Britain’s mass immigration hangover
Like a true addict, we power through by increasing consumption
This is a repost of an article from this summer in The Critic, which I’m linking to here for future reference. The first section is below:
“Britain has now been gorging on mass immigration for a quarter of a century, becoming increasingly dependent every year. We are still, despite thirteen years of Conservative government and Brexit, very much living in New Labour’s world, which bet our future on becoming a mere globalisation hub with mass immigration as a vital component.
For mass immigration advocates, it is a cure-all. It boosts growth, productivity, the public finances and even life satisfaction. It keeps the NHS going, our universities functioning and the crops from rotting in the fields. The only negative they are prepared to admit is a small wage reduction for native low paid workers, which, they say, the benefits easily outweigh. Beyond economic arguments, the nebulous “benefits of diversity” are extolled, usually in relation to that crucial element of national life, the availability of different varieties of restaurants. The more you read from the immigrationists, you realise that for them “mass immigration is per se a good thing”, an ideological commitment laden with a moral inevitability.
To an addict, their substance of choice is essential to their functioning. In the very short term, it is even beneficial to their wellbeing. This does not mean that they are heading down the right path.”