Fifth Nation UK

England; Scotland; Wales; Northern Ireland; and the Rest of Us

There is a voiceless group who have lost out more than any other in this last election: the eight million immigrants in Great Britain. We mostly could not vote (some have British citizenship) but we live here, we work, we pay taxes, we take part in community life and we do live by the same laws. We are absolutely vital for the UK economy and we pay much much more than we receive.

This is what I am calling the UK's Fifth Nation. It is made up of 8 million people born abroad currently resident in the UK from all over the world. We are 1 in 8 of the UK population, Polish, Indian, Chinese, Germany, Jamaican, Irish, Pakistani, South African, Romanian, Nigerian, French, American, Spanish, Kenyan, Turkish, Greek, Jewish, Ghanaian, Italian, Iraqi...*  and we are under attack.

Under attack by an enormous rise of anti-immigrant sentiment. By a media who calls us "scroungers", "benefit sponges", "criminals". By the rise of UKIP, by a Labour party who is willing to carve "Controls on immigration" into stone, and a Conservative government who is willing to cut our access to universities and the social welfare safety net.

We are at the blunt end of anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Roma/Gypsy racism, Police violence hits us and our children the hardest. Many of our number have been trafficked here, or are under the control of violent gangs and Mafias and live a daily struggle for survival and dignity. We do the hardest and least well paid jobs, from fruit picking to cleaning to clothes making, building, nursing and running small businesses amongst many, many others.

This is what I'm calling the UK's fifth nation.

We are many, we are here, and we demand dignity, an end to racism and the right to participate in British life.

Signed,

Johnny Foreigner

*We also include the children and grandchildren of immigrants, whose identities are as varied as grains of sand.