Partly due to the rabble-rousing of UKIP, on average, Britons believe that one person in three is a migrant. The true figure is closer to one in seven. They also overestimate the amount of benefits claimed by EU migrants by a factor of six. The number of immigrants from the EU each year is almost exactly balanced by the number of Britons go and live in the EU.
Politicians want us to blame our fellow workers for the problems which capitalism causes. They try to turn us against ourselves - blaming immigrants, or Muslims, or non-whites instead of understanding that it's the profit system itself which is the problem.
UKIP like to pose as an alternative to the mainstream parties of Labour, Conservative and the Lib-Dems. The fact that these parties seem united in regarding UKIP as 'beyond the pale' serves to bolster UKIP's image. But what neither they nor the mainstream can ever acknowledge are some fundamental things which they share in common. Chief among these is that in supporting one variety of capitalism or another, all these parties are fundamentally anti-working class.
The mainstream parties have long used the tactic of 'divide and rule' to keep us - the majority - in our place. Instead of realising what we have in common as a class, we are taught to regard our fellow workers as being the enemy, or the cause of our problems. UKIP's version of this, of course, is its rabid nationalism. But when the UKIP talk of putting 'Britain' first, it simply means putting the interests of the ruling class first! You can't just wish away the reality of class division, and the interests of Cameron, Boris Johnson, or Branson are most certainly NOT the same as the interests of the working class in Britain. We have far more in common with our fellow workers elsewhere than we have with those who rule over us, and swapping Labour or Tory for UKIP won't alter that.
UKIP hits out at symptoms but fails to understand causes. Take immigration from Europe for instance. Migrants are, quite simply, our fellow workers. They are NOT the cause of unemployment, they are NOT the cause of overcrowding, they are NOT the cause of crime. These things are caused by the system of production for profit; in fact, capitalism itself. It is the profit system which forces employers to drive wages down by importing cheaper labour, but UKIP have no wish to tackle this system - in effect, they think it's okay for the ruling class to exploit the rest of us.
Many British workers speak of a country changing beyond their recognition. We, in the Socialist Party, reject the view that things should always stay the same. We argue for change, hoping to build a new society run for the benefit of everyone. We all have the ability to work together in each other's interests. All it takes is the right ideas and a willingness to make it happen.
Politicians want us to blame our fellow workers for the problems which capitalism causes. They try to turn us against ourselves - blaming immigrants, or Muslims, or non-whites instead of understanding that it's the profit system itself which is the problem.
UKIP like to pose as an alternative to the mainstream parties of Labour, Conservative and the Lib-Dems. The fact that these parties seem united in regarding UKIP as 'beyond the pale' serves to bolster UKIP's image. But what neither they nor the mainstream can ever acknowledge are some fundamental things which they share in common. Chief among these is that in supporting one variety of capitalism or another, all these parties are fundamentally anti-working class.
The mainstream parties have long used the tactic of 'divide and rule' to keep us - the majority - in our place. Instead of realising what we have in common as a class, we are taught to regard our fellow workers as being the enemy, or the cause of our problems. UKIP's version of this, of course, is its rabid nationalism. But when the UKIP talk of putting 'Britain' first, it simply means putting the interests of the ruling class first! You can't just wish away the reality of class division, and the interests of Cameron, Boris Johnson, or Branson are most certainly NOT the same as the interests of the working class in Britain. We have far more in common with our fellow workers elsewhere than we have with those who rule over us, and swapping Labour or Tory for UKIP won't alter that.
UKIP hits out at symptoms but fails to understand causes. Take immigration from Europe for instance. Migrants are, quite simply, our fellow workers. They are NOT the cause of unemployment, they are NOT the cause of overcrowding, they are NOT the cause of crime. These things are caused by the system of production for profit; in fact, capitalism itself. It is the profit system which forces employers to drive wages down by importing cheaper labour, but UKIP have no wish to tackle this system - in effect, they think it's okay for the ruling class to exploit the rest of us.
Many British workers speak of a country changing beyond their recognition. We, in the Socialist Party, reject the view that things should always stay the same. We argue for change, hoping to build a new society run for the benefit of everyone. We all have the ability to work together in each other's interests. All it takes is the right ideas and a willingness to make it happen.
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