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Press Release 06-March-2010 on Immigration: a red rag to native working-class Britons? PDF Print E-mail

Press release

06-March-2010

Immigration: a red rag to native working-class Britons?

With a significant number of disenchanted native working-class voters lodging protest votes for fringe political parties, the issue of immigration is both more topical and yet kept off the political agenda by the mainstream political parties.

 

The Manchester Salon is holding a discussion on immigration policy, the attitude of political parties to allowing more – or less – migrants into the country, and how traditional Left and Right wing stances on the subject have, in many ways, become reversed or changed focus.

 

With a General Election imminent, the issue of immigration is one that shouldn’t be off limits as previously, you could tell a lot about a person’s attitude to politics and freedom by their views on immigration. With the emergence of ‘muscular Liberals’ (pro-Iraq war and advocating immigration quotas), many old certainties have disappeared.

 

Renowned journalist Brendan O’Neill will lead the Manchester Salon debate. Brendan is the editor of the independent online phenomenon, spiked online, and author of the green satire Can I Recycle My Granny and 39 Other Eco-Dilemmas.

 

O’Neill writes widely for publications on both sides of the Atlantic. His journalism has been widely published in the New Statesman, the Spectator, the Guardian, The Sunday Times, the British Journalism Review, the Press Gazette and the Catholic Herald in Britain, Slate, the Chicago Sun-Times, the American Prospect, the American Conservative and Reason magazine in the United States. He is also a feature-writer for the Christian Science Monitor in America and for the BBC in Britain.

 

With Britain in ideological flux over immigration and the issues it raises of multiculturalism, fear of the ‘enemy’, press hyperbole over immigration and terrorism, the Manchester Salon debate promises to be a key event in the political diary.

 

The debate takes place at the Shakespeare pub, 16 Fountain Street, Manchester, M2 2AA at 7.15pm on Tuesday 16 March. A charge of £5 is made to cover costs.

 

Notes to editors:The Manchester Salon meets every month to discuss a contemporary issue, sometimes sparked by the publication of a particular book. For further details visit www.manchestersalon.org.uk, or contact Simon Belt by Email on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Last Updated on Saturday, 06 March 2010 17:13
 
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