Why David Cameron is wrong on Immigration

Lutfur Rahman, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets
In quick order, the Prime Minister David Cameron has now given two heavily trailed speeches on immigration. There can be no doubt that he was deliberately playing to a domestic audience. With an eye on the stagnating economy and the upcoming local elections, he is doing what Conservative politicians have done when times get tough – they turn on the most vulnerable in our society and blame the immigrants. Just as we are all starting to feel the pinch from these ideologically driven and damaging cuts, David Cameron wants to draw attention away from those really responsible: his government. Well, we in Tower Hamlets have a very different view of immigration from the one David Cameron would have us believe. Tower Hamlets is one of Britain’s most longstanding, living symbols of multi culturalism. Unlike David Cameron, I am proud of the history and the traditions reflected in the make-up of our modern day borough.  A potent symbol of this is Brick Lane Mosque. Back in the 17th century, it was a Huguenot Church ministering to the needs of French Protestants who had fled the religious intolerance of their own country. Then, it became a 19th century synagogue and now it is a 21st century Mosque. The borough is one of the most ethnically diverse in the country. Throughout the centuries, successive groups of immigrants have contributed enormously to the vibrancy of the area and ensured that new industries and activities moved in with them. No one can accuse multi ethnic, multi cultural Tower Hamlets of being dull and lifeless.  But this speech, and the immigration debate,  does not just speak to one part of our borough –  the glittering towers of Canary Wharf, also a part of this amazing borough, are just as much a product of immigration. It has a diverse workforce with people of different migrant backgrounds. Business leaders realise this – questioning David Cameron’s logic that cutting immigration won’t affect the economy. From the curry industry to the docks to the international banks in Canary Wharf, immigration has played a significant contribution to this borough. So as Mayor of Tower Hamlets, I extend an invitation to David Cameron to come and visit our borough, and see for himself how immigration and multi culturalism has created a thriving heart to London’s economy and integrated the different communities perhaps more successfully than in many other European cities.