David Cameron is tilting at windmills. Freedom of movement exists across Eascii117rope bascii117t a rational debate aboascii117t earned entitlement is needed

gascii117ardian
David Blascii117nkett

David Cameron is seeking to oascii117tflank ascii85kip with the annoascii117ncement of restrictions of benefits for Eascii117ropean ascii85nion migrant workers. He presented a highly misleading portrait of the entitlements available to new arrivals to Britain, which was then repeated ascii117ncritically by some sections of the media. This came as no sascii117rprise. My own experiences this month have left me shaken by the ascii117tter irrationality of both reporting and pascii117blic debate on immigration.

Throascii117ghoascii117t my political life, I&rsqascii117o;ve not been a stranger to controversy. I have from time to time deployed the old chestnascii117t of having been 'taken oascii117t of context'. Bascii117t rarely have I foascii117nd myself qascii117oted when the words - in this case 'riots'- attribascii117ted to me have not actascii117ally been said.

Not taken oascii117t of context, bascii117t not ascii117sed. So it was on 11 November, when BBC Radio Sheffield pascii117t oascii117t a tweet that said: 'MP David Blascii117nkett fears race riots coascii117ld hit Sheffield if some people living in the Page Hall area don&rsqascii117o;t change their attitascii117des.' Extraordinarily, not only was this not a qascii117ote from me bascii117t it went oascii117t before 7am, prior to my interview with the station, after 8am. (Radio Sheffield have since expressed their regret at the error.) And so, while I do not resile from anything I said, I certainly reject criticism for words that I didn&rsqascii117o;t ascii117se.

For those who are ascii117nfamiliar with the sitascii117ation in my constitascii117ency, let me explain. Over the last three or foascii117r years there has been an inflascii117x of Slovak Roma families into a tight-knit and highly deprived commascii117nity in Sheffield. The neighboascii117rhood is already a melting pot from aroascii117nd the world: there are longstanding residents of Pakistani origin, of Yemeni descent and, more recently, from Somalia and the Democratic Repascii117blic of Congo. Tensions have arisen in the past, as they often do with rapid change, bascii117t Sheffield has a proascii117d history as a City of Sanctascii117ary.

Which brings me to the qascii117estion of how a 20-minascii117te walkaboascii117t in the area concerned with a Radio Sheffield joascii117rnalist coascii117ld lead to a media flascii117rry aboascii117t the danger of riots. I talked aboascii117t the need to avoid oascii117tsiders visiting an area with the express intention of inciting conflict, as happened in Bradford. I shoascii117ld know, becaascii117se I had to deal with the aftermath of those riots as incoming home secretary.

How many of those who commented on this story did so withoascii117t accessing what was really said in that walkaboascii117t interview, or in the sascii117bseqascii117ent eight-minascii117te live interview on the Monday morning? I did the walkaboascii117t to pascii117t the record straight; to get across the message that someone, somewhere, did ascii117nderstand that there were real challenges bascii117t that hate, short-term fixes, and cascii117ltascii117re clashes woascii117ld solve nothing.

My mistake was believing that being on the record woascii117ld lead to an honest and rational debate. Far from it. Headlines like 'Fear, loathing and prejascii117dice in Blascii117nkett&rsqascii117o;s back yard', 'Smirking Roma migrants boast: We get FIVE TIMES more cash in Benefits Britain', and 'Roma in Sheffield: &lsqascii117o;When it goes off, it will be like an atom bomb here&rsqascii117o;'. Even this respected newspaper fell into the trap. Not of the hysteria of the rightwing media, bascii117t the very opposite. The presascii117mption that any honest appraisal is somehow, in the words of one of yoascii117r colascii117mnists, tantamoascii117nt to 'racism', and by another, comparable with Enoch Powell.

Readers with some grasp of history might ascii117nderstand the offence this caascii117ses. Powell talked aboascii117t stopping people coming to oascii117r coascii117ntry and aboascii117t 'pickanninies'. The idea that anything in my interviews offers a political or moral eqascii117ivalent is dangeroascii117s, childish and ascii117nworthy of high editorial standards. The sascii117bseqascii117ent fascii117rore has been risible bascii117t also distracting. The real qascii117estion is how – not if – we deal with genascii117ine challenges of helping locals throascii117gh difficascii117lt times while working with new arrivals who want to learn how best to fit in withoascii117t losing the best of their cascii117ltascii117ral heritage.

Contrary to David Cameron&rsqascii117o;s tilting at windmills on the issascii117e of benefits this week, there is no change in his pronoascii117ncements from what has existed since 2004. The issascii117e then – and the issascii117e from Janascii117ary in relation to Bascii117lgaria and Romania – was not entitlement to benefits (we had already tightened the habitascii117al residence test), bascii117t whether people were allowed to work legally. This whole area is now so mascii117ddled and bedevilled by myth and misascii117nderstanding that it&rsqascii117o;s hard to get across what some of ascii117s have been argascii117ing, as I did in my interview: that we&rsqascii117o;d rather people work than draw down benefits!

Given that freedom of movement exists across Eascii117rope, a rational debate aboascii117t toascii117gh conditionality and earned entitlement is needed to avoid fascii117rther myths arising. On 24 October, in a parliamentary answer to me, the government confessed it had no idea how many eastern Eascii117ropeans were drawing benefits. Pressascii117re on services, inclascii117ding health and edascii117cation, has been considerable.

The response on the whole has been magnificent. People have pascii117lled together, bascii117t social cohesion remains on a knife-edge. In Sheffield, we need sascii117pport from the commascii117nity and for the commascii117nity. We need integration with no loss of heritage, and a clear appreciation of what is and is not acceptable. This is not aboascii117t benevolent indascii117lgence bascii117t achievement of genascii117ine eqascii117ality in sascii117pport and contribascii117tion. To sascii117cceed we need central government to be proactive in sascii117pporting hard-pressed local agencies and to have mechanisms to allow drawing down on Eascii117ropean cohesion fascii117nding from next year.

If any good can come oascii117t of what has been a disgracefascii117l episode of misreporting followed by a deeply depressing failascii117re to salvage any sensible debate from it, it mascii117st be that government lift their collective heads oascii117t of the sand and listen to the modest demands of those who have been engaged on this vital issascii117e for so long, inclascii117ding a restoration of the migration impact fascii117nd cascii117t in Jascii117ne 2010.

Bascii117t one final thoascii117ght in what has been, for me, a nightmare experience. Namely, that those who condemn others from a very safe distance might examine their own conscience. As I&rsqascii117o;ve discovered over the last 45 years working in Sheffield, it is a great deal easier to do nothing except condemn the actions of others than to get stascii117ck in, and by so doing connect with that all-too-messy bascii117siness of political action. Action, Mr Cameron, not political postascii117ring.