MAY I point out to David McKeever and John Young (HAS, Apr 27) that I have never suggested that it is desirable to have more people coming into the country than going out, though the Government’s own Office for Budget Responsibility predicts that zero net migration would lead to significantly lower economic growth, as well as increased national debt.
I stand by my previous comments. Immigration is not, and never has been, “unlimited,”
and there have been some deplorable and misleading statements by some Right-Wing commentators, including Government ministers.
As John Young suggests, it is not necessarily racist to be concerned about the level of immigration, but Government rhetoric has tended to provoke unwarranted public anxiety about immigrants in some quarters, and outright racism in others, particularly towards Romanians and Bulgarians. This is presumably a misguided attempt to beat UKIP at its own game.
Use of the term “benefit tourism” is particularly mischievous. The Government is well aware that the vast majority of immigrants come here to work or to study, and are far less likely to claim benefits than British-born citizens.
Pete Winstanley, Durham
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