Britain's politicians and civil servants are “too middle class” to tackle problems caused by immigration, a Tory MP has suggested.
Stephen Barclay argued that the middle classes are not affected by the downsides of immigration and so are not always motivated to deal with them quickly. He claimed this was a major reason why working-class people did not trust ministers who “talked tough” on the issue.
Home Secretary Theresa May and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith last week announced plans to stop jobless immigrants claiming housing benefits.
Mr Barclay said: “Are [politicians and civil servants] too middle class? Well, it’s stating the obvious to say the middle classes dominate in positions of authority. One of the facets of our flawed response to the pace and scale of immigration has been the different impact on different classes.”
The MP for North East Cambridgeshire claimed his constituency had suffered because the state failed to provide extra funding when an influx of immigrants put pressure on public services.
“The people in positions of authority have the financial means to mitigate the negative impacts of immigration on their own situation, they may even personally benefit from it,” he said.
“It doesn’t affect their wages, it doesn’t affect their private medical cover or impact on their children’s schooling. So getting problems addressed can be difficult.”
EU migrants now have to wait three months before they can claim unemployment benefits — and the Tories aim to make immigration a key issue at next year’s general election.
The Home Office declined to comment directly on Mr Barclay’s comments, but highlighted an article co-authored by Ms May and Mr Duncan Smith. In it, the Cabinet ministers said British workers had suffered because of immigration, but that the Government was “putting things right”.
