada manages this every year with very little social stress and upheaval. But we DO have more room and we DO NOT have quite so much bureaucracy.

Tpl, Guelph, Canada

To Peter Gardner from Oxford;

The EU is not to blame on this one, sorry. You mention the rules regarding free movement of people and labour, which is an integral part of the Schengen agreement, in which the UK does NOT take part (hence the closed borders). The rest of Europe allowed, and continues to allow, the UK to be an exception to rules that apply to almost every other member state.

The EU has a lot of faults which is something I, as a Dutchman, am very well aware of. But for once Brussels isn't to blame. Not in the UK's case anyway.

Erik, The Hague, Netherlands

Minette

An English teacher I know who works in Bratislava bought three flats there. This is an example of a much larger trend of English money buying up lots of land and housing in Eastern europe, this trend has meant property prices in Bratislava have risen 40% in the last year alone pushing the price above what is affordable for first time buyers. What do young Slovakian people do? They come to London to earn money for a deposit on a flat, thats what! If you are going to complain about migration then at least admit the part the english people who 'dont ask for it' actually play in it.

John , london,

Immigration is the most important issue facing UK society. This Labour government has an irresponsibly lax policy immigration and the results are socially very negative, as Minette Marrin articulately points out here.

And the prospects are worse, as Brown's government campaigns enthusiastically for the entry of 80 million Turks into the EU; and Brown supports last week's proposal from the EU Commission that an additional 20 million Asian and African immigrants be allowed to come to the EU over the next 10 years. And the Labour government will have no control over how many of them come to easy-touch Britain.

George R, Lancaster, England

Adriana of Barcelona, if I decided to come to Spain, would I get immediate free health care, housing benefits, child benefits and all the other things that we hand out? Would I be provided with a translator at taxpayers, expense whenever I needed to make a claim of deal with the authorities? If not, why not, seeing as the benefits of having immigrants are so obvious?

Dave Proctor, Leeds,

I am currently working in Delhi. A consultant I work with here commented how his children are studying in London and he thinks its great that London is multicultural. I asked him if he hoped Delhi might become like that. "Oh no, I am Indian so I want Delhi to just remain Indian" he replied.

I think that summarizes the problem of multiculturalism rather well - other nationalities want to be accepted in the UK but don't wish to accept others in their home countries.

Carly, delhi,

White Brits have long been pretty self-hating and guilty. Take language. Huge fortunes are spent on translating and interpreting for any old bod arriving in the UK. The long-suffering taxpayer pays, naturally. The beneficiary, on arrival, hasn't contributed a penny.
I spend much of the year in France. There's not one smidgen of a concession made to non-French speakers. You deal with the Tresor Public? You speak French. You go into a shop? You speak French. You join the library? You speak French. And quite right. You're in France; the French speak French; it's the established language. If you don't like it, don't go there. Or, go there, but don't expect everyone else to pay to accommodate your ignorance of the language. Britain is upside down and illogical: it's not unfair for the country to withhold language services; it's unfair of others to arrive unprepared and expect the host population to fund them.

cath, london, uk

Robert Davids says, "I went ...... all the Nurses were Siri Lankan Filipino and other non British born subjects of her Majesty the Queen."
Sadly David, I'm English but my status as a subject was stripped from me by the EU. In my passport it clearly says I am a citizen.
My question is how can they get in as subjects, when the English are denied this title?

Tariq, ashford,

There are many languages spoked in my son's school. It has enriched his education.

peter lee, Liverpool, UK

It is straight out of Economics 101 that Big Business wants as much immigration as possible in order to maintain an excess of employable population in order to keep wages down and thereby profits up. As long as business - as opposes to state and community - runs a nation there will always be excessive immigration -sometimes it's called divide and conquer.- and as the Bible story of Babylon points out, it means the death of a culture.

Amos Dyer, Frankfurt, Germany

Minette Marrin, you have spoken volumes in a very good article.

People in the UK cannot fail but to agree with what you say but for the life of me I cannot understand why Labour is riding so high in the polls. The CRE speak of growing ethnic segregation and growing extremism and I think extremism in political terms is on its way. Who knows, we may have a BNP member or two of parliament after the next general election. That would really concentrate Mr Brown's mind on the issue as nothing else seems to.
The British people must resort to the only weapon they have left at the polling booth.

Nigel Graham-Miller, Valencia, Spain

Sarah N says: "No British person is willing to work for the slavery wages that these employers offer...." So, why are people from abroad willing to work for these "slavery wages"? Because wages are so much lower in their countries than ours. Does anyone ever stop to wonder whether we're all paying ourselves far too much? On the radio the other day I even heard a commentator on the Lib Dems' conference questioning whether £70,000 was really a high wage! And how are Brits able to refuse low-paid jobs - could our social service provision be too generous by any chance?

Barry, Wallington, UK

quite right john hall ; this explains why the USA is such an impoverished failure of a country ...by being multiracial/cultural/faith as you put it...
no doubt they will soon be appealing to the UK for marshall aid
we should , of course ,have course pulled up the drawbridge and faded quietly away , dreaming of our lost empire which was , in reality , a drain on our resources

colin, paris,

If an immigrant family gets a house before a British one, that's because their need is greater.

Colin, Shrewsbury,

Well maybe we shouldn't be importing people who can't support themselves and then claim benefits (including housing) that neither they nor their family paid tax towards. It's outrageous that a British family in need should be forced to wait longer than a new arrival- I wouldn't expect to turn up in Canada homeless and penniless and be housed, let alone ahead of a Canadian.

Dan, Oxford, England

Minette writes: "Apparently this came as a surprise to the presenter Jeremy Paxman. Liam Byrne then pointed out that Gordon Brown has promised to build 3m new homes."

Jeremy Paxman is not of English descent. Liam Byrne is not of English descent. Gordon Brown is not of English descent. The 3 million homes are to be built in England.

Andrew Green says that a million are for new immigrants. But how many of the rest are for holders of British passports who are not of English descent?

The English are being race replaced - not by accident, not because immigration is some unstoppable force of Nature, but because the power elites WANT it.

I am a blogger who asserts the moral right of the English to England every day of my life. All who read this, please do likewise. It is NEVER too late to pursue one's own rights and interests, and NOT too late to speak the truth about immigration.

Guessedworker, Lewes, England

Erm,

1. On housing shortage: Let's be honest, there's already a shortage of builders. If it wasn't for the Polish, who would be building these new houses?
2. Half the tales I hear are of 30 Poles cramming into a single house and sleeping in shifts. That's hardly contributing to the housing shortage! In Manchester, about 1/3 City centre apartments are empty buy-to-let properties that no one is renting. That causes a shortage.
3. Reports from most areas suggest that the Poles (etc) are fairly unique migrants in that they are young and don't intend to move here permanently. The issue of pensions etc just doesn't matter, in that case.

The Cambridgeshire police DO have a point when they talk about different attitude to, say, drink driving or conflict resolution are causing problems and so they need more resources. I think it's a bit far fetched to say all the UK's problems are because of immigrants. They said it about the Huguenots, Jews and Irish too and society didn't collapse

Liz Ford, Manchester,

What's happening now is nothing. Wait until the 'softening' of the economy becomes a recession.

You think 200-plus skilled Brits leaving everyday for lives in other countries is a lot?

John, London, UK

I am English but I live abroad now. I am too saddened by what I see in my native country to want to return there. I am proud of being English and remember my childhood and early adulthood with affection. The Country was ruined by the Socialist politicians. They will howl in protest at this accusation but everyone else knows its true. The problem is the politicians would rather argue about why they are not to blame rather than take the necessary action.
I can't believe they have actually made me think that B N P might be talking sense.

Riley, Kyiv, Ukraine

Thank-you for saying this, please keep highlighting it.
We bloggers are constantly pointing this out , there is to be a referendum rally in London on the 27th October for this very problem & I hope there will be a huge turn out

http://uk.messages.news.yahoo.com/Domestic/threadview?m=tm&bn=UKN-DOM-p
Please try to be there.

WE WILL HAVE A REFERENDUM !!!

Maggie Millington, Brittany , France

Mass immigration elicits from me a cynical response: " dear immigrants, welcome to the land of the free, and don't forget to vote for us in the next election. Don't mind us if we introduce ID cards so that we can keep an eye on you, either: its for your own safety and for the good of your new homeland".
There is no problem with careful immigration per se, if said immigrants are screened carefully to gauge their command of the native tongue, educational qualifications, general health, prior criminal records (if any) and number of dependents etc. The free-for-all welcomed - positively encouraged by the Labour government over the past ten years appears to have taken few, if any of these factors into consideration, creating a state of undeniable tension. Not only are we challenged in terms of available land, healthcare and benefits but we are, through failing to challenge this government, complicit in the eradication of England - its values, cultures and sentiments. What do we have left?

Mara MacSeoinin, Cambridge,

Referring the article “Too late to speak the truth about immigration”, I think that the wrong question is being posed, rather is it too late for a socially cohesive, lawful, and successful United Kingdom?
Immigration is only one of a long list of woes that now beset this unfortunate nation.

Isn’t it the case that for as long as may be noted, we have been sleepwalking into the notion that we have a real democracy, if this were so why do we not have the death penalty?

Why despite the fact that I and others when we last had the opportunity, voted for an entirely different European arrangement than is now the reality, this new reality incorporating the transfer of significant amounts (most?) of our National Sovereignty to an unelected and undemocratic super- state in the making; precisely when did we get to vote for that?
Can anyone remember being given a choice as to whether we wanted a multiracial, multicultural country incorporating all the novel and restrictive laws on our supposed right to the freedom of speech and thought?

With regard to the skills shortage this nation is supposedly experiencing, and this being used by politicians to justify endless inward migration, why does the question of why this should be so - despite all the years in government that the current crop of politicians have enjoyed- is never be properly addressed, nor indeed is challenged by the opposition?

In the writer’s opinion there are two reasons for the intractable situation we now face, these being firstly, the misleading and self aggrandizing weasels that pass for politicians who “know” better than the electorate that they are supposed to represent.
The second reason is, the electorate who turn out in their millions at election after election to vote for these beasts and do not seem to able to perceive that they have not been given a real choice with regard to the policies of the supposedly respectable “main” political parties.
The writer in conclusion considers the term “parliamentary democracy” an oxymoron and will not in the future waste any more time with this failed and dishonest process, his only wish being that others will follow him and suggests a good motto - “just say no”.
We have been failed for the last time.
Mike Humphries.

Mike Humphries, Wrexham, United Kingdom

Hats off to Julie Spence ! The problem is the exact same in Canada.

Harry Schneider, Mississauga,Ont, Canada

several large cities will have a majority non white population? What the hells that got to do with anything?Many more cities around the world have always had this & they are no better or worse than anywhere else.A good article spoiled by the skin colour crap that has no possible bearing on the subject.

paul t, estoher, france

This once was a pleasant country which I now no longer recognise. The net result of the mass immigration we have seen in the last 10 years is a modest increase in economic activity (much touted by politicians and the pro-immigrant lobby) offset by mass importation of poverty, crime and disease.... and that's before you add the cost of overburdened and failing infrastructure and social breakdown. As we head into the next inevitable recession breaking point will soon follow - social unrest like we've never seen in this country... You have been warned.

James C, Bracknell, England

The problm is exacerbated by immigration but the truth is that housing in the UK is a scandal and the restrictive practices that exist to protect the privileged are preventing many British people from getting much-needed 'affordable' (subsidised) housing. We must build a lot more houses, and decent ones, not the cheap rubbish we so often see in the private sector. Sorting out the planning system would be a sensible first step as would a national minimum specification for houses, costed by the Treasury. As for immigrants, is anyone seriously suggesting that we should allocate housing on a basis other than need? If an immigrant family gets a house before a British one, that's because their need is greater.

Colin, Shrewsbury,

Minette asks: "Who wanted it? Who is responsible for it? And why?"

Our governing elites wanted it. The ruling passions of our political, business and cultural elites are internationalism, anti-racism and cheap labour.

Do not give your vote to any politician who will not clearly say that he is AGAINST race replacement immigration, AGAINST anti-racism and FOR the rights and the interests of Britain's three native peoples.

Guessedworker, Lewes, England

As regards the reference to Enoch Powell's " Rivers of Blood" speech (a heavily selective, out of context soundbite if ever there was one), do the 50 + dead and all of the maimed on 7/7 not constitute sufficient blood for that phrase to have been proved accurate ? If not, consideration should perhaps be given to all those who would have had their blood spilled had all of the other recent attempted terrorist atrocities been successful.

Edward Johns, Lannion, France

Foresaking the arguments of the benefits / deficits of imigration on the community / country as a whole. If imigration is out of control, exactly how's the government going to address it? A points based system is all very well and good but without a decent border police, who's going to stop those who don't qualify simply walking in?

Too much like closing the stable door after the horse is long, long gone!!!

If I were Gordon Brown I'd thank Good Ol' Tony for another fine mess!

Anthony, northants,

Latvia's two largest cities have one, non-native language (russian) speaking majority and other largest cities are close to that situation too. And this is the result of immigration during occupation - not immigration to free country like Britain.
I hope your own problems at last will help get better understanding of roots of "nationalism" in Eastern Europe.:):(

Roberts, Riga, Latvia

Whenever such a debate erupts I almost instinctively run down the contributions mailed. It doesn’t take long to detect the contributors’ background and heritage before I go on to read their names. I wished I wouldn’t run the risk of patronising this paper’s readers, but I think I inevitably will. You see, the lines are usually already drawn: at the red corner are immigrants, Britons of an ethnic minority or yours truly our most liberal-minded Blairites and merry Cool Brittaniacs would react the way they usually do, the scale ranging from feeling hard done-by to down right incensed by such an article. At the blue corner are Middle England, or simply those fed up with this (and, if this makes you feel any better, former) government’s failure to tackle immigration issue and are glad that at last somebody is speaking up for them. So to speak.
I’m not British, but I have lived in the UK long enough not just to soak up the values that have endeared this country to me, but also to witness some negative aspects. Living where I am at the moment and having seen much of Europe, I have only this to say: you chose to live in Britain. Those in the second or third immigrant generation, well, you didn’t necessarily chose to do so. But, surely, you are capable of looking for a more tolerant and just and cool place! Though, don’t fool yourself and believe you will actually succeed. For my part, I would bide my time here, relishing the prospect of return.

Aziz
Munich, Germany

Aziz Ibrahim, Munich, Germany

To Bill Carr: As a retired teacher who did not go to the Costa Brava and relax forevermore, but also as an American who has been here for 42 years maybe I can say something without getting my head bitten off. I now am a marker: it takes up 6 weeks of my time and i see a good cross section of school's work. I have to mark impartially. That does not mean I mark blind. We are told what to look for: we are also, by deduction, told what to ignore. Spelling, except for 7 marks, being a case in point. (Let me finish!)

So I get to look at all types of schools: I had one where there were so many children of the same name I had to go on birthdates (and sometimes perhaps even sex). I found no difference between schools where the Islamic intake was high and the English schools. In fact they performed on a high average level. I was delighted to mark these papers: they were very illuminating. I have had others with various circumstances (not ESOL) and I have marked fairly in all instances.

Carlyle Braden, Croydon, England

Securing a country's borders is the first, most basic job of any government. If they can't accomplish this then they lapse into what is termed a 'failed state'. What does this say about Labour's competence, especially since we live on an island?!

James, Newcastle,

David Vinter
I beleive there is at least some sense in my comment about the British people establishing themselves, lets say in Spain which is the case I know better. For many years I have been happily working with British young women who came here to work and either founded a family here marriying the locals or brought their family from Britan. What I wanted to say with my comment is that before we criticize what others do we might like to look at what we do ourselves. We have among us Britons of all ages and from all walks of life.
I have been an emmigrant for the most part of my life not out of neccesity but because I like learning how other cultures live and I strongly feel that people should be free to search for the best for them and their kin and as long as some parts of the globe are in the mess they are in there will be people wanting to migrate. Given opportunies for a good life most people will choose to stay where they belong.
Best wishes to you.

Txaro, Menorca, Spain

The idea that it is ' just the same' when UK citizens settle, say in Spain. Is nonsense. In that case generally an older couple go out with substantial capital, being close to retirement may settle for say 10 years.
On the other hand we have immigrants coming here, needing housing, mostly without capital, and intending to breed !

David Vinter, Louth, Lincs., UK.

Some of these comments are absolutely disgusting, and whilst I am no 'older' reader I am informed enough to know that Enoch Powell's 'rivers of blood' speech was a prime example of racial intolerance and scare-tactics and rightfully cost him his job. This article made me feel sick throughout. You fail to mention one good thing immigrants have done for this country (2 billion more in tax revenue than taken out in benefits? doing some of the most difficult jobs for the lowest pay) and as the child of two indian immigrants who have given 23 years continuous service to the NHS, without any state aid, i feel - as i'm sure many other immigrants do - unwelcome. Funding for language translation in the cambridgeshire police force (and may i cite that one of crimes mentioned was the rather anticlimatic 'traffic offences') is a question of monetary shortages: it was never made a poltiical dilemma of our country sinking with immigrants. The quote from Migrationwatch added a nice, impartial touch.

Natasha , London, England

Control of borders,more like that have lost control of everything except parts of the media who slavishly regurgutate what they are told without any investigation.
Labour has done as it has always done,thown money at every problem thinking by doing that the problem gets solved.They have made lots of new laws without any idea how ti implement them.
Labour has shown itself as being into control but have little idea how to effectively manage any part of the actual government.

Nigel Wheatcroft, wimbledon, uk

New Labour haven't "lost" control of our borders. This implies that they intend to control immigration but are unable to do so. Given their general stupidity and incompetence, this is plausible. However, it isn't the case. The mass influx of people into Britain since New Labour assumed power has been deliberate. It is a simple matter to control a nations borders if there is a will to do so. This will arises from the fundamental belief in the concept of nation, and the corollary that a nation must have the right to control who does and does not enter its territory.

This was central to Western conservative thought for hundreds of years. New Labour aren't a nationalist party. They are globalists with no loyalty to Britain and the British people. Mass immigration to the West is central to the globalist agenda, and is welcomed by Leftist low-lifes who see it as a perfect vehicle with which to effect the ruin of traditional Western civilisation.

Mark B, Romford,

This analogy is no more than headline grabbing attention. The point here is management and lack of planning. The same argument applies when Britons settles in Spain or Australia. Our government must establish controls over east European immigrants. Their arrivals was never matched government contingency measures. This new culture of EU free movement must be reconsidered again by the British government.

h marph, LONDON,

Post-colonial cringe has made the country suicidal. The worst danger is Britain's failure to recognize the concerted threat from Islam. See a group of muslim women walking Oxford Street in full black? Our British vaguely agnostic/post-Christian response is that such a sight is a sign of our tolerant, mixed society. But that sight to a Muslim means Britain is, or will soon be, a Muslim country. It is 1428 in the Islamic calendar. Islam is still an active, crusading religion. It is not a clapped-out omni-tolerant church like Anglicanism. They mean business.

Tom, London,

Older readers may remember Enoch Powell who warned of all this long ago.

Jim Manners, Adelaide, Australia

They're importing voters. They haven't lost control. It's deliberate

Mr Jones, London,

Would a civil war be justified?

Kevin Smith, London, England

In the midst of the complexity of immigration issues, two general principles stand out: you can't have a welfare state with unchecked immigration (Milton Friedman stated this first) and second, the immigrants must either assimilate or else provoke civil unrest eventually.
Both these truths are operative in the long run (fifty years or so) and hence usually overlooked by most politicians of the day.
The first principle is what the article is about and it already seems to bear on British society: in the foreseeable future affordable housing together with many welfare services are bound to disappear, the necessary large (tax-payer's) sums of money and cohesion of society (political will) no longer being there to uphold them. The poor will suffer.
The second rears its ugly head from time to time in the ghettoes.
A good deal of the comers from Eastern Europe may assimilate (acqire the language and marry indegenously), whereas a large number of settlers from Asia probably will not.

Leif Jacobsen, Copenhagen, Denmark

The truth is that immigration is a necessity. Just as we have a surplus in skills for some employment areas, we have shortages in others. One area, for example, is in the NHS where we need to attract doctors and nurses from other countries. When I was recently attending hospital, my nurse was Spanish and my doctor was Croatian. Of course we need to try to make sure we only allow the people with the skills we need to come and work here. I thought this was what the Home Office was planning to do with the introduction of it's points based system, where potential immigrant workers apply for entry to the country and only those who score sufficient points will be given permission?

den, Fry, Ulster

@Kenneth. Many of those illegal immigrants are Iraqi. So Why did they left their country ? Do the British army get some Visa from someone before going to Iraq.
Did immigrants largued bombs and massacred British people before and after landing in the UK ? Did they caused a such fiasco to the British population?
There is a economic benefits due to immigration which you can't deny it.

Soufiene, Paris, France

To billcarr,
I am a teacher and nearly your age. I am a language teacher and have specialized in teaching a language as a second language (not English, I am not English as you can see). There is a lot of bibliography and experiences on how to integrate students who are not natives in a language class. Have you heard of collaborative learning, for instance?
It only requires love for teaching and for the students(all of them, the natives speakers and the foreigners, there are many things we can learn from foreing students) and doing courses to up date your methods. It requires to take your profession and job as a challenge, as an opportunity to build a better world. I don't know you, but I wouldn't like my children to grow up in a world that discrimates and doesn' t respect cultural diversity.
it is going to be the school of the future and we have to accept it and of course demand the government to give us the tools for a better job, but also do our best! Teaching is not a paper work!

Adriana, Barcelona, España

You choose to live in a different Country, you obey the laws and learn the language. It's really not that difficult is it? Maybe it is socially acceptable to drink and drive, carry a knife etc in other cultures- so what? I don't want 'diversity' in these matters- I want conformity. Conformity wih the law and conformity with BRITISH cultural norms and expectations. Ignorance of the law has never been a defence for people born in Britain- stop making excuses for foreign nationals.

Dan, Oxford, England

The fact that we speak the second language of the whole world and the language of the dominant superpower causes UK to be much more attractive than the rest of Europe.

Steve Bush, Cirencester, UK

Nick Parker, Dublin, Ireland i don't recal the Irish being native to Austrlia New Zealand North America and various other countries around the world ; perhaps they should all return to Ireland and let the natives of those countries regain their lands. I still recall the racist feelings towards the Irish during the 60's and the IRA bombings during the 70's and 80's, from a country not to far away that had no wish to share Irish culture.

Alan D'Sa, Wilderness, South Africa

Let's face it, the only reason immigrants are blamed for the state of this nation is that otherwise the Brits would have to do something about it.

I'm an immigrant. I work, pay taxes, do a job none of the Brits can do (how's your Dutch?), and I know plenty of Brits who live in Holland. Stop being so xenophobic, treat people with respect, and maybe look abroad (gasp) to solve your problems. This country is about 50 years behind on a lot of things.

starling, Lancaster,

The programme of mass immigration sends out a message to the workers of this country: you are expendable. The erosion of the working class is one of the great unwritten stories of the last thirty years. The liberal media and institutions that wield a hegemonic grasp on what is allowed to be said and not said (the BBC, the Guardian, agents of bureaucracy such as the CRE) send out an unremitting message that immigration is good. What is never asked is “who is it good for?” “Is it good for everybody equally?” The truth is that mass immigration benefits the select few: the pop stars who get cheap nannies, the fat cat industrialists, the boutique multiculturalists whose sole contact with immigrants is in the fancy restaurant. All the cant about enrichment and vibrancy is the ideological patina to the material reality: capitalism loves cheap labour. I would love a survey done to find out exactly where all the liberal propagators of mass immigration actually reside. Do they live in the areas of the country they have “enriched” or do they choose to live in their cosy suburbs and villages

Eddie Pratt, Bath, UK

It is fascinating to find The Times columnist surprised about ethnic minorities voting intentions. Of course the minorities are unlikely to vote Conservative - because of Conservative's stance on immigration. Because of their anti-immigration rhetoric, the Tories have lost the vote of the minorities. And Labour was an opportunistic party co collect the vote.

Alex, London, UK

And yet should the latest opinion poll be an accurate spectrum of current opinion in this country Labour would win a general election by a landslide .
Those whom the gods would destroy they first send to sleep.

Steve, Sutton Coldfield,

It was the Tories who stated this madness in the 50/60's
importing huge numbers of Indian and Pakistani workers for our industries, chiefly the cotton and wool millls. These migrants have had two generations to integrate and the Indians have to a large extent. The Muslims have not and hav e no desire to do so. It is the grandchildren of these people (who theoretically should now be integrated) who now want to destroy our British society which they despise, by hoping to turn us into a Sharia law country. No alcohol, no pork and no free association of the sexes. They will of course fail, but the amount of mayhem they can create in trying does not bare thinking about.
Thatcher also created the housing shortage by selling off council property and forbidding local councils to use the money to build more housing, this is never referred to in the adulation poured out every time Thatcher is mentioned.The many disastrous policies of that era lead directly to the problems we have today.

billcarr, turku, finland

Adriana.
I assume you are not a teacher so you cannot visualise the difficulties of trying to teach a class where the kids speak say 10 languages none of which said teacher is proficient in. As a teacher of 45 yrs experience, I can tell you it is impossible and the native speakers will suffer while you are trying to teach the
non English speakers. The latter do not progress in English because ouside school hours they only associate with their compatriates and family who also do not speak English so there is little reinforcement or incentive.
It is hard enough even teaching a class where all the kids speak English!

billcarr, turku, finland

Your final paragraph hits the nail on the head - and is something I have been saying for the past 10 years. The government made a cynical and very deliberate decision when it came to power to attempt to change UK voting patterns by in effect importing large numbers of new voters, the vast majority of whom would be their natural supporters. Cleverly they have hidden the policy behind a smokescreen of supposid incompetence - the idea that they somehow 'lost control of the UK's borders' (hence the pretend gnashing and wailing these past years over the failure of border policing etc etc). The latter was all a calculated sham - a policy of take the heat over so called incompetent Home Office action, whilst ensuring a built in electoral majority for the forseeable future. Nothing on this scale of deception has been practiced on UK electoral patterns since the days of the Rotten Boroughs and yet most remain totally blind to it.

Andy Hamilton, Nelson New Zealand, New Zealand

This labour government is responsible for a rise in racism and the membership of the BNP. As for all this rubbish that immigration is good for the economy, just take a good look at the facts, police, hospitals,schools, housing are completely over run. What do we get from this Labour government 'multiculturism is something we should be proud of and all embrace'. Absolute rubbish! They have completely lost the plot and after ten years have ruined this once wonderful country.
As for looking for answers to the immigration question, it's a bit like Brown now saying he intends to do something about the NHS, DOH!!! He's been doing that for the last ten years. Just stop anymore getting in and help those already here to go back to where they came from, it's the only way now.

d case, newquay,

What the Labour party has done to the English people is unforgivable, having given away our country merely to give themselves a monopoly on power in what is supposed to be a democracy,part of the reason they have got away with it is by branding all opposition as racist and employing P.C. as a weapon to destroy opposition, which has worked in silencing even the offiucial opposition in parliament, it is no wonder they dont want anyone talking about it. Future historians will see the facts of this and recognise an evil bigger than any event to have taken place in a "democracy".

robert, ashford, u.k

It is NOT and must never be too late to discuss issues that are of considerable importance to the indigenous population of this country because it impinges on our lives. We have witnessed inordinate levels of immigration in the last decade; until 1997 annual immigration to the United Kingdom was, for the most part, steady at around 40,000 per annum but since 1998 it has increased considerably, by 8 to 10 times that figure, to between 320,000 and 570,000 per annum. It means that over the last decade, according to ONS figures, some 5 to 6 million immigrants, that is legal immigrants because we have no idea how many illegal immigrants have arrived in the same time frame, arrived in the UK and that is what has led to unacceptable levels of pressure on public services such as housing, health, education and even social services. Statistics also indicate that 1 in 11 people in the UK were born outside of this country and we are in danger of losing our culture, creeds, customs and traditions.

Kenneth, Suffolk, England

Is this supposed to be a serious analysis: that the disgraceful neglect of UK housing policy in the last 20 years is caused by immigration? There are many reasons for the current set of housing problems, including the formative period of Thatcherite economic policy, but one thing is clear: Britain alone is responsible for its own mess! Most, if not all, of the mass immigration into the UK in recent years was necessitated by emigration of skilled, semi-skilled and retired Brits. Is it even rational, let alone fair, to blame the new immigrants who have been supporting the economy for the UK's bad management over the last few decades?

Martin Baldwin-Edwards, Athens, Greece