Author-Kate Plummer
A council has expressed fears that there may be increased anti-immigrant extremism after Brexit, it can be revealed.
According to a briefing paper issued by Rotherham Borough Council and obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the People’s Vote campaign, misconceptions that EU migrants will leave Rotherham after Brexit may fuel anti-immigrant extremism.
The paper, which was written in January, warned of anger after people realise that Brexit won’t deliver what many people expected.
It said: “The expectations of those people who are hostile to Roma or other EU migrant communities may be that leaving the EU will reduce their numbers locally.
“When it becomes apparent that this is not happening, there is a risk that anti-Roma or anti-immigrant sentiment will increase and fuel extremist agendas, which have been witnessed in other EU countries, notably Italy and Hungary.”
There are 8,000 EU citizens in Rotherham, half of which are Slovak or Czech Roma. According to council figures, the number of hate crimes in the borough has risen from 344 in 2016/17 to 515 in 2017/18.
Meanwhile, Scram News has documented rising instances of hate crimes nationwide, with religious hate crimes increasing by 400% since 2011 while Islamophobic conspiracy theories are becoming prevalent in mainstream society.
The council briefing paper added that anti-immigrant views could proliferate in schools, which would require additional central government support after Britain leaves the EU.
It seems clear that Brexit will merely seed further hatred and division in Britain.
Source-https://scramnews.com/council-rotherham-worried-anti-immigrant-extremism-after-brexit/
