Immigration pushes England's population to new high in biggest rise since the 'baby boom' years

This article does not mention that these are net increases after hundreds of thousands of British people leave each year. Britain is undergoing a population transfusion which has implications for its future as a nation.

We have no experience of dealing with this situation. America has done an amazing job of integrating large numbers of immigrants from different cultures and assimilating them into the American way of life. We have always rather arrogantly relied on our immigrants to find our way of life attractive. Implicit in much of the press coverage about immigration to Britain is a ludicrous assumption of superiority. We have a vision of people clinging onto undercarriages and sneaking through the Channel Tunnel from a desperate desire to reach broad sunlit uplands.

The sad fact is that Britain is simply a soft option; immigrants can live here without being badgered to buy into our way of life. They can get leaflets in their own languages explaining how to claim welfare benefits. They can live as if at home, without the pressure they would have in France or Germany to become French or German. Our law enforcement is sloppy and inefficient. An illegal immigrant has a very good chance of never being deported. These are the real attractions.

Arrogantly we have never reached out to our immigrants through education. Our ruling Left would now see any attempt to do so as racism. Our cynicism about our own values and culture has probably put many immigrants off. If we don't believe in our way of life, why should they?

Imagine beginning a school day in Britain in American style with an oath of allegiance to the flag; imagine a Union Jack in the corner of the classroom; it's laughably, unthinkably "uncool". Unfortunately, that attitude of value-free cool detachment is costing us. Ironically, our emigrants are often the people who love our country best. They go because they can't stand what's happening to it. Our immigrants don't love it at all - and will never learn to do so unless we recover our self-belief.

Telegraph | News | Immigration pushes England's population to new high in biggest rise since the 'baby boom' years