Does Britain Really Have a Problem With Too Much Immigration? PDF

**[Does Britain really have a problem with too much immigration?]** **An opinion piece by J. Shuttleworth (journalist).** An asylum seeker translates directly into the term 'safety seeker', so we can always assume when someone is officially classed as an asylum seeker that they should have a good...

**[Does Britain really have a problem with too much immigration?]** **An opinion piece by J. Shuttleworth (journalist).** An asylum seeker translates directly into the term 'safety seeker', so we can always assume when someone is officially classed as an asylum seeker that they should have a good reason for wanting to leave their home country. There are many reasons why a person can be in danger in the country they originate from. They may be an LGBT+ person in a territory where there are harsh anti-gay laws, such as being stoned to death for homosexual acts. They may be someone who has stood up against their home government's human rights violations -- or -- they could be someone who has recently fought on the losing side of a brutal civil war. This is why people apply to stay in Britain, as refugees if their asylum is granted. That being said, people do have legitimate concerns over immigration in the UK. Imagine growing up in a town where all the main sources of employment for residents have been shut down, the steel industry, local factories, car manufacturing plants -- and as you search for work you read that thousands of economic migrants are coming to the UK to look for work. You can see why people can be concerned. Yet these are not asylum seekers or refugees. The media does have a tendency to over-report or exaggerate the numbers of people who choose to make the UK their new home residence, or who are able to make the strenuous voyage to escape their homes and arrive here in the first place. As the map on the left shows, the UK takes a moderate amount of immigrants in to settle compared to many countries in mainland Europe. So why do we read so much about the apparent deluge of people coming to settle in the UK? Maybe it just sells papers. What do you think? You could say that reading about migrants 'coming to take their jobs' or 'coming to claim benefits' (which oddly some think seem to happen at the same time) allows people to direct the anger they have over inequality in society at foreigners and masks real reasons for the British working classes seeing a lowering of standards over the last few decades. You have to wonder who writes these stories, who is behind the papers that print about people 'stealing jobs / taking benefits' and what motive there is behind all this. Maybe it's to distract attention away from reports such as these, from the Equality Trust: ***'Wealth in Great Britain is even more unequally divided than income. The richest 10% of households hold 44% of all wealth. The poorest 50%, by contrast, own just 9%. Percentage of total wealth in Great Britain, Wealth and Assets Survey, July 2014 to June 2016, Office for National Statistics.'*** Why is this? What is causing this wealth imbalance? Why isn't this being reported more heavily? **[Does Britain really have a problem with too much immigration?]** **An opinion piece by J. Shuttleworth (journalist).** An asylum seeker translates directly into the term 'safety seeker', so we can always assume when someone is officially classed as an asylum seeker that they should have a good reason for wanting to leave their home country. There are many reasons why a person can be in danger in the country they originate from. They may be an LGBT+ person in a territory where there are harsh anti-gay laws, such as being stoned to death for homosexual acts. They may be someone who has stood up against their home government's human rights violations -- or -- they could be someone who has recently fought on the losing side of a brutal civil war. This is why people apply to stay in Britain, as refugees if their asylum is granted. That being said, people do have legitimate concerns over immigration in the UK. Imagine growing up in a town where all the main sources of employment for residents have been shut down, the steel industry, local factories, car manufacturing plants -- and as you search for work you read that thousands of economic migrants are coming to the UK to look for work. You can see why people can be concerned. Yet these are not asylum seekers or refugees. The media does have a tendency to over-report or exaggerate the numbers of people who choose to make the UK their new home residence, or who are able to make the strenuous voyage to escape their homes and arrive here in the first place. As the map on the left shows, the UK takes a moderate amount of immigrants in to settle compared to many countries in mainland Europe. So why do we read so much about the apparent deluge of people coming to settle in the UK? Maybe it just sells papers. What do you think? You could say that reading about migrants 'coming to take their jobs' or 'coming to claim benefits' (which oddly some think seem to happen at the same time) allows people to direct the anger they have over inequality in society at foreigners and masks real reasons for the British working classes seeing a lowering of standards over the last few decades. You have to wonder who writes these stories, who is behind the papers that print about people 'stealing jobs / taking benefits' and what motive there is behind all this. Maybe it's to distract attention away from reports such as these, from the Equality Trust: ***'Wealth in Great Britain is even more unequally divided than income. The richest 10% of households hold 44% of all wealth. The poorest 50%, by contrast, own just 9%. Percentage of total wealth in Great Britain, Wealth and Assets Survey, July 2014 to June 2016, Office for National Statistics.'*** Why is this? What is causing this wealth imbalance? Why isn't this being reported more heavily?