Two thousand years of immigration (From York Press)

Two thousand years of immigration

9:54am Friday 12th March 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(10)

It is obvious that Alistair McDonald’s letter (Evasive act, March 6) was not only politically motivated – perhaps he should have stated which political party he supports – but demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the British Isles.

Migration started here when the islands were part of the European continent. During the past 2,000 years there have been the Romans and those who came with them, the Danes, Saxons, Normans and many others.

As a result of persecution, for religious and political views, there followed the Huguenots and French royalists.

The changing of Royal households brought more immigration – the House of Orange from the Netherlands and the Windsors from Germany.

Many stayed after the Second World War, including Hungarians, Poles and Italians, while Commonwealth residents were asked to come here to work in the hospitals and on public transport due to the shortage of workers needed to run the country.

More recently, our taste for different foods has expanded the restaurant trade and the numbers who work in it As for the argument over other European Union residents moving to the UK, it's a flawed one.

How many British people live and work across Europe? Millions. If you say that these people cannot live there all those UK passport holders living abroad could be sent home.

I have a brilliant Polish dentist, as do many in the city. Does Mr McDonald really want these people not to be here? Immigration has made this country a better place.

We all have immigrants in our family history, including my great-grandfather who came from Eire, while another family member came from the Low Countries in the 16th century.

I would urge Mr McDonald to take a look back a few generations into his own family history – he may get quite a shock.

Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, Salisbury Road, York.