Being British

On Radio 5 this morning the phone-in is about how we should assimilate immigrants.

We should look to history!

My family is part-Jewish and part-Hugenot, who came to the UK about 1820-40 or so. Read about those families and apply the lessons they learnt.

They did learn English and in perhaps 30 to 40 years most became full members of society.

If you look at many of the earlier West Indian immigrants, then they too have gone through this assimilation.

The problem is that we have allowed ghettos to be created, which have all of the problems of bad housing and poverty. But then when I grew up in North London in the 50's we had exactly the same areas with the same problems. Then they were totally white council estates where no-one in their right mind wanted to live!

So we must solve the poverty problems at the bottom end and in return everybody must learn English, so that they can play a full part in this wonderful society of ours!

It is a two-way process, not one that is totally up to the immigrant!