Lord Ahmed: 'white working class neglected'. VOTE

Lord Ahmed has accused the Government of helping the rise of far-right extremists by neglecting Britain’s white working class and said that minority groups were baring the brunt of the attacks.

The South Yorkshire peer, born in Pakistan, said that black and Muslim people were being blamed as a result of mass immigration, even though arrivals from Eastern Europe in recent months had been in greater number.

The outspoken peer, formerly a Labour member, said: “This perception that foreigners are coming in and taking all the jobs creates difficulty in communities and has a bad impact on race relations in this country.

“As a result you have people looking towards the BNP and other right-wing fascist groups who unfortunately blame black and Muslim communities for it, and that's not true.”

Lord Ahmed is a member of the cross-party group on Balanced Migration, which has called for the UK population to be capped at 70 million.

He said: “I think it's important for well-educated people to have this debate in a sensible manner and stop it from getting into the hands of political parties like the BNP.

“I honestly think that to maintain our country in good economic and social health, rid unemployment and also to make sure there are no race relations problems, we need to have control and balance over immigration.

“The government should have done more to provide incentives for white working class citizens.

“A lot of the white working class people in some areas are not equipped, trained or empowered.”

Lord Ahmed added that not all immigration was bad but there needed to be control so that parts of society wre not demonised.

“I’m not saying we should close out gates completely,” he said. “We know that immigration in other industrialised country's like America and Australia have benefited greatly from it.

“But its effects are causing a problem for some people. I think it's important not to forget about those who came over here, some who even fought for this country.

“We need to remember how they worked for 18 hours a day trying to make a better life for their families.

“I was speaking to an 85-year-old man recently who fought against the Nazis for this country and he is an Asian immigrant, so we can't forget about these people either. 

“I want to make sure that we have a balanced migration policy looking at the needs of Britain and why we need people coming here.”