The Truth on Immigration: Clarity Amongst Confusion

I think it is fair to say that the top issue concerning Brits today is the issue of immigration. From YouGov to Ipsos, there's no shying away from the fact that the British public is worried and equally concerned about the ever-increasing migration levels in the country — this is bipartisan. Whether left or right, Labour or Conservative (or should I say Reform), white or black, young or old — it doesn't matter! It's clear that Brits, irrespective of demographic, are worried about our Channel and who seems to be crossing it.

Well, I'm not so sure…

For so long now, I have classified myself as loosely ‘anti-immigration’, not as a permanent fixture, but so long as the country continues to have its own problems, why try and tackle others when it would mean that our own issues would be being sidelined or put on the back burner, if you like. Seems reasonable, right? I mean it would be like feeding your neighbour's children before feeding your own. I still am of this loose “anti-immigration” position by the way, it's a reasonable and decent opinion to be of, however, my uncertainty doesn’t come from like-minded individuals who share the same thoughts, but of those who are bridging the gap between merely criticising immigration policy, and that of a deep and unaltered hatred of certain demographics mascaraed as the very same criticism levied by the likes of me or you. It certainly can get confusing judging the two apart, and that's exactly why I believe it is best to tackle this issue head-on and debunk the confusion that is at the epicentre of this debate, bringing an ounce of clarity to a really complicated issue that which is being summed up by frankly simple and mundane ideas.

Empirical data is often the easiest way to drive home a point. Everyone knows this. However, what we do not know of so much is the validity and reliability of said data as a lot of the time, we will just take what we are told at face value, doing no due diligence to see the merit or possible bias of what we are likely hearing from others, and frankly, I don't blame us for it. Going through the faff of breaking down every little detail just to make sure what you are likely hearing from the TV is correct and not some sort of mathematical manipulation to drive divide in a country that starts with the word united. Well, guess what… it seems they're doing just that. You probably have heard either Nigel Farage of Reform UK or Robert Jenrick of the Conservative Party, or perhaps others, espouse either of these statistics:

Again, taking these statistics at face value, they sound absolutely horrible, and you can see how some may start to worry about who we are allowing to be let into the country. I mean it wouldn't be ridiculous to come to this conclusion. The only problem, however, is that both of these statistics aren't just completely made-up, but completely and utterly baseless through the usage of fabricated population numbers. For example, in the latter, Nigel Farage claims that an Afghan male is 22 times more likely to be convicted of rape than a British native, using data collection from the CMC. To get to this conclusion the CMC issued a freedom of information request to the police on the number of rapes per racial demographic and compared that to the population size of each demographic. You see, this is all fine and dandy if they had used the correct population size of Afghans in the UK, but they didn't… instead, they deflated the number of Afghans in the UK to make it appear that they have a much greater chance of being committed of rape than the British native. When using the correct population size, it goes from a 22 times more likely figure to a three times more likely figure, more than a seven times reduction. The same can also be said about the first statistic mentioned as here they used an Afghan population size in London of 12,000, when it is in fact around 48,000, again, a four times deduction. They do this for every single racial group on the table, leading them to the false 40–47% number.

It just so happens that both of these statistics are being purported by the exact same body, a think tank known as the Centre for Migration Control. Ironic, sure, but promisingly nefarious, maybe. Let's explore, in shaa Allah…

The Centre for Migration Control (better known as the CMC) is a think tank in the UK known for its commitment to “controlling (…) Migration to Britain.” They act as a pressure group of sorts, pressuring institutions, including Parliament, the police, and others, to disclose and often de-anonymise data through freedom of information requests, leading them to publicise said data through their various platforms. We have already seen that this body can, knowingly or unknowingly (but most probably the former), fabricate information like population sizes, racial demographic information, etc. but why would they really do this, though, you may be thinking to yourself.

The anti-migration think tank is not publicly associated with any individuals, so much so that its website has no related members attached, and it is only until you arrive at the company’s house that you find their director listed as none other than Robert Bates. Although, a fairly private guy, when you start to look into his political leanings and party affiliation, you will find that Bates is not only a current Senior Campaigner for Farage's Reform UK, but was also seen saying in a Channel 4 exposé last year that his party spent double the legal limit during last year’s General Election. All of this wouldn't mean anything if Bates’ think tank had reported the correct and unaltered data, but instead they chose to manipulate numbers for reasons I can only assume are nefarious, likely to continue to purport their own manufactured talking points through the usage of baseless, fabricated and outright made up data driving further divide in a country that is already in a state of mass and profuse division.

Despite all of this, I am not here to tell you that the current state of immigration in this country is satisfactory — no, it isn't even satisfactory. However, though, there is a major difference between criticising immigration policy in the UK and wanting the ministers you elected to do better in their service to the public, and completely spewing racial and religious animus due to a belligerent and emotionally-driven hate of all that look a little different than you do. These are not analogous. One is clear, structured, and organised. The other is distorted, manufactured, and programmed. One is rationality, the other is emotionality.

One is clarity. The other? Confusion.

Choose clarity in a world so full of confusion.

Jazak Allah khair for your time and attention throughout!

Faithfully, STN