‘There’s some jobs that our people won’t do, and immigrants are prepared to do’
As the UK gears up for an election later this year, it’s clear that one of the few areas the Tory party think they can win votes on is immigration.
As has often been the case in the last few years, the right wing parties and politicians see being tough on immigration as a way to appeal to white, working class voters.
But is this rhetoric resonating with the public?
Workington is exactly the sort of place the Tories will be hoping it is. A huge 98.5 per cent of the population identify as white British, making it the least diverse place in England.
PoliticsJOE travelled to the town to find out what residents think about immigration, and one man ended up highlighting – perhaps inadvertently – why it is actually a vital part of the UK.
You can watch what he had to say below.
After saying he had “no issues at all” with migrants coming to the UK “the legal way” to work, he continued: “I understand people want a better life, and coming to Britain is a better life for them. But as long as they’re prepared to work and earn their living and pay in to our taxes, bring them on.”
The man went on to highlight how there are plenty of sectors in the British economy where immigrants make up large proportions of the workforce.
“Obviously there’s some jobs that our people won’t do, and they’re prepared to do it,” he said. “Nursing, auxiliary nursing, carers. Carers are minimum wage and the job they do it’s a brilliant job.
“But they’re not paid enough so people won’t go into those jobs.”
One particular area that Rishi Sunak has been keen to take a tough stance on is small boats crossing the Channel.
It’s rare a week goes by that we don’t hear Rishi Sunak parroting the same ‘stop the boats’ line, and this week Parliament passed the Rwanda bill into law. This will see illegal immigrants and some asylum seekers deported to the African country to have their claims processed there.
But the Workington local said he “felt sorry” for those crossing the Channel in small boats “because it’s dangerous.”
Whilst he went on to suggest that they may ‘get in a lot easier’ if they “go about the right protocol”, he conceded it was “true” that people often don’t have any other option.
You can watch the full episode of Extreme Britain below, and you can find the rest of the series on the PoliticsJOE YouTube channel here.
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