Government Ad vans: pandering to racial prejudice

You would be forgiven if, like many, you believed that the Government’s ‘Go home or face arrest ’ advertising campaign was nothing more than a cynical ploy to win bigoted voters away from Ukip back to the Conservatives.

And as far as plans go, it’s kind of working. The Conservative party couldn’t buy this type of, ‘We’re tough on illegal immigrants’ publicity, yet for a reported £10,000 of public money they’re everywhere. Like it or not everyone is talking about illegal immigrants. And if anyone is confused about which illegal immigrants they want to point the finger at, just take a cursory glance at where some of these vans are piloted: Brent and Barking and Dagenham. Yes, you guessed it, home to either large Black populations and or in the case of Barking and Dagenham, a deeply racially divided community. Furthermore, the cynical amongst us see the Government’s threat to roll this ad campaign out across the county as part of the plan to milk the cheap publicity it brings.

So the Government have scored a great victory for dirty politics: pandering to prejudice, wining grubby votes, and getting the general public to pay for it.

Beyond the cynical political gain, society is left reeling. Any of us with a non-Caucasian skin fits the BNP, EDL, and UKIP stereotype of an illegal immigrant. In fact the first two profoundly racist groups barely acknowledge that you can be Black and British in any situation.

Furthermore, this type of Government sponsored ads do little or nothing to deal with the problem of illegal immigration. Would those who voluntarily come forward be tagged, put under house arrest or placed in a detention centre? And for those who don’t want to return to their native lands will hardly fear arrest in the first place. Those who see going home to nothing or worse still danger will not fear being arrested, their main plight is to keep away from the authorities.

This latest stunt is a real shame and drags everything down to cynical Government policy with its eye on the next general election. It also makes you wonder about the Home Office decision to review, ‘Stop and Search’ practises. Is this too a cynical ploy to win the Black electorate with one policy initiative whilst on another feeding racist divide and rule propaganda to satisfy Right wing bigots?

I sincerely hope not, but then like you I just can’t be sure.

Simon Woolley