One thing which puzzles me is the fury some feel over the flying of British flags, recently exempligied in the response to the Unite the Kingdom rally. I wore a St George’s badge as a pupil of St George’s Roman Catholic secondary school in north-west London. This was perfectly acceptable and yet in the same city we see outrage over our national flag. True, it’s more than 30 years since I left the school grounds for the final time. But there are pupils who attend the school today doing the same thing. And that does not make them racist.
In my quest to understand what problems people have with the Union Jack and St George’s Cross, journalist Trevor Phillips helped me a great deal by way of an eloquent monologue on Sky News. His impartial and detailed analysis of the march was pivotal to the conversation. He said most of the people who attended were just normal, day-to-day folk you would find at a football match while other commentators depicted them as yobs.
Phillips has put the heart and soul back into impartial journalism. I have always admired his style of journalism. I have watched him for years as far back in the 1980s when he held people to account and featured many case studies which would be aired elsewhere on ITV’s The London Programme.
As a broadcaster who hosts phone-in shows, I understand that it’s important to always give both sides of the story a chance to breathe. I always try to do that. But sadly some outlets have an agenda.
I wish others would follow Trevor Phillips’ passion for the actual story rather than assuming the worst. Britons have deep concerns over general freedoms, people not integrating with British culture and those profiting from our welfare system through trafficking undocumented migrants to the UK.
I’ve seen first-hand in my area of London that the sense of community has completely disappeared. Once a respected area, it is now a cesspit of garden flat conversions for many families who are claiming benefits, some whom are unable to speak English.
It has become a money shop for greedy landlords and a dumping ground for many who don’t know what Britain and its culture is about. As someone who values my area and community I am deeply concerned as to where it’s going.
A close friend who lives in the area simply said it’s an invasion. It’s not racist to ask questions especially when you are truly passionate about where you live.
Many people I’ve spoken to in person and on the radio are concerned about the influx of men arriving on small boats. Many deemed as young men but in actual fact they are men in their early 20s some on their 30s.
This stems from people displaced in war torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and other places. Some are seeking a better life. Some of those men and their families end up with no option but to part with their savings to pay traffickers in order to find a route to Europe then to the UK.
But it’s on the UK Government to work with neighbouring countries to find a solution to stop this from happening. Keir Starmer said he’d “smash the gangs”. He’s completely failed to live up to this promise.
It’s wrong to sit back and allow the UK to be known as the place to come if you want to rinse the system. Many people law-abiding citizens are scared to speak out and those who claim to be liberal thinkers simply ignore these concerns.
They prefer to brand those asking questions “right wing” and use derogatory terms for ethnic minorities sick of this situation, calling them “coconuts” and other vile names.
No party can resolve this overnight – Labour, Tory or Reform. But the Government must at least make a proper start, tackling the problem instead of issuing slogans.