Ultimately, this is not just about immigration to the UK. People will always seek safer and better lives for themselves. I arrived in Britain over 3 decades ago from a former colony, which was politically unstable. The reasons for its instability can be laid squarely at Europe's feet.
While I was fortunate enough to make most of the chances available, it would have been useful then to have been given a chance of legitimately working. Instead, I was treated like a petty criminal every time I mentioned the 'e' word. Yet, personal resourcefulness stopped me from being a state burden.
Europe, including the UK and most of the so-called 'developed' world, continue to exploit my country. UK has vast manufacturing interests there, yet fails to pay workers the recommended minimum wage. It gets around this by hiring workers though 'local' contractors. I cant begin to imagine what tax avoidance must be like.
By perpetuating old colonial methods, deliberately keeping people poor simply by not giving them a living wage or a fair price for their goods, the UK is creating conditions for further immigration. Naturally, at the earliest possible opportunity, many of these people will try and 'escape' their 60p-a-day lives. Before you say "that's a lot of money out there", consider this: the only way you are going to pay rent or a mortgage, food, transport, energy, medical and other expenses for yourself and 2 children is to top-up your 60p a day working for Marks&Spencer by another 120p borrowed at unbelievable cost....
More at: guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/22/politicians-put-down-immigration-dog-whistle
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