Concern about immigration doesn't make us racist

Last week's county council by-election put Boston back in the national newspaper spotlight, with a full page in the Sunday Times at the weekend airing the issues of immigration after the poll for Boston North West almost saw Borough Councillor David Owens win the seat for the British National Party.
The newspaper pointed out that Boston's population has grown by 25% in recent years through the arrival of an estimated 15,000 immigrants .
And it asked the question about the elephant in the room - "Why is immigration still the issue that dare not speak its name in British politics?"
It made the point that "the people of Boston are not alone in their concern about migrants.
"A YouGov poll last month showed immigration as the issue of most concern to voters after the economy."That is unlikely to change in the near future.
"Figures to be released this week by the Office for National Statistics are expected to show that Britain’s population will expand by nearly two million during the course of the next parliament alone, almost half because of immigration. It is likely to fuel anxieties about immigrants undercutting wages and putting extra strain on schools and hospitals."
The Sunday Times quoted newly elected Tory councillor Andrea Jenkyns as saying: "There’ve been problems with them (migrant workers) going to the toilet in public and they’ve been stealing ducks from the pond to eat."
In her blog Councillor Jenkyns adds: "I also stated that anti social behaviour issues do need addressing in Boston. It doesn't matter where in the world people come from, we all just need to pull together to address these issues and make Boston a safer place to live'."
In his blog, Councillor Owens wrote: "The message is simple, the BNP have achieved in 11 months what no other political party has ever achieved in Lincolnshire before, they have managed to completely destroy both the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties and offer to the electorate a REAL alternative to Tory rule."
The Sunday Times agrees.
"In Boston, the level of support for the BNP means local politicians cannot afford to ignore immigration in the way national leaders have," it says.
Whilst we think that the newspaper is right, we are sorry to say that somehow we don't think that Boston's rulers have the stomach to grasp this particular nettle.
The problem is that people seem to think that anyone who raises the issue of immigration is doing so because they are racist.
The two can be separate and distinct - and usually they are.
We are sure that the people who voted BNP last week did so because they are fed up with the pressures being placed on the town due to excessive immigration.
Pressures such as antisocial behaviour, crime, the surge in houses in multiple occupation, the strains on local health and education services.
To worry about things like this is not to be racist, and the sooner our local politicians realise this and start to address the problem, the better.
We cannot believe that anyone is seriously suggesting that almost nine per-cent of the population of Boston North West - and by extension of Boston as a whole - is racist.
To do so would be to insult the decent people of the town and borough.
Meanwhile, we're not helped by quotes from one local woman in the Sunday Times piece.
"I’m not racist,” she insisted. "I love watching Will Smith on the telly."

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.