Boris Johnson is at it again. Since being issued with a £50 fine for “partygate”, pressure for Boris to resign has increased, and he now knows that the only way to save his seat as PM is if the Conservative party performs strongly at the local elections on 5 May. The many commentators who branded the plan’s unveiling to curb Channel crossing by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda as a distraction from internal affairs should think again. Here are five points from Boris Johnson’s recent speech that highlight the divisive racial agenda that worked so well for him and how he spoke directly to the voters who backed him up in 2016 during the Brexit referendum and in the general election campaign of 2019.
“Our United Kingdom is a beacon of openness and generosity that has always welcomed refugees in need of help.”
“My great grandfather came from Turkey. Colleagues of mine, like Nadine Zahawi, escaped with their families from Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. Dominique Raab, whose Jewish father came From the Czech Republic to escape Nazi Germany, and Priti Patel, whose family fled prosecution in Uganda,” explained Boris as he defended his initial statement. He reminded me of people who, when in the middle of a racial debate, passive-aggressively protect themselves by saying they have people of colour in their circle of friends.
Hardly anyone is blatant enough to admit having a racial agenda. We are all equals, but only until minorities don’t disrupt our peace of mind and supremacy. Boris Johnson’s dubious views on race are well documented. His stands reflect who votes for him. On a side note, I am sure that Priti Patel’s family, when they made it to the UK, would have loved to be sent straight back to Rwanda and bathe in uncertainty while waiting in East Africa for months or years for the vetting of their application. The proposed policy aims to act as a deterrent for ANY asylum seeker to come to the UK. Shock, horror: imagine these people stealing UK citizens’ jobs and money.
“Sixty per cent of the England football team at the final of Euro 2021 were of immigrant descent.”
It didn’t stop some people from crucifying three of them with racial slurs when they missed the penalties that cost them the victory. As it always happens, at the time, all the news outlets were quick to minimise the incident, stating that it was a minority who abused the players. The support shown says otherwise. If numbers on social media are anything to go by, it was the minority who voiced their displeasure. Most British citizens blissfully carried on with their lives as in nothing had happened.
“Uncontrollable immigration creates unmanageable demands on our NHS and our welfare state.”
This is the claim that immigration overstretches our local schools, housing, and public transport and creates unsustainable pressure to build ungracious green spaces. Here the gaslighting is off the scale. In 2016 it was the EU migrant who abused the system, and now it’s the asylum seekers’ turn to jeopardise the functionality of UK society. The NHS’s and welfare system’s struggles are down to the systematic cuts in the budget for the past 12 years.
“People attempting to cross the Channel are not directly fleeing imminent peril.”
Supporters of draconian asylum policies will point out that asylum seekers pass through manifestly safe countries in the EU where they could and should claim asylum. Of course, the whole of the EU is to blame for this problem. Boris Johnson chooses to ignore a simple fact. These asylum seekers wish to come to the UK, not France or Germany. Also, unless they turn into birds, these people will have to go through Europe first to reach the UK. Let’s also reflect here. The real crisis is not the issue with asylum seekers’ immigration but the cost of living and inflation rate, now up to 7 per cent and still rising. Boris Johnson uses the so-called immigration crisis as a distraction from the real issue.
“British people voted several times to control our borders.”
Our Prime Minister states that Brexit allowed us to take back control of legal immigration from the EU by replacing free movement with a points-based system (which discriminates against people who don’t have specific qualifications.) Now is the time to take back control of illegal immigration with a long-term plan for asylum in Great Britain. Yes, let’s ship everyone to Rwanda. Fancy that as a solution! “The truth is there are 18 million people displaced in the world, all of them a text or a call away from being swept up in the tide of people smuggling. The answer cannot be for the UK to become the haven for all of them,” he concludes. Hilarious, were it not for the fact that these kinds of catastrophic statements worked wonders during the Brexit campaign, backed with visuals of hordes of people amassed on a ship. Boris Johnson’s advisers have dusted off the take control mantra, hoping it delivers again. I urge you to think about how taking control has worked out for you so far. Look around you. Then, if you disagree with what you see, and your area is voting on 5 May, make sure your vote counts.
Check out the BBC’s guide to the UK local elections here.
