Great article!

I just saw the 10 O'clock episode last night and you were pretty much spot on. Not much else to say...it reminds me of Peter King's whining about "political correctness" while defending his neo-McCarthyite "Radical Islam" hearings. Just as the English Defense League types mean "we don't talk enough about immigration *in a negative light*", the right on this side of the globe seem to think addressing radical Islam will illicit the same response as addressing the behavior of batshit insane Hebron settlers.

I'm pretty sure it's safe to paint Muslims with the same terrorist-colored brush here just as it's safe to whine about Algerians "stealing" all the good janitor work in the UK. Unfortunately "political correct" speech is defined by the right wing and has been for quite some time.

(and one more thing...a "40 year old black man" served for 30 years in the Navy? They must have some pretty lax age restrictions over there.)

Good afternoon Mehdi,

I'm very disappointed that I missed you on Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live programme last night.

Immigration is a subject that is the 'white elephant' in most rooms! But the far right seems to be getting larger with UKIP success in this week's by-election.

I had no idea about Mail and Express newspaper's reporting that:

'£250 a week for every migrant'

A local elderly lady told me that it's disgustful that '£250 a week for every migrant', and asked me what the Tories are doing about it.

My answer was: 'I'm sure Mr. Osborne is working on making cuts, if what you [the elderly lady] is true and not the usual nonsense selected wording in certain newspapers.'

You're on the telly so much nowadays, I'm convinced you are trying to attract Al Murray's attention to be the straightman for Pub Landlord.

Is expressing concern over immigration something that only racists do? Those against immigration claim not to be racist and feel unfairly branded as racists. Fair point, however I think that some people are perhaps racist at a subconscious level and may not even be aware of their views being considered as racism. Obviously there are blatant racists who would just express concern over immigration at a totally selfish, misinformed, bigotted manner, they beleive immigration is responsible for everything bad in their sorry lives, they point blank refuse to consider the benefits of immigration. Then you have the "I really don't mind immigrants as long as they....." The missing word here is 'conform'. These are the very people who beleive multiculturalism has failed and were probably against it anyway(which wouldn't add to it's success!). They are also people who mistake 'integration' with 'comformity'. Infact they probably boast about 'not having a problem with' anyone that enters the country and behaves like a white person. Ironically they feel most threatened by the absurd possiblility of shariah law in the UK, yet they want to dictate how immigrants must live their lives in order to be accepted.
These people must accept this insistance of conformity as a condition of acceptance when they engage in debates on immigration, then they can possible understand where the racism accustaion may be coming from.

I was thrilled to see you on 10 o clock live. I thought you spoke very well. The fact about British household names (Tesco, for instance) and their immigrant originators was particularly gripping.

@ mr divine,,looks like you live on the planet denial,,everything i have stated is a fact, and even the most bitter leftys who was in denial( jack straw) has come around admitting these problems in the uk caused by not all muslims but some muslims in the pakistani community do exist and has been swept under the carpet for to long all in the name of politacal correctness,,get of planet denial mr divine and try living on planet reality,,as-salamu-alaykum..

Lets talk about immigration to Mecca and Medina and the Jewish right of return to these cities?

what racist abuse you left wing dimwit,, i am sure medhi hassan is hardskinned enough to take a bit of critical flack and sideswipes.,so clearhead,, you seem to be confusedhead if you think medhi hassan is on the recieving end of racial abuse in this blog,,give me one example of this abuse confusedhead ??

Mehdi - it could be helpful if you laid out what the areas you feel should be debated are and whether there are any parameters within which it should take place. In the absence of that we will get a repetition of the types of statements you highlight where populist politicians seek to set the terms of debate to reinforce their base or newspapers like the 'Express' seek to divert attention from other issues.

dillion; you said that there are muslim pedophile rings in every town and city in the UK. There aren't even Muslims in some towns so how can there be any Muslim pedophile rings? Do you deny implying this?

I'm well aware that there are SOME Muslim youth gangs attempting to lure young white girls. But you implied that it was occurring in EVERY town. That's what I mean about sensationalism, lies and exaggeration.

Why are you resorting to this sloppy use of words? Be more precise with your language otherwise you'll be dismissed as being an exaggerator.

@ mr divine...for security reasons,,i am not prepared to compromise or reveal who my sources and contacts are who are deeply embedded in the conflict zones in libya,,all i am prepared to say is that in the coming weeks and months the true extent of al qaedas involvment in the funding and arming the anti gaddafi rebel forces will be revealed,,that is all i am prepared to say at the moment..

Why does Britain need more immigrants. The main flow of immigration 50years ago was due to supply and demand of work. I dont see why we should allow people into the country who have nothing to offer. I am a British born muslim whos parents immigrated to the uk during apartheid. Living in Birmingham, it is apparent a big cross section of the society sponge on the benefit system. But why let immigrants in who are abusing it? What do they have to offer us.

@ David, name me an immigrant community that loves Britain. Jamaicans, hindus, sikhs, chinese do not have patriotism of a white uk born brit. Why do us muslims get singled out. Any immigrant in any country cant have that love of their new land. Do the brits residing in spain/Australia etc have their patriotism amended?

There is plenty of talk, but little debate about the central issues.

The issue for me is that those who fear immigration, who feel that their Britishness is being diluted by immigration, who don't see any positives should, be left to the BNP, rather than embraced by our mainstream politicians.

Fear is what lies at the heart of us all when confronted by things we don't understand. However, as far as it relates to immigration, people of the host nation who are fearful of what they see happening around them are castigated as 'biggots' (remember Gordon Brown's infamous remarks during the last election) or 'racists' and forgotten about.

I recently listened to young muslims talk about Britain, their home country, as if it's was a foreign state. They loathed Britain and everything it stands for. They were not the slightest interested in anything to do with British culture nor did they value anything in British history, but they had much to say about colonial oppression and the power of Islam to decapitate Western values. This is frightening stuff from young people educated in British schools.

If we are to talk about immigration, it is not so much the future we are silent about it is the past, and the impact that this has had on our society, for bad. How can it be a good outcome that young muslims feel so utterly estranged in this their home country? It has been the failure to stage a race and multiculture debate in decades gone by that has allowed this situation to arise and it is about time we were honest and open in our discussions about it now.

With immigration are good and bad points: the problem with the British government is throughout its' history, it has always expected to reap the benefits of immigration without expecting the consequences. Rather than give the immigrants all the rights straight away, they need to ensure that the immigrants coming in will be productive to Britain and give something back.

Brown's speech has this one phrase continually wrenched out of context. To quote the whole paragraph:

"As we set out on the next stage of our journey this is our vision: Britain leading the global economy - by our skills and creativity, by our enterprise and flexibility, by our investment in transport and infrastructure - a world leader in science; a world leader in financial and business services; a world leader in energy and the environment from nuclear to renewables; a world leader in the creative industries; and yes - modern manufacturing too - drawing on the talents of all to create British jobs for British workers."

I can't see the problem in wanting to create jobs in Britain.

Probably a bit late to join the debate on this one. But think on this;- in the main all that divides nations is the sea. Then think on what's just happened in Japan?

We're our own worst enemy when it comes to creating cultural divides, it's natural forces which will demolish them in time.

Immigrant here, living in this country for 9 years. So where do I go to get these famed 250 a week?

The truth of the matter is this: Ghettoization happens BECAUSE of the native's population's racism. Whether you want to admit it or not, the average Brit is an incredibly racist and xenophobic creature. Send the same CV for a job, only put on one "British National" and that one will be preferred in 80% of cases.

@Mohamed Rizwan
So, hypocrite much?

Me, I'm an Eastern European immigrant. Been here for years, working, paying taxes. And I will be the first to say that there are immigrants sponging the system. ANd there are also a lot of Brits doing the same thing.

I would like to remind you that in 2005, when the A8 countries joined the EU, about half a million eastern european immigrants came to Britain and got jobs and starting contributing to the British society, from which we get a lot less than the Brits.
At the time when this happened, there were a LOT of Brits on welfare, on JSA to be precise, people who every two weeks went into the Jobcentre claiming they could not find jobs.
Hmmmm

The truth of the matter is that many immigrants aren't actually entitled to benefits as soon as they get off the plane. Immigrating, leaving your country and everything else you ever knew is a very traumatic experience. Trust me on this, 65 quid a week aren't worth it.

'Mehdi - it could be helpful if you laid out what the areas you feel should be debated'

Good point James. And in what forums should this debate occur.

I see that EnragedBrit is back from his prayer meeting.

Now who was it who called people animals?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4hpfqFt-0Q

Oh?

How often has the New Statesman covered immigration as potentially having negative effects on communities?

Genuinely interested.

But anyone who raises immigration as an issue is shouted down as a racist and marched to the nearest EU run "gulag" and held for "re-education", hence why we never talk about immigration. At least that's what I think happens, I've been too scared to go out of the house since the 80's.

Mehdi I think the truth lies somewhere in between. It is discussed. Clearly. The real issue is a lot of people feel they can't speak openly about their concerns because to do so carries a risk of being labelled racist.

I agree there are many, many positives to immigration which need to be part of an open debate. There are also legitimate concerns and negatives. A proper debate would involve both, and in my opinion, a balanced view would recognise the presence of both.