1997 and All That
Do I have to say any more?
Oh, go on then. Thus began the era of unlimited mass migration, from inside and outside the E.U. Globalists were in charge and didn’t we just know it. What had been a budget surplus under Major (for all his faults) became an eye watering deficit. Profligate spending went through the roof. Low skilled labour was imported by the boat load. Labour courted the middles classes, those that perhaps holidayed in the E.U., and didn’t see the downside of what was happening back home. So much for trade unions. Their members had low wages, couldn’t get jobs due to being undercut. If they complained they were out of the door, an immigrant brought in.
Some complained, but were hit with the tag of ‘racist.’ This would become an all too familiar refrain. Gordon Brown hit the headlines when he was overhead calling a woman ‘bigot’ who had challenged him on immigration. This was a far cry from ‘hard working families.’ It was clear which way the wind was blowing. Those with ideas of patriotism and nationalism were out, those who were enjoying the ‘fruits’ of globalism were in.
Add to this the growing poison of identity politics. Egged on by professional activists and the media, people were encouraged to define themselves by race, religion, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, etc. This was particularly potent when allied to the mass of new arrivals. Ironically this went against many of the tenets of globalism and internationalism. So much for ‘workers of the world unite.’ Instead intersectionalities, and all that jazz became the height of fashion. Someone was needed to blame for all society’s ills. It used to be the bourgeoise middle classes. But now many of them were Labour voters. Guess who was going to get the blame? Go on, have a wild guess.
It was during this time that the worst of the child grooming gangs abuse, such as the Rotherham scandal, was taking place. The girls were from the very demographic that Labour had for so long claimed to represent. The white working classes. Thanks to the wonderfully progressive identity politics, it was swept under the carpet, despite whistle blowers and evidence passed on.
Brexit
Amazingly enough, and despite the best efforts of the mainstream media and cuck politicians, many of Labour’s old core vote twigged what was happening. And they weren’t happy. Men from council estates who should have been natural Labour voters. Men like Tommy Robinson. They decided enough was enough, and voted Leave. Well, we couldn’t have that, could we? So, what to do? I know, label them racist.
We all know what a racist looks like, don’t we? He is a white male (we will conveniently forget the sons and grandsons of immigrants that voted to leave.), poor, working class, older, with little education. A bigot who holds prejudice views, who doesn’t travel abroad, or mix in a ‘diverse’ community. They are now blamed for Brexit and everything else. Going Postal ‘favourite’ Owen Jones even wrote a book on it (Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Classes). One wonders how this went down with the Islington set when it turned out the same people voted leave.
So, is there any truth in the stereotype? Well, if he is poor, lower wages due to immigration will affect him. If he is less educated, the mass influx of unskilled and semi-skilled workers will mean he will have an awful lot more competition for jobs from migrants, many of whom will undercut him or be willing to work below the minimum wage. If he is older, he may remember Britain before we joined the EU, and think we previously had a better deal. He will certainly remember before the Blair years, when the deficit was non-existent and before Blair by his own admission scoured the world for immigrants to bring in. He may no longer recognise the Britain of his childhood. If he is poor he quite likely lives in an area where many of the new migrants are housed, and experiences the problems that ensue. He probably also struggles to afford a mortgage and rent, and resents being forced out of his home area.
But who cares about facts and such like. Facts are racist. What was the Labour Party’s core vote were now convenient scapegoats. The process of the Labour Party selling its soul was now complete.
© Jonathon Davies 2017
More from Jonathon here. Part three tomorrow.
