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How is this debate best framed?
The anti-immigration lot make arguments [coming round ‘ere, stealin are benefits and are jobs etc] that the pro freedom of movement/ liberal/ caring people/ left/ me don’t address in a way that gets through. IE they have concerns, and telling them their concerns are wrong [even though they often are] obviously doesn’t work. I don’t think pointing out the climate change issues / need to help the poorest people in the world is likely to work as an argument.
Maybe more successful would be something like:
- We need people to come and do jobs here because we’re aging [ie we need immigration]
- We understand that “British values*” are important to you [reform voters & chums]
- We believe that multiculturalism within a framework of British values will give us a sustainable future as a nation, ie “let in” the people we need, but make efforts to help them fit in.
- We have a [insert details] plan to ensure this.
And then what the plan actually involves I don’t know - there must be some lessons we could learn globally on how to integrate people better.
Problem is, as you say, the whole space around immigration is toxic, and has been hijacked by xenophobes and racists, so it is hard to think about it without fearing back lash one way or another.
*unclear what this means but humour them
- We need people to come and do jobs here because we’re aging [ie we need immigration]
t.o.-
For a plurality of opinions on immigration this thread on pistonheads is interesting: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=1982617
hugo7
We need a sensible debate on immigration and to remove the toxicity that Farage and his ilk have brought to it. We have an ageing population and low birth rates, so unless everyone is happy to pay more tax and not get state pensions, we need to think about how we ensure the costs of looking after the population do not fall on a decreasing working population.
Looking at the medium term, it's clear climate change is going to have a catastrophic impact on some of poorest countries in the world, and mass migration is almost certainly going to happen. Preparing the richest countries to deal with that should be on the agenda of any progressive government.