Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson's vulgar remark about asylum seekers is a populist distraction technique – Scotsman comment
Turning immigration into a major issue is one way to distract voters from serious concerns like the NHS crisis
Using a word that The Scotsman does not publish, Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson said asylum seekers who do not want to be housed in barges should “f*** off back to France”. This, it appears, is UK Government policy, with Justice Secretary Alex Chalk backing Anderson for expressing “the righteous indignation of the British people”, if in “salty terms”.
Controversially, The Scotsman has backed the idea of using a barge to house refugees as a temporary measure, assuming it is safe and fit for human habitation. However, the remarks by Anderson and Chalk raise a broader issue about today’s politics.
Immigration was one reason why people backed Brexit and some of their concerns were understandable. For example, those struggling to make a GP appointment, get a council house or access other state services may have felt that more people would mean more problems.
For right-wing Conservatives, such worries create an opportunity to rerun the successful Brexit campaign at a general election and Rishi Sunak appears to be leaning into the strategy. Of his five pledges, “stop the boats” is by far the best known. Another – to cut the size of NHS waiting lists – barely seems to get a mention. This may be explained by a rise in England’s overall waiting list from 7.42 million in April to 7.47 million in May.