Lee Anderson’s ugly words shame Britain
JVL Introduction
In a short, powerful letter to the Guardian, Rabbi Alexandra Wright takes Tory deputy party chair, Lee Anderson, to task for his grotesque words about asylum seekers.
There were two additional letters, also reposted below.
Steve Bell adds his mark!
This article was originally published by the Guardian, letters page on Thu 10 Aug 2023. Read the original here.
Lee Anderson’s ugly words shame Britain
Guardian Letters
The Tory deputy chair used demeaning and disgusting language in his remarks about asylum seekers, says Alexandra Wright. PA week after the devastating fire that consumed Grenfell Tower in June 2017, I joined a march of silence from the library in Ladbroke Grove to Grenfell Tower.
Nothing prepared me as I raised my eyes to look at the terrible and shocking black shell of the tower, as though transplanted from hell’s own landscape – an unsightly and menacing frame, a blind, burnt, blackened towering box, its empty glassless windows a shocking indictment of negligence and all that is morally ugly in our society.
I am haunted by that image, as I imagine many others are, seeing the Bibby Stockholm barge moored in Portland, Dorset, and reading the descriptions of its claustrophobic cabins and corridors, the risks of fire and illness, the fear of those who are now taking up residence in what will become an overcrowded, dangerous and humiliating space for people arriving in this country.
How can we hold up our heads in pride and dignity when a member of parliament, the Conservative deputy chair, backed by the justice secretary, speaks of human beings in demeaning and disgusting language (Downing Street backs Tory deputy chair over ‘back to France’ comments, 8 August)?
What kind of society are we that cannot offer individuals seeking asylum from persecution, war, domestic violence and trafficking a home, a place to work and educate their children. We have lost our dignity, our compassion, our ability to reach out with kindness, with creative and constructive ideas for guests in this country. How can we subject guests in our country to the dangers and degradation of living in what is effectively a prison?
No one in this country should associate themselves with expressions of racism, hatred, hostility and blatant rejection, whether expressed by an MP or any other insensitive and inhuman individual. I feel ashamed, and so should those who govern our country.
Alexandra Wright
Senior rabbi, The Liberal Jewish Synagogue; president, Liberal Judaism
If we want to stop the boats, whether for humanitarian reasons or as a divisive wedge issue, it’s actually worth thinking a little about motivation. As it stands, it seems to be the case that when asylum cases are eventually examined, they are significantly more likely to be accepted than rejected. Therefore it’s far from irrational to invest in a Channel crossing if no other routes are open to you. So the humanitarian response is to speed up the assessment process and open other routes.
On the other hand, the wedge issue response is to underfund case assessment to maximise the numbers in the system and keep the cost high by such attention-grabbing initiatives as Rwanda flights and barges and telling people to “fuck off back to France”, while deliberately endangering lawyers (Target of Tory ‘lefty lawyer’ dossier forced to review security after email, 8 August). The logic seems inexorable: this government sees itself as having far more to gain from not solving the small boats issue, so don’t expect to see any change this side of a very nasty general election campaign.
Kevin Potter
Professor emeritus, Bristol University
The Conservative party deputy chairman’s sweary diatribe against refugees is significant, not only for the cruelty of it, but also because [of what] it reveals ultimately about what his constituency will tell him to do at the next general election.
Will King
Exeter
I’d speak of unintended consequences. Our people, seeking refuge have heard the denial of succour from our current ( Tory ) government. Hopefully they will be generous in the face of this disgusting behaviour but I doubt that. It’s a stupid government that would turn people seeking safety into people harbouring resentment.
I don’t know much about Rabbi Alexandra. From a sermon I found online, she would like peace between Israel and palestine and an end to the occupation (though she cites its uniting of Palestinians as a reason for it to end, as I understand her words). In any event, when I hear a Rabbi call for the right of return of Palestinian refugees from the Naqba, from 1967 and from numerous less numerous expulsions, I’ll listen to them/him/her moralising on other refugee issues.
In response to Will King’s short letter, Anderson’s constituency might tell him where to get off to, but unfortunately I don’t think his ranting against refugees will be the reason for rejecting him.
Lee Anderson and his former boss, former Labour MP Gloria De Piero, are both on GB news now.
I find it disgusting that the Labour Party leadership have not condemned Anderson remarks in the strongest possible terms. The softly softly approach to language by the Party makes it more acceptable in the public arena.
These letters reminded me of Gary Lineker’s tweet which caused a lot of controversies. Media and some politicians who spoke against his tweet wrongly accused him of drawing parallels with 1940’s holocaust but in fact Lineker tweeted about the language used in 1930’s. The German propaganda using inflammatory language turned the German masses against the Jews. Even in the UK there was a full page spread in the Daily Mail of 1932 against the Jews. The language used by the Tory politicians is turning the UK masses against the asylum seekers.
The power of Propaganda, is well understood by the Tory Government and the majority of the British Press.
ie, they blamed the EU migrants for wage decline, housing shortages, pressure on Schools and NHS etc, they never mentioned the EU rules for free movement (which they ignored) that you could use to control the numbers.
Now, it’s the Asylum Seekers who are the enemy, they are being used to boost the Tory votes at the next GE, they are the Party that’s going to control the numbers. Starmer who I suspect agrees with there policies on asylum seekers, will have been advised to stay neutral and to never oppose their policies, they’ll be accused of being soft on immigration. This is why Starmer is almost silent on the issue and wavering with his answers when being questioned. He should be calling out the reasons why thousands will take the risks involved in travelling hundreds even Thousands of miles to find a place of safety from wars and famine, where they can work and settle in their families into where they end up.
“Why choose the UK”? The answer is simple, wherever you travel in the World, you’ll find the most used language is English, so that’s why so many aim for the UK, they don’t have to learn a new language.