[Cyclefrance]

Misconception is one element of a many tentacled problem. Will try to elaborate.

You know when you fill a bath up how everything is OK so long as the water is contained, but if you don't control it and it spills over the top then suddenly you don't have just one result (an overfull bath) unless you are quick enough to deal with the problem, you have the many consequences that this overflowing causes - the ceiling collapses below, the carpets are ruined as are the decorations, the water gets into every nook and cranny causing mould and mildew to proliferate, it may even get inside cupboards containing clothes or food - the list goes on.

This is the problem with so many of our governments half-hearted initiatives. The consequences are never thought through or accounted for and so necessary protective measures aren't put in place.

So it's not just about crime. There's the 'lump' issue with building labour, immigrants being paid lower wages than anyone else which causes them to need extra financial help. The uncontrolled situation also means that there is insufficient planning of resources to deal with these various consequences and the strain that this puts upon the resources that are available be they human or otherwise. The whole system creaks and breaks down.

The immigrants themselves become disillusioned. The overall effect that this lack of control has on the rest of society breeds the intolerance and misconception that follows. Whether we like it to admit it or not religious fundamentalism is also in there somewhere.

Very few people would bear a grudge against people who are trying honestly to better their lot - we all want to do the same, but our lack of proper arrangements causes the imbalances that generate the many problems that continue to arise - we end up letting the immigrants down as much as they put a strain on our resources. We, like any other country have a limited capacity to accommodate - until now this, and the consequences of exceeding this capacity, has been totally ignored. As you say comments that would have been considered racist are now given licence - but it isn't really the racist part that's at the heart of the problem - that's just another one of those consequences.

Our government predicted 15,000 east European immigrants would come here in a year as a result of EU expansion - we actiually recorded 400,000 we know about, plus we don't know how many extra there are that slipped the net as a result of being self-employed, students or other category that isn't recorded. With that sort of inaccuracy how can we expect to have a balanced situation?