I'm not sure how you can post that (without a mischievous smirk) in the face of the evidence of how UKIP put forward their case on immigration (and not just in the odd leaflet for which an individual - say Woolas, for example - might be accused of cynically playing upon immigration fears to whip up the electorate in one particular area/constituency).
I cannot see how you (or anyone else) can seriously argue that for them to couch it in the terms that they do (e.g. to talk about what is the entire population of both countries whose status changes on Jan 1st) is not intended to make people fearful (of these two countries' nationals and by extension any other immigrants - especially when they also say in the same leaflet, "Proposed new housing developments are due largely as a result of mass immigration from within Europe").
If they said that 29 million people from R & B will have access to the UK from 1st of Jan then that is a statement of fact. Does that mean they will all move here? No. Does that mean they would in theory have the legal right to do so if they wished? Yes, it does. From what I've seen and read of Farage's arguments he has presented the potential problems associated with a large influx of migrants from these countries in three main ways:
1. The potential strain on the benefits system and public services , i.e. health, education and housing. Are these services not already over strained? Is there money available to make further substantial investments in these services at the moment? I don't think there is or one would assume those investments would already be happening. If someone from those countries comes to UK and claims they are self employed and looking for work then they can access the benefits system within weeks. That benefits system allegedly provides a level of income that exceeds the average wage in R & B. It's not difficult to imagine what the result might be.
2. Youth unemployment. With one million young unemployed Britons currently looking for work, is a potential influx of unskilled labour (who will be prepared to be exploited by employers for sub-minimum wage conditions) going to make it even more difficult to get those people into jobs? I think the answer to that is fairly obvious and much like the mass immigration from Poland enabled employers to drive down wages for both artisan tradesman and unskilled workers it would be reasonable to expect a repeat of that situation - while accepting that migrants from R & B will have more EU countries to choose from than Polish migrants did when they came to UK. I'm not anti-immigration, it is essential to fill gaps in the skilled labour market. I do think that being unable to control the flow of unskilled immigration is potentially damaging to those sections of our society least able to afford it.
3. Crime. It is obviously offensive to suggest an entire population are basically crooks, however Farage was trotting out a statistic from the Met Police in the run up to these elections that was so inflammatory that if it was incorrect he would he been crucified for it. In last 3 years there have been 30,000 arrests of Romanians in London out of a total Romanian population of 80,000...That's a staggering number and looking at those figures is it really illegitimate to raise the question of whether we should actually be able to control the flow of people from that country? If you don't control your own borders then you are not really a sovereign nation.
Very good points. Why is it people think if you are against mass immigration then you are either
Xenophobic or racist, the same as if you are anti gay marriage then you are Homophobic. Neither is true!