poor whites have had a raw deal

Submitted by: Steadfast news correspondent, 5th Dec 09

Cabinet Minister John Denham – Communities Secretary

Middle class insulated from immigration, says Denham
BBC article (edited for relevance)
Tuesday, 1st December 2009

The middle classes are "insulated" from the effects of immigration and find it hard to understand fears about housing and jobs, John Denham has said.

In a speech the communities secretary said while "the affluent" could see opportunities in immigration poorer communities saw it as a threat.
It is the second speech Mr Denham has made on the theme in two days.

In his speech to the Policy Network think tank, Mr Denham said poorer people in areas with high immigration felt, wrongly, that immigrants were able to "play the system" of state benefits.

People who were better off tended to look more favourably on mass immigration, he said.

"Crudely expressed, the higher you are in the pecking order, the more likely you are to benefit from immigration," he said.

"Those of us who feel culturally enriched by the benefits of migration and who are insulated from the competition for jobs, housing and public services that is potentially posed by migrants, often find these views difficult to appreciate.

"The affluent often are able to see opportunities within change and uncertainty, whereas those who are less insulated from potential drawbacks may see the same change as a risk or a threat."

Elitism condemned
It echoes a speech last month by Prime Minister Gordon Brown who said: "If the main effect of immigration on your life is to make it easier to find a plumber, or when you see doctors and nurses from overseas in your local hospital, you are likely to think more about the benefits of migration than the possible costs."

But he added: "I have never agreed with the lazy elitism that dismisses immigration as an issue, or portrays anyone who has concerns about immigration as a racist."

On Monday, Mr Denham said in a speech to the TUC that local councils and government agencies had been "blind" to the needs of white working-class people.

He said officials in charge of tackling inequality should no longer just focus on ethnic groups and should consider more the needs of disadvantaged white people.


Cabinet minister John Denham: poor whites have had a raw deal
TimesOnline article (edited for relevance)
by Sam Coates, Chief Political Correspondent
Tuesday, 1st December 2009

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: “To suggest that ethnic minorities do not suffer from a disadvantage is a radical departure from government policy, not least in his own department, where hundreds of millions are spent helping ethnic minority groups. We need to know whether he is suggesting additional government spending supporting white working-class groups — or cuts to existing programmes.”

While this is encouraging talk, it is notable that the White-English (who are the predominant group referred to) are not even granted the recognition of their ethnic identity, and simply labelled ‘white people’. The above statements clearly demonstrates the understanding that the ‘white working-class’ (a.k.a. the English working class) are in ‘need’ of help and support, yet it appears from the statement of the Home Affairs Select Committee chairman that hundreds of millions have been spent for ethnic minority groups as part of government policy yet the ethnic English have been callously ignored. It is hoped that our charity can help to correct this terribly sad situation in some small way.
Steadfast Trust Trustee
Mark Taylor