Ian Duncan Smith: "British jobs to British workers"

Ian Duncan Smith panders to prejudice

Today the Work and Pensions Secretary Ian Duncan Smith, in a speech to be given in Spain, will engage in the worst form pandering to racial prejudice. Echoing the call of the hapless former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2007 he will call for British employers to employ British workers.

In seeking to respond to the news that over 90% of the 400,0000 jobs created in the last year have gone to ‘ Johnny Foreigner ‘.

Speaking to the Spanish Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies in Madrid, the BBC has reported that Mr. Duncan Smith will say that the government is ‘determined ‘to create an immigration system "that gives the unemployed a level playing field".

"If we do not get this right then we risk leaving more British citizens out of work, and the most vulnerable group who will be the most affected are young people," he will say

"But government cannot do it all. As we work hard to break welfare dependency and get young people ready for the labour market, we need businesses to give them a chance, and not just fall back on labour from abroad.

"If government and business pull together on this, I believe we can finally start to give our young people a chance."

Such comments are deeply irresponsible implying as they do that ‘foreigners are stealing our jobs’. This popular refrain is the last bastion of the desperate politician. Both the Ian Duncan Smith and Prime Minister David Cameron will know only to well such proposals are illegal under current European law.

The vast majority of migration comes form the European Union and the UK Government is completely powerless and can do nothing to reducing that figure.

The rationale for such comments are designed to scapegoat minorities, whip up racial prejudice and divert attention away from public sector strikes and the parlous state of the economy. The Government is seeking to politically exploit peoples fear about immigration.

This type of dangerous gesture politics are deeply damaging not only to the economy but also to community relations. It places the blame in the public mind for current levels of British unemployment firmly on the shoulders of anyone considered by the British public as a ‘ foreigner’ regardless of their nationality. Some employers may see this as giving them a green light to discriminate against those they determine as not being British and lets face it this is often not a matter of citizenship more a matter of race or faith.

David Cameron knows this, as that is exactly the accusation he levelled at Gordon Brown in 2007 on the very same issue. Cameron stated in debate on the Queens speech debate and reported here that

“ The Prime Minister knew the promise (British jobs for British workers) used in his 2007 party conference speech, was illegal under EU law and accused him of taking it from National Front and British National Party leaflets.”

This reckless politic will certainly pander to xenophobic type racism and no doubt will be welcomed by the extreme right wing organisations such as the British National Party and the English Defence League.

The proposals smack of an apartheid like employment regime. Of course the reality is that there is already a strong culture of racism in the employment practices of the British private sector. With a 13-point gap between levels of adult black and white employment and the majority of UK black young people now not in work the Government should focus on strengthening race equality legislation to eliminate racism in private sector recruitment instead of tilting at racist windmills.

Instead the Government are watering down race equality legislation, slashing the Equality & Human Rights Commission budget whilst making statements that will whip up popular racial resentment.

Lee Jasper