It appears Sir Jim Ratcliffe kicked up something of a hornet’s nest this week.
The Ineos tycoon gave an interview in which he announced Britain has been “colonised” by migrants.
No sooner had Sir Jim’s remarks been broadcast than the Downing Street outrage machine cranked into overdrive.
Sir Keir Starmer responded by saying Britain was “a proud, tolerant and diverse country” and called on Sir Jim to apologise. A Downing Street spokesperson claimed the comments “play into the hands of those who want to divide our country”.
Well, frankly, I don’t care if Sir Keir and his dwindling band of acolytes inside the No 10 bunker found Ratcliffe’s comments difficult to stomach.
Because like millions of ordinary Britons I immediately recognised what Ratcliffe was talking about.
Yes, the use of the word “colonised” was a controversial choice. Sir Jim has since admitted as much.
But the essence of what he was saying was undeniable. With so many millions people now on welfare, we cannot continue to turn to migrant labour.
You hardly need to be a sociologist to see that over the past two decades, net migration in this country has been allowed to run to totally unsustainable levels.
Towns and cities have been transformed within the space of a single generation. Communities have changed beyond recognition.
Our urban areas now carry street signs in foreign languages alongside English. On the London Underground, Transport for London has installed bilingual signs in specific areas.
People can see the pressures in their communities. They can feel the pace of change – and not in a healthy way.
Public services – GP surgeries, schools, housing – are now straining at the seams. Wages at the lower end of the labour market have been suppressed.
Social cohesion – that flimsiest of fabrics in all modern societies – is being tested like never before. It’s a startling fact that as of 2021 some 880,000 people in this country could not speak English passably and 161,000 could not speak any English at all. Millions more migrants have arrived since then.
Surely that’s the point that Ratcliffe was making. Significant areas in our towns and cities have changed into something completely different from what they were. And it’s all making us poorer.
The political class told us mass immigration was economically essential. They told us it would be modest and controlled. They told us it would not fundamentally alter the character of the nation.
On each count, they were wrong – or at the very least, disingenuous. Which is why the political establishment will continue to ignore what’s happening around them.
This crumbling Labour Government, turning ever further to the Left, will carry on burying their heads in the sand over the issue. Anyone who questions immigration will be denounced as racist or “far-Right”.
Meanwhile the Tories, who have been noticeably quiet over Ratcliffe’s comments, will do everything they can to avoid discussing migration numbers.
They know it’s a problem their disastrous period in office helped exacerbate. In voters’ minds, the 4.8 million immigrants who arrived during the so-called “Boriswave” of 2021-24 will neither be forgiven nor forgotten.
As I have said here before, we are getting poorer, crime is rising, public services get worse and our culture and society are under threat. The country has had enough.
There is an immigration crisis in Britain which thanks to successive administrations has for too long been ignored. Jim Ratcliffe is right.
It’s quite clear that only a Reform UK government has the courage to tackle this problem.
It appears Sir Jim Ratcliffe kicked up something of a hornet’s nest this week.
The Ineos tycoon gave an interview in which he announced Britain has been “colonised” by migrants.
No sooner had Sir Jim’s remarks been broadcast than the Downing Street outrage machine cranked into overdrive.
Sir Keir Starmer responded by saying Britain was “a proud, tolerant and diverse country” and called on Sir Jim to apologise. A Downing Street spokesperson claimed the comments “play into the hands of those who want to divide our country”.
Well, frankly, I don’t care if Sir Keir and his dwindling band of acolytes inside the No 10 bunker found Ratcliffe’s comments difficult to stomach.
Because like millions of ordinary Britons I immediately recognised what Ratcliffe was talking about.
Yes, the use of the word “colonised” was a controversial choice. Sir Jim has since admitted as much.
But the essence of what he was saying was undeniable. With so many millions people now on welfare, we cannot continue to turn to migrant labour.
You hardly need to be a sociologist to see that over the past two decades, net migration in this country has been allowed to run to totally unsustainable levels.
Towns and cities have been transformed within the space of a single generation. Communities have changed beyond recognition.
Our urban areas now carry street signs in foreign languages alongside English. On the London Underground, Transport for London has installed bilingual signs in specific areas.
People can see the pressures in their communities. They can feel the pace of change – and not in a healthy way.
Public services – GP surgeries, schools, housing – are now straining at the seams. Wages at the lower end of the labour market have been suppressed.
Social cohesion – that flimsiest of fabrics in all modern societies – is being tested like never before. It’s a startling fact that as of 2021 some 880,000 people in this country could not speak English passably and 161,000 could not speak any English at all. Millions more migrants have arrived since then.
Surely that’s the point that Ratcliffe was making. Significant areas in our towns and cities have changed into something completely different from what they were. And it’s all making us poorer.
The political class told us mass immigration was economically essential. They told us it would be modest and controlled. They told us it would not fundamentally alter the character of the nation.
On each count, they were wrong – or at the very least, disingenuous. Which is why the political establishment will continue to ignore what’s happening around them.
This crumbling Labour Government, turning ever further to the Left, will carry on burying their heads in the sand over the issue. Anyone who questions immigration will be denounced as racist or “far-Right”.
Meanwhile the Tories, who have been noticeably quiet over Ratcliffe’s comments, will do everything they can to avoid discussing migration numbers.
They know it’s a problem their disastrous period in office helped exacerbate. In voters’ minds, the 4.8 million immigrants who arrived during the so-called “Boriswave” of 2021-24 will neither be forgiven nor forgotten.
As I have said here before, we are getting poorer, crime is rising, public services get worse and our culture and society are under threat. The country has had enough.
There is an immigration crisis in Britain which thanks to successive administrations has for too long been ignored. Jim Ratcliffe is right.
It’s quite clear that only a Reform UK government has the courage to tackle this problem.