Man may be amazed at developments in the kingdom. The fact that Rishi Sunak is the first dark-skinned politician to govern Great Britain is a historic turning point in itself. Added to this is the fact that his spectacular rise came from a conservative party and not from a left-wing or green party committed to multiculturalism. Some commentators in Germany have seen this as a contradiction that they cannot explain.
The British immigration society is often misunderstood. The attitude of the population towards migrants is by no means as critical as it may appear. Above all, the Brexit debate has given the impression abroad that xenophobia is gaining the upper hand in the UK. But the Brits, in the words of demographer David Goodhart, are “not negative about immigration per se, only about the inadequate management of it”. Since the EU ended freedom of movement and the new immigration law came into force, the British have become more positive about migrants, he reports. This is remarkable because the influx has not decreased at all in absolute terms. Citizens just feel that the politicians they elect are now in control and better able to align immigration to the needs of the economy and society.
