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thomas davison

Migrants with no English become 'jobless sub-class': They must speak it like a native, says minister
By James Chapman, Political Editor
PUBLISHED: 00:27, 9 March 2012 | UPDATED: 00:40, 9 March 2012

Immigrants who do not learn English become a virtually unemployable �sub-class�, a Cabinet minister claimed yesterday.

Eric Pickles said it was unacceptable that children were leaving school unable to speak the language �like a native�.

No other senior politician has been so outspoken on such a contentious issue.

Announcement: Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said it was unacceptable that children were leaving school unable to speak fluent English
Mr Pickles, who is in charge of community cohesion and integration, said: �In terms of wanting people, encouraging people, to be part of British society, they can�t do that unless they have more than an understanding of English.

�If we don�t get our resident population with an understanding of English, then they become a sub-class that is virtually unemployable or are stuck in a ghetto.
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'We should not be turning people out of our schools who aren�t able to speak English like a native.�

Official figures suggest that around 17 per cent of pupils in state primary schools, and 12 per cent in state secondaries, do not speak English as a first language. The equivalent figures six years ago were 12 per cent and 10 per cent.

Announcing a �10million grant to �actively encourage� the teaching of English, the Communities Secretary said Labour had exacerbated the problem by regarding minority groups as victims.

He told parliament�s weekly magazine The House that his aim was �real integration, an opportunity for people to meet, to mix, to be engaged in activities beyond their ethnic group�.

Suggesting the last government had made the situation worse with its attitude to minorities, Mr Pickles said: �Sometimes they called it a problem, sometimes they called it a challenge.

Tolerant: Pickles defended Muslim women's rights to wear the veil
We need to be a little bit more upfront about it and say Britain is stronger, much stronger, because of British Hindus, British Sikhs, because of British Muslims, because of British Jews.�

Mr Pickles was scathing about Labour�s doctrine of multiculturalism, describing it as �the politics of division�.

He insisted public bodies should no longer �bend over backwards� to translate documents into dozens of languages and migrants must be asked to learn English and demonstrate an understanding of the British way of life.

Schoolchildren should be educated in a �common culture�, promoting a British identity that crosses class, colour or creed, he suggested.

Events such as the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, meanwhile, should be used to celebrate the nation�s traditional culture and to �fly the flags of Britain� with pride.

Mr Pickles said the Government�s integration policy �essentially builds on what we have in common, rather than to seek differences�.

Explaining that his own upbringing shaped his views on cohesion, Mr Pickles added: �I can remember asking my mum why there was a sign up in a shop that said �no blacks in here� or something to that effect in Bradford, when I was not very old at all.

�It is quite right that we have introduced laws to outlaw that kind of thing. Nobody should feel frightened in the United Kingdom.

People should feel safe in their beds, they should feel comfortable in their neighbourhoods.

�These dreadful extremists want to create fear in the minds of the community. We have always been of the view that if the Muslim community of Britain, British Muslims, are seen as the enemy within, then the forces of extremism win.

We should be able to unite on the things we have in common, rather than constantly harp on the things that we have that are different.�

Mr Pickles launched a strong defence of the right of Muslim women to wear the veil. �We are a tolerant nation and frankly I have absolutely no patience in adopting a kind of French system that is going to remove people from wearing headscarves,� he said.

Labour questioned Mr Pickles�s choice of language.

Hilary Benn, opposition communities spokesman, said: �Eric Pickles should be thinking of practical ways to ensure that anyone settling in this country is able to speak English rather than talking about sub-classes and ghettos.�

Tom Brake, Lib Dem backbench home affairs spokesman, said: �We need to sing the praises of our immigrant communities rather than consign them to a ghetto.

Migrants often make superhuman efforts to learn English and end up creating jobs that benefit British workers.

HE IS MISSING THE POINT, WE DO NOT WANT IMMIGRANTS ANYMORE, NO NEED FOR THEM TO SPEAK ENGLISH IF THEY ARE NOT HERE.