We’re All Immigrants, Really

The online right’s inertia leans hard toward anti-immigration rhetoric. But here’s the irony: some of the loudest voices against immigration come from areas with the lowest rates of it—places that, demographically, need more people just to survive. These communities face population decline, aging workforces, and shrinking services.

Average voter and voting system

Yet the myth of the “average voter” persists, shaped by who actually turns out to vote: older, often more conservative, and less exposed to the realities of immigration. Politicians lack the courage to challenge this dynamic. Instead, they pander—feeding a cycle that rewards stagnation and fear. A smarter politics would reform the voting system, rebalance representation, and weaken the grip of reactionary nostalgia.

Migration isn’t just external—it’s internal too.

People move between towns and cities, reshaping communities as they search for work, housing, or a different pace of life. Whether it’s someone relocating from a big city for a lifestyle change or buying a holiday home, the impact is real. That last point has hollowed out some communities—but it’s part of a bigger story about Britain’s chronic failure to build enough housing.

In many places, local opposition has blocked development, pricing out residents and selling out the future. But the story is the same: movement brings change. And when people with money move in, they often start businesses, inject energy, and shift the local economy. Even internal migration can trigger resistance. But external migration tends to provoke deeper anxieties—about identity, belonging, and control.

I’m still proud of where I’m from. But I’m also sad about its decline, and the problems we’ve failed to face.

Some of the backlash even comes from second- or third-generation migrants—people who’ve climbed the ladder and now want to pull it up behind them. Outside of doctors and nurses arriving to care for them, many are barely exposed to the broader spectrum of migration. The richness of cuisine and cultural exchange is easy to forget when it’s become part of the everyday.

We need to rebalance the narrative. That means addressing not just policy, but the information landscape that shapes perception. Mainstream media hears loud noise online and expands it reach. The damage caused by this distortion is immense—economically, socially, politically. But that’s not the focus of this piece.

Diversity and tolerance

What matters here is the deeper truth: immigration isn’t a threat to these communities. It’s a lifeline they’ve been taught to fear. That fear is rooted in old biases and a deep-seated human discomfort with the unfamiliar. But immigration is what made this nation. Tolerance and diversity aren’t just moral virtues—they’re engines of creativity, innovation, and renewal. Successful economies export and import people.

Take religion, for example. Britain is home to Protestant and Catholic churches, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and those of no religion at all. Even newer spiritual movements have found space here. Diversity isn’t new—it’s been here for generations.

Look at our restaurants: British and European, Indian and Asian, American and Caribbean. British-Chinese cuisine is a local staple. Ask people if they’d want that to disappear, and I bet the answer would be a firm no.

Want more examples? We now know that Africans existed in medvial britain. Vikings settled here giving various people surnames still in use today. English lanagge is mixure of French, German and Latin lanaguges melting together. Stories and folkore shared, famous pantomine is based on islaimc stories. Musical influences you seen blending of cutlruates and ideas.  Modern maths would not exist without golden age of islamic.

Some people are racist. We need the courage to call that out. But some have legitimate grievances—lack of investment and opportunity being two common ones. And “lack of investment” is doing heavy lifting here: school places, GP shortages, crumbling infrastructure. I agree with that i’m screaming about these problems too. Written about it and explained the problems we face.

For me, I don’t care where you’re from. You’re welcome here. Bring your traditions, your language, your cuisine. England is enriched by people who call it home. Some of my favouties foods and traditions are not British. Take Christmas most of tradions we have are German. British royal family is german / greek / russian.

We’re all immigrations really.

The first humans came to this island between 500,000 and 950,000 years ago. Modern humans arrived around 40,000 years ago. Evidence here of settlers 700,000 years ago, list of other sites after that.  Most of these settlers came from Europe, who themselves came from Africa. We are not native to this island—we are immigrants too.

I don’t mind hearing other languages on the street. I don’t mind that the old phone shop is now a Greek restaurant. Otherwise, it would be empty—no jobs, no food, no life. Do we really want to go backwards and lose the choices we have now? No pizza, no Greek cheese, no jerk chicken?

British culture has always been about enriching and branching out. Our language borrows from Latin, French, and German. These brain worms feed off real concerns—concerns politicians have failed to address. And worse, the erosion of trust has allowed con men to trick people into positions that will hurt them. Sad thing is these people want damage instiutions which hold them to account. Yielding them even more power and making it so nothing we can do. Fighting an uphill battle to resist their power and deal with any problems they cause.

I have more in common with the people coming here than with millionaires or billionares telling me to fear them. What those elites want is to destroy the institutions that hold their power to account. They want to weaken the very systems that protect us. Some ways conspicety theories are right but wrong. They have a point but completly misunderstanding the systems of the world. Being used as useful idoits for certain people to get what they want.

Housing is a real issue. We haven’t built enough. We need more homes for older people to downsize into, and more homes for young families to grow. But solving that requires investment, cash, and—yes—labour. Immigration isn’t the problem. It’s part of the solution. We do need have more childern and need make it so people feel condifence to do so. Plenty of problems around how we made society so that much harder to do from dating apps and more.

Courage to Defend Diversity

We need an answer—to defend diversity, and to deal with legitimate grievances. According to polling, much of the backlash would disappear if those grievances were addressed. Adding fuel to the fire and amplifying the problem is foolish. It shows you haven’t been paying attention to how we got here.

Liberals like me need to make the case. Not just a fact-based one, but an emotional one. We need to acknowledge the pain, offer solutions people can see, and speak to their lived experience.

Irregular boat crossings are a bit like the broken window theory: a small visible issue that becomes symbolic of something larger. It’s a tiny fraction of overall legal migration, yet it’s what people latch onto. That fixation leads to demands to lower legal migration—something that would cause massive economic harm. Most people understand that we need doctors and nurses. They don’t want fewer of them. But media distortion has wildly exaggerated how many people are arriving through irregular means.

Notice I’m not using the language of the far right. That’s deliberate.

The only silver lining here is that they may have overplayed their hand. Their messaging has become overly political—wrapping everything in the English flag and committing criminal damage through graphic stunts. These are two things British people instinctively dislike. And that’s exactly why the flag is being used: to sneak the message under the radar.

Conclusion of sorts

These are my quick thoughts on immigration. Not polished, not perfect—but honest.
I wrote this in response to the flag-waving anti-migrant protests. I’m deeply annoyed by the flag graffiti, and frustrated by liberals who’ve failed to stop fear from winning when hope has so much more to offer.
Britain deserves better. We deserve better than the current media elite, who seem bored—and dangerously willing to let the far right take over.
Do people really think that once the rights of the vulnerable disappear, theirs won’t be next? Really?