Migrants are not to blame for Britain’s problems

Jon Danzig | 12 October 2025

Britain depends on migrants – yet our leaders and some newspapers still scapegoat them for the nation’s ills. The truth is the very opposite: without migrants, Britain would struggle to survive, let alone thrive.

Ten years ago, in October 2015, I gave a speech about how UK newspapers were publishing shocking lies about migrants and refugees.

I warned then that this constant stream of misinformation was fuelling fear, resentment and division.

The video of my speech has now been remastered with a new introduction called, Britain: Where are we heading?, because the warning from ten years ago has become even more urgent.

Back in 2015, I said that Britain might already be on step three of the 𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗗𝗘, as defined by Genocide Watch:

“One group denies the humanity of the other group. Members of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects, or diseases.”

Today, I believe we have moved further down that path.

Both the Conservatives and Reform UK have pledged to withdraw Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights – the international treaty drafted by British lawyers after the horrors of the Second World War, and which Britain was the first nation to sign.

They also promise mass deportations from Britain. The Conservatives say they would remove around 750,000 people they call “illegal immigrants” within five years – a label that under their proposed new laws would newly include asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers are not illegal and have a lawful right under international and UK law to claim asylum. But the Conservatives plan to change the law so that many who arrive to seek refuge would instead be reclassified as “illegal” and made subject to deportation.

Reform UK’s plans go even further. Nigel Farage has proposed to end Indefinite Leave to Remain, stripping many thousands of legally settled migrants of their right to live and work in Britain. He also wants to deport asylum seekers, including women who fled from Afghanistan, even though they could face torture or death if returned.

Even Labour has shifted towards harsher rhetoric, tightening visa rules that the Royal College of Nursing warns will deepen staff shortages in the NHS.

The impression from political leaders and populist newspapers alike is that migrants are no longer welcome.

But this narrative is false.

Britain depends on migrants.

With our birth rate falling and our older population rising fast, we simply do not have enough Britons to fill the jobs that keep the country running. Around seven million foreign-born workers are employed across every sector. Without them, Britain would grind to a halt.

We cannot take in all the world’s refugees, but we can and must take our share. There are over 42 million refugees worldwide and more than 123 million people forcibly displaced by conflict, persecution or disaster. Many possess vital skills our country needs.

The choice before us is stark. We can continue to be misled by propaganda that blames the powerless for our problems, or we can choose compassion, truth and humanity.

We cannot change the past. But together, we can still change the future.

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Post-script, November 2025:

• How did it become “fact” that our asylum system has been broken by the people fleeing war, rather than by those who run it? asks Labour back-bench MP, Stella Creasy

Since this article was first published, the Labour government has announced new policies that would make life even more precarious for refugees coming to Britain.

Under the proposals, refugees would be given only short term protection, with no clear right to settle, build a life, or feel secure.

These plans echo the hostile approach previously championed by Reform and sections of the Conservative Party. They risk deepening fear and division, and they do nothing to address the real causes of Britain’s housing, workforce, and public service pressures.