My little corner of West Yorkshire is a strange little bubble largely populated by white, middle-class liberals. In nearby Halifax, Bradford and Keighley there is a large Asian and ethnic population and, sadly, lots of support for the BNP.
The way to counter racism is not by pandering to dog-whistle attitudes of the kind espoused by the Daily Mail yet today the Mail is positively triumphalist at the news the Government is to crack down even further on benefits and housing for immigrants.
Under new legislation announced by Minister Phil Woolas, some immigrants will have wait up to 10 years for the right to claim UK benefits and council housing
All legal migrants will have to serve a five year 'probationary citzienship' before being considered for a passport.Some will be eligible for benefits one or two years afterwards.
But others will have to wait another five years before they can claim any benefits at all.
Mr Woolas is quoted thus 'Entitlement to benefits should be for citizens of our country, not other people. If you are a citizen you have earned the right to benefits. People must show they are here to work.'
Such rhetoric is singularly unhelpful and profoundly distasteful from a Labour Minister . In areas like West Yorkshire, it can only serve to fuel the racism of the BNP. If we're in favour of "Hope Not Hate" this is not the way to go.
Monday, 8 December 2008
DOG WHISTLE POLITICS CAN ONLY AID THE BNP
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2 comments:
Very true.
Even aside from the moral issue, the government seem to think that "talking tough" on immigration will help Labour save votes from going to the BNP.
On the contrary, the more Labour talks in the same terms as the BNP, the more it legitimises their policies and language, and the better they will perform electorally.
I agree, but I'd add that I don't think West Yorkshire is atypical and it fuels the rise of the BNP everywhere.
As for "if you're a citizen you have earned the right to benefits", I don't think James Purnell would agree with that! More like "if you're a citizen we'll let you earn your benefits if you do as we say"!
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