The European Commission predicts that there will be eighty million people living in Britain in fifty years time. Unless something is done, that will make us the most crowded country in Europe.

MP’s who are putting forward a plan to slash the number of immigrants coming into the country by 200,000 a year claim it would give us a population of fifty-six million by 2050 instead of the sixty-six million estimated at the present rate of immigration.

If we maintain this same rate, is it assumed that these new residents would be responsible for the increase of a further fourteen million inhabitants in the years up to 2058?

Wouldn’t it be great if this wonderful worldwide media we have, reported and supplied us with news and information we are able to comprehend and more importantly, believe and trust!

Have we reached the stage where it would be much better if we were not made aware of other people’s opinions but just given the basic facts?


Did You Know?

We have always had immigrants settling here from all over the world just as we have always had some of our people who decided they could have a better life in some other country. The numbers of both groups were minimal and didn’t affect the population in most areas of this country until after the end of the Second World War. That was responsible for a lot of comings and goings, when people who had met and were then parted joined up again. Many, like the GI brides, left to join their husbands and vice versa. A few years later different nationalities were encouraged to come here to address the labour shortage. We required manual workers for the railways and such jobs as refuse collectors. Many from the West Indies seized the opportunity of a better life. They were followed by an influx of families from places like India and Pakistan into the more industrial areas. At the same time this was happening there was a steady flow of newcomers from the Far East and Asia. More recently we have depended on labour from Europe.

It was obvious from the start that our Society would have to be adjusted to accommodate these changes and becoming part of Europe must have helped. Especially when we had to conform to their directives regarding discrimination etc. However, it seems that this initial short term solution overlooked many factors and it was inevitable they would have to be dealt with in the future.

At the turn of the century and before the First World War the population in relation to the size of our country was well balanced and with an average of two children per family it was being preserved. On this basis, just one generation on after their arrival, the newcomers would have doubled their numbers. A few years after this steady influx that was encouraged and brought in to boost our work force following the Second World War, we were faced with a situation where our factories, shipyards and industrial plants were being closed down. Consequently, jobs became hard to come by and we were faced with a new problem! One that was exacerbated by the build up of demand on overstretched Services and the adjustments necessary to accommodate the increasing number of multinational youngsters in our educational system.

So what are we doing about it? If our population is not strictly controlled we will have to develop more of our valuable land as we rapidly become overcrowded. We might then go from being one of the World’s leaders to a nation who has to depend on help and the charity of others. One other point! If global warming raises the sea level to anything like the forecast, there will be even less land left to accommodate all these people.

While we strain our eyes using eco-friendly bulbs in all our lights, sort our rubbish carefully and cut down on the use of our cars people continue to flock to the airports to fly away on holiday. All through the summer, resorts decorate their promenades with thousands of lights and in the winter towns and cities adorn their streets and buildings in much the same way.

The hole in the ozone layer seems to have been stitched up and we no longer hear anything about it!! Are the general public really concerned about the carbon footprint? Everyone acknowledges the damage we have done and are still doing to our planet but do they believe that if we do not take positive action, there is no hope for its survival as we know it? In that case it will be the end of the human race.

If what they tell us is correct shouldn’t we ban all except military aircraft from flying as well as all but emergency vehicles from the roads? Not just this country but worldwide. Before that, shouldn’t the crux of the whole issue of global warming be addressed by ceasing to destroy the rainforests and taking steps to restore them.

A recent report in a newspaper [just thirteen lines on an inside page] was of the appeal made by the president of Brazil, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, for eleven billion pounds to promote alternatives to forest-clearing for the Amazonian people. This would at least be a small start but to date, as far as I have heard, there has been no response.

valley lad – [FIFTY-SEVEN]