Queen’s Speech!

History repeating itself.

The news that the Coalition Government is to bring forward legislation contained in today’s Queens Speech, that will force landlords to check the immigration status of potential tenants.

It’s a controversial move, which reflects a rush to the right, by a Government desperate to outflank an increasingly xenophobic UKIP flush after recent success in local elections.

I have renamed UKIP the United Kingdom Ignorance Party after a rash of stories about the quality of some of their candidates an odd assortment of homophobic bigots , Islamaphobes, racists and fascists.

UKIP’s success has triggered a race to the bottom on the issue of immigration among mainstream parties, aided by sections of the right wing press, who have conspired to feed public hysteria on immigration.

This is now a general trend in British politics. It reflects a strategy that seeks to scapegoat vulnerable migrant communities using the issues immigration and attacks on multiculturalism.

This debate is in reality, whatever its articulation, an attack on all assumed migrant communities.

Some will see this political objective with its emphasis on immigration as means of whipping up racism, in an attempt to deflect public anger away from austerity measures and the villainous architects of the economic crisis, the bankers.

I have been warning about the effects of the economic crisis and it’s potential to increase racism since 2010. Over the last 3 years, the mood music in Britain, for migrant black and minority communities has changed dramatically. Intolerance and hatred of the ‘other’ is seen as reasonable responses to the current economic crisis.

For many people the ills of nation can be identified as all the fault of: immigrants, skivers, benefit cheats, Muslims, Black people, Easter Europeans, homosexuals, you can pick your particular poison.

The idea that private landlords will now be responsible for checking the immigration status of tenants could, unless universally applied, lead to a further entrenchment of structural race discrimination.

Anyone one looking ‘foreign’ in the eyes of the landlords, regardless of whether they are a British citizen or not, will attract suspicion.

Popular prejudice will lead to widespread discrimination with landlords simply refusing to see individuals with foreign sounding names as a means of avoiding any problems with immigration authorities. This law will reinforce prejudice against anyone assumed to be an ‘illegal immigrant’.

Landlords will be risk averse and simply refuse to let their property to anyone they believe will be ‘problematic” avoiding increases administration costs ands red tape.

This is an ill thought policy by this Coaliton Government. I can see a return of the type of racism within the private housing sector that faced my parent’s generation in the 1950’s.

The signs in homes for rent back then read “ No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs” where homelessness and overcrowding in squalid properties was rife.

The residual British culture of bigotry, racism and intolerance will be given a green light by this policy move . Whilst parties play politics in attempt to secure short-term electoral success, the fabric of British multicultural society will be irrevocable damaged by such policies.

Lee Jasper