Kamran Hussain

By Kamran Hussain kamhussain

Sheer and utter disbelief is what I felt when I read that Nigel Farage has blamed immigrants for his late arrival for a UKIP reception on immigration.

Yes, that’s right Farage blamed immigrants for traffic on the M4! What next? Immigrants to blame for the lack of snow this Christmas? It’s just absurd!

Some of the best motorways in Britain were designed in Germany and Italy during the First World War. Many of the cars on Britain’s roads today are German and popular for their efficiency. Not to mention the elegancy of Italian super-cars that you may catch a glimpse of here in Lincoln on a lucky day.

Blaming immigrants for traffic is probably the worst attempt I have seen at someone trying to cover up their lack of professionalism. There seems to be a very dangerous culture of blaming the outsider for almost everything. Whether it’s blaming gay marriage on floods or blaming traffic jams on immigrants, it just isn’t right.

There is wide consensus that more needs to be done in terms of integration, and especially here in Lincoln and rightly so. However, I can imagine why ethnic minority groups feel so distant from the rest of the community. The ‘blame game’ is a nasty disease that needs to be wiped out of society and has no place in the 21st century.

The one statement I hear people often say is: “Immigrants come over here and take our jobs.” My follow-up question is always: “So what is it exactly that you did before an immigrant took your job?” The reply I usually receive is: “Well not me personally, but they’re taking other people’s jobs.” Make of that what you will, but no one has taken anyone’s job unless they have physically removed them from their position. Having said that, if someone from a foreign country can come over that speaks no English, has no qualifications, and has no understanding of the culture and that person can still take someone’s job then serious questions need to be asked of that individual.

It’s easy to point the finger at others without realising the implications. Further isolating ethnic minority groups will only cause more tension. Local councils should adopt community engagement schemes in order to promote integration in communities. There is no doubt that Britain is coming out of a deep recession, but blaming immigrants is simply wrong.

Last month’s UCL report showed European Migrants pay out much more in taxes than they receive in state benefits. The report is just a glimpse of the potential benefits of immigration even with such hostile attitudes towards immigrants.

Kamran is a third-year Journalism and Public Relations student at the University of Lincoln. He is working to specialise in media relations and political communication. Kamran is currently writing his dissertation looking at the image of Public Relations in political communication.

By Kamran Hussain kamhussain

There will be a rather mellow feeling in UKIP HQ today as latest figures show that the UK treasury gains £20bn from European Migrants.

The figures show that European migrants contribute to our economy more than many of us are led to believe. The UK receives much more from European migrants in terms of tax than it gives out in state benefits.

Census 2011 figures show that European residents make up 4% of Lincoln’s population; the figure has risen since and is expected to stay stable over the next few years.

We should be proud of the contribution the European society makes across the UK and especially here in Lincoln.

The suggestion that people come over to this country solely to seek benefits is ridiculous. The announcement of the latest figures shows that the majority of European migrants coming to the UK are honest hardworking people who make a massive contribution to our economy and are an asset to Britain.

The research carried out by University College shows Britain is more successful than Germany at attracting the best professionals Europe has to offer. 60% of new migrants from western and southern Europe are university graduates.

Educational standards of Eastern Europeans who come to Britain are also improving with 25% of recent arrivals having completed a degree, compared with 24% of the UK-born workforce.

The report shows that European migrants made a net contribution of £20bn to UK public finances between 2000 and 2011. Those from the original 15 EU countries, including France, Germany and Spain, contributed 64% – £15bn more in taxes than they received in welfare while east European migrants contributed 12%, equivalent to £5bn more.

The argument that migrants come to the UK to do jobs that Brits refuse to do is blown out of the water by this latest report from UCL. Skilled individuals from overseas are seeing the opportunities Britain has to offer.

UKIP and other euro-sceptic parties will not be happy with the release of this report ahead of the by-election in Rochester and Strood. Nigel Farage and his party suffered another blow last week as support for staying in the EU hit a 23-year high.

The scaremongering about how migrants are ruining our economy will simmer down for now, but there is no doubt euro-sceptic supporters will respond sooner rather than later.

Britain is attracting skilled professionals from all over Europe simply because of the opportunities that are available here. The figures show that people want to come to Britain and work hard in industries which require professionally skilled workers at the highest level.

Lincoln has attracted many European migrants over the years and even more so since 2011; more does need to be done to integrate communities, but we should be proud that our neighbours make a huge contribution to our economy.

Kamran is a third-year Journalism and Public Relations student at the University of Lincoln. He is working to specialise in media relations and political communication. Kamran is currently writing his dissertation looking at the image of Public Relations in political communication.