Demagogues are politicians who use people’s prejudices and desires rather than rational arguments to manipulate support. Ancient Greek philosophers believed demagogues to be a major threat to democracy because they distort information, damaging the decision-making process to serve certain or corrupt interests. One way they do this is through creating what are known as wedge issues.
Nigel Farage is a classic demagogue and a good example of this approach was his use of immigration during Brexit. In the run up to the referendum it was claimed that Turkey would be joining the European Union and a flood of migrants would arrive. This was shown to be untrue and ironically immigration has subsequently increased.
Immigration wedge politics
Immigration wedge politics won through in 2016, but the Leave campaign used demagoguery elsewhere. Many Leave voters were concerned about there being good employment opportunities, better housing, industrial, regional, sector and community investment for their families.
None of these are unreasonable demands of our politicians. Vote Leave played on these desires and fears, campaigning on an anti-austerity, pro-better public services, better employment ticket, as evidenced by the campaign literature and speeches.
Vote Leave, however, were not the government and could not deliver on this, but that did not stop them being used as another wedge, insisting, dishonestly, the only way these things could change was through leaving the EU; and austerity policies are still very much in place.
The anti-immigrant and refugee demagoguery similarly has not stopped. Both sides of Parliament are guilty. Some of the biggest hitters are – bewilderingly – the children of immigrant households. Why does our political class allow demagoguery to damage our democracy? Blaming refugees and immigrants for everything will resolve nothing, especially when immigration is not going to stop. Political operators are manipulating this issue and not telling the whole truth.
Immigration is not going to stop
Why is immigration not going to stop? Because western democracies have a demographic problem of low birth rates and a large – and growing – elderly population. If immigration were to stop, the economy would grind to a halt.
Everything would become much more expensive. Massively reducing the numbers and capacity of working age people would drive up labour costs, which would have to be passed on to the consumer. Undermining the capacity and performance in the economy, closing down certain services or businesses because of staff shortages is the quick route to losing power. Politicians, for all their anti-immigrant rhetoric, know this.
Most of us would agree people deserve good pay, conditions and living standards for their work but these are more likely to be resolved through changing employment and employee rights, and relationships there, rather than banning immigration. Politicians know this too, but their decisions are compromised by lobbyists, business and private power donating to political parties, to push their interests ahead of those of citizens.
Disingenuous
These political operators use the immigration wedge against you, your region, your communities, society and your loved ones, to serve narrow interests. The rhetoric facilitates anti-immigrant and refugee legislation which undermines all of us. This makes us weaker, less able to challenge dominant economic and political forces in this country.
How? British citizens of working age especially, are in the same workplaces and markets as immigrant labour. Undermining the political and economic status of immigrants, also undermines the status of those UK citizens. One can be played off against the other, creating a division in the body politic which can be ruthlessly exploited, keeping wages down and attacking working conditions. It allows the growth of undocumented workers and those forced into modern slavery, which suits people ruthlessly exploiting those with no rights at all.
Politicians and the press, furthermore, claim that because of immigration or refugees, funding for all sorts of things regarding public services and investment cannot happen because of costs. The reality is that a significant amount of immigration is to fill vacancies in public services, many of which would struggle to operate without them.
Are there solutions?
The solutions for these issues exist but they take thoughtful, long-term planning. Our political class and press are not interested in this as they take leadership; we need sensible, nuanced, thoughtful, thorough policies, not the boosterish talk of action which characterised Boris Johnson’s government. Empty policies like levelling up or a high-skill, high-wage future played on hopes for change, but once in power, essentially achieved nothing. They were mainly designed to placate people with bombast, but they were never really going to happen or be delivered on, as they were more empty demagogic lies.
Solutions may also require a reforming of political and economic power. Why do that, when you can just use immigrants as scapegoats?
Brexit reality – a poorer country
The reality of the post-Brexit United Kingdom is increased immigration, falling household incomes and an increase in inequality. Economic growth, investment, social mobility and trade are down, taxes are higher, and public services are crumbling. Environmental standards are down, with sewage in the waterways, and there is a conspicuous lack of investment all over the country, and a housing crisis. This is where the demagoguery has got us, when none of this is the fault of immigrants. If anything immigrants have been helping to sustain public services and industries.
Breathing new life into the UK requires different politics, where there is planning beyond the next election cycle with some shared aims and principles to improve the lot of citizens, not set them against each other.
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