Tories scraping the barrel with nasty migration debate
The Scottish Tories are shamelessly scraping the barrel with their nasty debate on migration, says Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman.
Speaking ahead of the Tory debate on Stopping Illegal Immigration and Recognising its Impact on Housing, Maggie accused the Tories of using the usual racist tropes against migrants who have not caused the housing crisis in this country.
Maggie said:
“This is the same old nasty Tory party punching down against immigrants and refugees who have not caused the housing crisis in this country.
“We have already seen the vile, racist remarks made by Robert Jenrick this week down south when he said that he hadn’t seen enough white people in Birmingham, and when Kemi Badenoch called for the UK to have its own ICE-style deportation system.
“Their Tory colleagues here in Scotland are singing from the same hymn sheet, pushing a vile, anti-migrant agenda as the reason for the systemic issues in Scotland and the wider UK.
“Perhaps they should hold a mirror to themselves and their wealthy friends and donors to see where the problems could be solved, before blaming some of the most marginalised people in our society.
“The Scottish Greens completely oppose this divisive agenda. We see the value and worth of immigration. Our communities are richer for the diverse cultures that are shared, our lives are more joyful with the friendships we forge with our neighbours, our public services stay running because of the efforts of the immigrants and working class people bolstering them.
“Without immigration, we all lose out. And this is something the Tories must learn quickly instead of scraping the barrel with this kind of nasty and divisive debate.”