International

U.K. poll shows support for tough asylum laws

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON APRIL 29. British politicians, struggling to contain the spread of the far right, have had a rude shock with an opinion poll showing that 53 per cent of the voters believe the "British political establishment needs the same kind of kick as Le Pen delivered in France".

In what has been described as a "wake-up call" for mainstream political parties, one-third of those interviewed said Britain could be headed for the kind of extremist politics that more and more European countries are embracing. Observers said it was disturbing that the issues which worried most British voters were the same that had tipped the scale in favour of the far right in continental Europe — namely, immigration and asylum. A whopping 67 per cent people wanted the British Government to adopt tougher policies to curb immigration.

The findings came as music to the ears of the anti-immigration British National Party (BNP) which claimed that it confirmed its own perception of the view on the ground. Its leader, Nick Griffin, said that in Oldham — a largely immigrant town and scene of last summer's race riots — most whites "would put the blacks on the first boat out." He reiterated his party policy of voluntary repatriation of immigrants and admitted telling young Asians that "we'll pay you to go home".

"The BNP is striving to tap into what it sees as white resentment in Oldham over positive discrimination towards Asians," The Sunday Times said calling its poll a "warning" sign ahead of the nationwide local elections on May 2. For the first time, the BNP is expected to pick up some seats in the racially sensitive immigrant belt of north England.

There was more bad news on the race front as latest official figures indicated an alarming rise in race-related crimes, particularly in smaller cities and rural areas. Though police sought to play it down saying that the graph looked bad because more people were now reporting such incidents, anti-racist campaigners warned against complacency. They said the mainstream parties had failed to address the concerns on both sides of the racial divide and allowed resentment to build. Both whites and ethnic groups were getting increasingly alienated from the political processes, and drifting towards extremist camps, they said.

Critics also seized on a report which reveals that blacks and Asians are discriminated by all political parties and they are grossly under-represented at all levels. It warns that if ethnic minorities cannot identify with politicians who represent them then they "will have little reason to be enthused about engaging in the political process." The report was seen as an embarrassment for the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, whose Labour Party depends hugely on ethnic groups for electoral support. "His call to fight racism would sound hollow unless he does something — and fast — to set his own house in order," one commentator said.

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