Immigration and Britain

The European Parliament and Local Council Elections are taking place on Thursday 22^nd May at a polling station near you!  The big issue that has been dominating the run up to the European Elections is immigration.  As my wife is Polish, along with many of my friends, I take a keen interest in the debate surrounding immigration. 

Immigration is nothing new, people have been coming to Britain for thousands of years, starting with the Celts, Picts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Normans, Vikings, to more recent immigration from the Caribbean, the Indian subcontinent and Central and Eastern Europe.  All of us are descended one way or another from migrants, for example my own family came over to England from Scandinavia in the 700s. 

It is the changing pace of immigration and the impact it has on services such as health and education which is driving the current debate.  But whilst immigration is portrayed in a rather negative light by some, it is important to recognise the positive impact it has on our country.

Each wave of immigration has added to the cultural richness and diversity of Britain, including our town of Walsall.  Immigration also benefits the country in other ways, for example 26% of NHS doctors are born overseas, and the British Medical Association said that without immigrants “many NHS services would struggle to provide effective care.” 

There are also financial benefits associated with immigration; the Financial Times reported that between 1995-2011 EU immigrants contributed £8.8 billion more to the British economy than they gained.  A study by University College London also found that migrants from Central and Eastern Europe are 60% less likely to claim benefits than a British born person, and The Economic Journal reports that immigration has no significant effect on employment. 

The Bible has a lot to say on this issue too; in Leviticus 19:33-34 God commands ^“Don’t mistreat any foreigners who live in your land. Instead, treat them as well as you treat citizens and love them as much as you love yourself. Remember, you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”  Jesus reiterated this command when he said “love your neighbour as yourself.”

It is important that we are able to have a mature balanced debate which recognises the positive impact immigration has on our country, and to celebrate Britain’s long and proud history of welcoming people to our shores.  

Prayer for Tuesday 4 February

Large parts of the British Isles have been lashed and pummelled by storms of ferocious intensity, causing widespread damage and flooding to large swathes of land.  Compassionate Lord, we pray for all those who have suffered during the stormy weather.  We pray especially for all the brave fishermen and seafarers who have to endure harsh conditions at sea in order to earn a living.  Thank you for the work of the Mission to Seafarers which provides help and succour to all sailors in distress.  Simon spent some of his Sabbatical working at such a mission and understands fully the value of the work they do.  Thank you for the bravery of the lifeboat men, the coastguards, the firemen and the police who always respond to those in danger with such courage and fortitude.

“Dear Lord Jesus, who did not fear the sea, guard all fishermen and sea-going people.  If danger comes, help them to be calm and courageous, and be with the people who answer their call for help.  Give clear vision to coastguards and lighthouse keepers that they may quickly heed all calls from people in difficulty or danger.  Give courage and strength to the brave men who man the lifeboats in response to calls for rescue.  Help them to feel the power of your presence and calm the fears of relatives and friends of those in danger on the sea.”   (Nancy Martin) Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

The Importance of Supporting International Aid

Today Chancellor George Osborne in his spending review announced that there is going to be an INCREASE in spending on international aid of £11.5bn. 

In a time of great austerity, when the Government is having to make some very tough choices (that I don't all agree with), I think that the news that Britain is going to increase spending on international aid is wonderful! 

However what has disturbed me is the way that one newspaper in particular (the Daily Mail) has reported this news.  Rather than welcoming it, it has attacked this decision to increase spending on aid.

I posted the following message on the Daily Mail message board: 

I think it is very important that Britain continues to meet its obligations in providing aid for developing nations, and welcome the increase in the amount Britain will be giving away in international aid.

Whilst times are difficult in the UK, we must remember that compared to many people in the world we are incredibly well off. I acknowledge times are going to be tough in this country over the next decade, but what we are going through is nothing when compared to the 1.7 billion people around the world who live in absolute poverty - those people who have no access to clean water, or the 25 thousand people who die every day because of hunger. There are 3 billion people in the world who live on less than $2.50 a day.

We live in one of the most affluent countries in the world, we need to recognise how lucky we are, and use our wealth to help the neediest in our world.

I have been surprised to discover that my comment has been rated as one of the worst by the Daily Mail readers.  Why?  Because I defend the importance of Britain taking a lead and spending money on international aid.

In contrast to my comment, the most popular comment is posted by Linda from South Yorkshire.
For God's sake an increase in overseas aid is totally inappropriate. What about us? If we carry on like this we'll be the recipients of overseas aid from current 3rd world countries. CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.
As a Christian I find this attitude incredibly sad.  The Bible makes it clear that we have a duty to care for the most vulnerable and needy not only in our own society, but across the world.  We cannot ignore the suffering of others around the world, we have a duty of care for the poor and destitute where ever they may be.

Whilst we in Britain face some hard times ahead of us, we have to recognise that we do live in one of the most affluent nations in the world, and our current economic woes are not going to change this fact. 

At the harvest service at St Martin's in September, I got children in church to cut out of magazines pictures of things we might buy, and to decide which column to put the images in - either things we need or things we would like.  It was an interesting exercise, because hair driers and flat screen TVs went into the column of 'things we need'.  The truth is that we don't need these things, they are nice to have, but they are not essentials of life.  In fact we only need a few essential items, food, water and shelter, everything else you could argue is essentially a luxury. 

As a nation I think we forget how fortunate and blessed we are, and it we need to remember that even in these difficult financial times, we have a duty to care for the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.

Whilst I am not a huge fan of George Osborne, I applaud both him and our Government for making the brave decision to increase spending on aid.