The UK has a problem: too many people who need housing assistance, and not enough state or council houses to provide for them all. Now Industry Minister Margaret Hodge has a solution: state racism:
We prioritise the needs of an individual migrant family over the entitlement others feel they have. So a recently arrived family with four or five children living in a damp and overcrowded, privately rented flat with the children suffering from asthma will usually get priority over a family with less housing need who have lived in the area for three generations and are stuck at home with the grandparents.We should look at policies where the legitimate sense of entitlement felt by the indigenous family overrides the legitimate need demonstrated by the new migrants.
But it will all be done "fairly", of course, in a way that neatly disguises the fact that they will essentially be discounting need based on the colour of the applicant's skin:
We should also look at drawing up different rules based on, for instance, length of residence, citizenship or national insurance contributions which carry more weight in a transparent points system used to decide who is entitled to access social housing.
This sort of "Britain for the British" policy is something I would expect from the BNP, not a Labour Party which is supposedly committed to equality. But it sems that a decade of pandering to the most hateful elements of British society on immigration and asylum issues has both normalised racism, and left precious little difference between the two.
I take it you're mistakenly assuming "the indigenous family" means "white pepole".
ReplyDeleteShe's talking of the effect of immigration on poor communities, many of which will not be white.
You seem to have developed the habit of taking the very worst interprtation of someone's argument as the basis for nothing more than a little ranting.
It would be a bigger challlange, more interesting and more informative if you engaged with what people actually say rather than imaginings that justify moral outrage.
I/S, I think it is more correctly defined as "nativism". It's certainly a nasty development, and follows those European countries where immigrants are now regarded as second-class citizens in terms of eligibility for various forms of assistance.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget that for the past few years New Zealanders have also had restricted elibility for social assistance if they move to Australia, compared to what is available to Australian citizens.
I think if you check the Parliamentary Questions there are a few people keen on that round here.
ReplyDeleteHehe. Promoting someone's sense of entitlement over another's legitimate need.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be like tax cuts in place of hospital funding?