Asylum distribution scandal less about immigration and more about inequality

Photograph: The clock tower of Rochdale town hall from Pixabay (License) (Cropped)

Over the weekend, there were reports of anger at the way those seeking asylum in Britain were being distributed across the country. These people were being sent to the poorest communities, while the richest communities often took not a single person (Lyons & Duncan, 2017).

One town particularly affected was Rochdale, a small town with an outsized history as a progressive beacon. It was the birthplace of the co-operative movement and, against the grain in Britain, supported the Union and the abolition of slavery during the American Civil War (Keegan, 2010; Cash, 2013) - despite the pain of the loss of cotton imports from the Confederacy.

Even in a town with that historical backdrop, there is anger that is framed and understood through the lens of anti-immigration sentiment (Lyons, 2017). But that misses the point, as much of the distracting immigration anger has done so far. The real issue is inequality.

As the figures show, without the funding to match, the burden that comes with caring and including those people seeking asylum is being dropped into the hands of the country's poorest communities (Lyons & Duncan, 2017).

Communities that have already been hit hard by cuts to local government budgets (Butler, 2017) - services have been stretched and funds are scarce. It has been Conservative policy for some time to shift responsibilities away from central government without funding.

All the while, the Right seeks to misdirect the anger at this situation onto 'immigrants' - to those fleeing danger and murder, or the refugees of war. But the figures clearly show the real problem: Britain's wealthiest communities are not pulling their weight or sharing the burdens.

This isn't isolated to asylum. Look at the energy and the environment. Communities, particularly Conservative constituencies, have refused green energy technology, like wind farms, as 'eyesores' blighting their communities (Hennessy, 2012). But where is their outcry against their energy coming from dirty plants in poorer neighbourhoods?

While this unequal distribution of burdens paints Britain in a bad light, . Part of the opposition to the expansion of green energy has been the unequal distribution of its financial benefits (Mason, 2012) and in every community there can be a found positive and charitable support for those seeking asylum from danger.

From Saffiyah Khan, the woman who stood up and peacefully faced a nationalist group when they surrounded a counter-protesting woman (BBC, 2017); to the peaceful and charitable disposition found in communities across the country (Lyons, 2017); there are innumerable examples that Britain has broad shoulders and can make light of its burdens.

But not when all of the burdens are dropped on the poorest communities. Not when the wealthiest communities exempt themselves, sending the unfortunate and desperate somewhere else without even the support funding to match.

It's one rule for conservative Britain and another for everyone else. Like in ancient Athens: "The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must". That adage is not good enough and should be left buried in the past where it belongs.

References

Kate Lyons & Pamela Duncan's ''It's a shambles': data shows most asylum seekers put in poorest parts of Britain - Analysis shows five times as many live in poorest third of country as in richest third, sparking calls for overhaul of system'; in The Guardian; 9 April 2017.

Mike Keegan's 'Barrel reveals local history: When workers at a museum found planks from a rotten old barrel in a box, they nearly threw them away. But they turned out to be a fascinating link to how Rochdale suffered during the war to abolish slavery in America'; in the Manchester Evening News; 18 April 2010.

Bill Cash's 'Abraham Lincoln and John Bright: a special relationship - The English radical and anti-slavery campaigner had a profound influence on the US president'; in the New Statesman; 13 March 2013.

Kate Lyons' 'Rochdale: where every 200th person is an asylum seeker - The north-west town has a higher concentration of asylum seekers than anywhere in England. Locals have been both generous and furious'; in The Guardian; 9 April 2017.

Patrick Butler's 'Councils 'at breaking point' due to budget cuts and rising social care bills: Millions of residents face council tax rises, as thinktank finds just 6% of local authorities expect to not have to increase rates'; in The Guardian; 10 February 2017.

Patrick Hennessy's '101 Tories revolt over wind farms: David Cameron has been hit by a major protest by Conservative MPs over the Government’s backing for wind farms, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose'; in The Telegraph; 4 February 2012.

Kelvin Mason's 'Why are wind farms sparking protest? Continuing controversy over wind farms in Wales illustrates the need for a redistribution of power and wealth in the energy sector'; on Red Pepper; 30 June 2012.

'EDL Birmingham protest photo woman 'surprised' by viral reaction'; on the BBC; 10 April 2017.