I can’t believe we are having to say this, again, but immigrants aren’t taking your houses

In January this year, Vicky Payne and I attended an event with the now former Minister for Housing, Lee Rowley. During a largely convivial exchange with a group of disgruntled, but by no means disenfranchised planners, the now former MP linked our housing crisis to “mass immigration”.

Ignoring the decades of shortfall in housing delivery, 14 years of austerity which have decimated local planning authorities, and the series of economic policies that make it all but impossible for local authorities to build their own stock, the Conservative government were determined to draw attention towards migrants and away from their own failings. Shortly after the event their Twitter page shared an image reading: “British Homes for British People: we’re ensuring decent hard-working people are prioritised for the home they need”. This type of rhetoric became more frequent as the party grew increasingly aware of their imminent electoral demise.

More recently we held a consultation event?for a modest scheme proposing a significant amount of affordable housing on an allocated site. Having done my fair share of engagement on greenfield schemes I’ve grown accustomed to a degree of hostility. I am well equipped to listen to a community’s unease before making a positive case for new development.

The atmosphere at this event was markedly different. Much of the feedback crossed the line beyond “legitimate concerns” about the potentially negative consequences of new homes, into what could only be described as racist vitriol. Some attendees didn’t hesitate in loudly proclaiming the new homes would be for “immigrants”, implying this would have negative consequences on the social fabric of existing community. The phrase “send them back” was used more than once. This wasn’t nimbyism – it was a complex cocktail of misinformation, xenophobia, and racism.

The extent to which attendees were parroting damaging rhetoric spewed throughout the election campaign was quite remarkable. Those culpable go beyond the usual Farage-esq suspects to encompass much of the Tory Party, including our first non-white Prime Minister, who stood on a podium with the banner “stop the boats”. Regrettably, even the Labour Party (both in opposition and now in government) struggles to call out this messaging for what it is - racist and Islamophobic. Collectively, our political class have both intentionally and inadvertently given the far-right license to embark on full scale race riots across the country.

As the grandson of someone who arrived in the UK?by boat in the 70s, what we are seeing on our streets is enraging and terrifying in equal measure. My grandfather had no formal qualifications and worked in factories following the collapse of the British?Empire. Within two generations his community include architects,?lawyers, teachers, police men,?doctors, dentists and business owners. Despite some arriving by irregular means, immigrants pay taxes, provide medical care,?teach the young and care for the old. ?Why, therefore, we have allowed our political class to perpetuate the narrative that those arriving here in search of asylum is an exclusively negative phenomenon is beyond me.

It goes without saying that change in any community needs to be carefully managed. However, we seem to have lost the ability to call out racist and divisive rhetoric when we hear it. For those of us working in the housing and built environment sectors, this means dismantling the damaging narrative that the affordability crisis is somehow due to an influx of immigrants, who we rely upon to prop up our deeply unbalanced economy. We need to point the finger of blame firmly at decades of failed economic?policy which has strangled infrastructure delivery and increased inequality. We need to build – and finance – new socially rented homes. Above all we need to stand up and make the positive case for diversity and immigration.

Many of us thought this argument was over. The last week proves how wrong we were.