Question Time audience members call UK’s attitude to immigration ‘shameful' and 'greedy’

Two BBC audience members criticised the UK’s "shameful" attitude to immigration on Question Time last night.

After the Conservative Party put forward its plans to reduce the number of people coming to the UK, the BBC panel debated whether the country’s views on migration need to change.

In contrast to the Tories, Jeremy Corbyn has said he will not put “arbitrary figures” on his party's immigration policy and would not say if numbers would rise or fall under a Labour government.

Immigration was once one of the most important issues in British politics but since 2016, it has lost its relevance and been replaced by other issues, such as Brexit, climate change and austerity.

Two members of the public had impassioned comments to make on the subject.

The first - a woman whose parents came to the UK from Romania - criticised hypocrisy in the UK’s approach to immigration when politicians talk about only taking immigrants if the country “needs them”.

She said:

When I hear people from this country, or on the panel now, talking about ‘If we need them…’ and ‘On point of merit’, it’s greedy… because people from this country are perfectly happy to go over to the countries that we come from collectively and take advantage of holiday homes and how cheap everything is.

They go over and they have their two weeks in Greece and then come back home and complain about all the builders and the poor people begging on the streets, and how we don’t need them...

You just go over when you need it or when you want it, and it’s greedy and it’s disgusting.

Shortly after, a man spoke about how his husband, who is Polish, does not feel welcome in the UK anymore after living here for 15 years.

He said:

I think what an uncaring society we have become. We talk about immigration but every time, these are people you are talking about. 

My husband is Polish, he has been in this country for about 15 years. He has cooked for you, cared for you, cleaned for you like millions of other people. 

I can assure you he doesn’t feel welcome in this country anymore. That is what has happened to this nation - it’s shameful.

Although there was some backlash from people on social media over the comments, many others were supportive of the two audience members for calling out anti-immigration views.

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