IMMIGRATION

A recent study by Migrationwatch on the effect of foreign brides from the Indian subcontinent highlights one of the major causes of the development of ethnic minority ghettos in England.

The number of spouses entering the UK from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan doubled between 1995 and 2001 and reached 22,000. The main cause of this is arranged marriages and the loosening by Labour of immigration rules relating to such marriages.

The study revealed that an estimated 48% of Pakistani, 60% of Bangladeshi, and 38% of Indian males marrying in the UK were wedding a bride from the Indian subcontinent. In Bradford in 2001 30% of children were born to immigrant mothers and the figure in London’s Tower Hamlets was 68%.

In Bradford in 2001 it is estimated that 60% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi marriages were with a spouse from the country of origin.

The study, which quotes from a report by Lord Ousely [a Labour nouveau toff and former chairman of the CRE] called ‘Race Relations in Bradford’, points out:

‘This has a very large impact on the numbers of babies being born to mothers who have immigrated from the Indian Sub-Continent (ISC) for two reasons: first, they will form a high proportion of all women from these ethnic communities (nearly 40% for Bangladeshis for instance) and, second, because mothers from the ISC have a high total fertility rate (2.3 Indian, 4.7 Pakistani and 3.9 Bangladeshi in 2001).

We have compared the numbers of children born to mothers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the 5 years 1996 to 2000 inclusive with the numbers of children aged 0 to 4 described as being of ethnic Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi origins in the 2001 census. This indicates that nearly half ethnic Indian children aged 0 to 4 have an Indian born mother and over three-quarters of ethnic Pakistani and Bangladeshi children aged 0 to 4 have a mother born in those countries.

The impact of the high rate of marriages to spouses from the ISC and high birth rates was explained in the following extract from an Annex to Lord Ousely’s report :

“It has a major impact on population growth. About 1,000 Bradfordian Muslims marry each year. If most of those marriages were internal to this country, it would lead to 500 new households which would be likely to average 4 children per household. (This is based on experience from other immigrant groups where family size usually halves that of the first generation by the second generation.) With 60% of marriages involving a spouse from overseas, the number of households goes up to 800 and, with many of the spouses being first generation, family size is likely to be significantly larger. So whereas 500 internal marriages might be expected to produce 2,000 offspring, the 800 marriages are likely to produce 4,000 offspring. This leads to very rapid population growth. In the eighties the Council estimated that the Muslim population would reach 130,000 by 2030 and then level. Now the projection is for 130,000 by 2020 and rising. The number of separate households is predicted to rise from 16,000 now to 40,000 in 2020. This rate of growth concentrated in particular areas puts severe demands on the public services. It has other ramifications. Many of the children arrive at school with little or no English. Many of those who come from overseas have little education and do not possess skills which are transferable to a Western economy. The high family size means overcrowding will be a persistent problem.”

This Annex was not published at the time because it was regarded as too “sensitive”. The decision not to publish reflects the instinct to cover up the reality of the situation which was prevalent at that time.

The impact can also be seen when we look at births to foreign-born mothers in areas which have a high percentage of their population of Bangladeshi or Pakistani descent. In Bradford, for instance, which has an ethnic minority population of 22% (of whom two-thirds are of Pakistani descent), the percentage of children born to foreign-born mothers is 30%. In Tower Hamlets which has an ethnic minority population of 49% (of whom just over two-thirds are of Bangladeshi origins), the percentage of children born to foreign born mothers is 68%.

The high prevalence of arranged marriages with partners from the ISC therefore has a major impact on the ability of these communities, particularly the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities, to integrate into British society. The communities are being constantly refreshed by new immigrants, many of whom do not speak English, who will have little contact with other ethnic groups and whose children may well arrive at school unable to speak English. The rapid growth in households puts pressure on the housing supply in “ghetto” areas. There is also, of course, a substantial effect on the ethnic population. Between 1991 and 2001 the Pakistani population of Manchester, Birmingham and Bradford increased by between 46 and 53%.

Employment prospects for immigrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan are very poor. New immigrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan have employment rates of 42.8% and 44% respectively (compared with 73% for the British born population). The percentage of new Bangladeshi and Pakistani immigrants earning less than 50% of median earnings are at 63.3% and 35.4% respectively compared to 21% for the British-born population.’

Migrationwatch has advocated stricter rules for arranged marriages, including age constraints, and have pointed out that there is a sufficiently large number of Asians in the UK that it is entirely possible for arranged marriages to be arranged with other UK born Asians.

Keith Best, the chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, has made the predictable response:

‘This is clearly a racist statement. It distinguishes between the new Commonwealth countries in the Indian subcontinent and Africa and the old Commonwealth countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia’.

It is to be noted that Trevor Phillips, in his recent speech [see English Rights Campaign entries dated the 5 October 2005 and 24 September 2005], is too busy drawing up plans for an expansion of the British Inquisition to embrace ‘race equality impact assessment’, ‘equality audits’, ‘and new incentives for shareholders to hold their boards to account on equality issues’ etc rather than deal with the damage being done to our society by continued mass immigration.

Mr Phillips positively rejected immigration as a causal factor in the lack of integration and the growth of ghettos:

‘The speed and scale of immigration have had little impact on the levels of integration in the past sixty years.’

The facts do not support that assertion. It is an insult to the intelligence. Common sense dictates that mass immigration is the major factor. Mr Phillips’s communism and his commitment to mass immigration is clouding his judgement.

Labour has already started backtracking over proposals to curtail arranged marriages [see English Rights Campaign entry dated the 8 September 2005] despite the violence which the habit is causing towards British born Asian brides.

Then there is the issue of the widespread Muslim hostility towards the host English community and the war on terror.

The government should no longer allow arranged marriages to enable immigration into the UK and should take whatever steps are necessary to end such immigration.