Scare stories about babies are nasty and odd. If the Express is really worried, here's what to do.
Remember the ‘migrant babies’? Well, they’re back. Here’s today’s Daily Express:
The paper is very worried about people who were born abroad and now live here having children.
Here’s its editorial column:
“The migrant baby boom has been one consequence of Labour’s disastrous and irresponsible decision to throw open our borders and welcome all comers.”
It goes on to paint a picture of a Britain buckling under the weight of all these foreigners (and their babies), adding:
Without regaining control of our borders the situation will only get worse.”
What has prompted this mad panic at the Express? Well, the number in question has increased – by 0.5 percent, from 26.05 in 2013 to 27 last year.
Meanwhile, the overall birthrate has been decreasing over the last few years:
Year No. of births
2014 695,233
2013 698,512
2012 729,674
2011 723,913
(Source: ONS)
This is hard to square with an apocalyptic vision of Britain overrun by babies with a thirst for public services.
Further, if, as the paper says rather coyly, people born abroad have a ‘high tally of offspring’, should not the government fund a national sex education drive, ensuring birth control is available and known about by everyone who lives here?
This ought to bring the birth rate of new residents (who often come from countries where religion makes these subjects taboo) in line with the majority of the population. (The UK birthrate has decreased greatly since the 1960s.)
The only alternative seems to be forced sterilisation or mass deportation, or both.
So, will the Express support a campaign for an expansion of sex education and birth control awareness and availability? We wait with breath not held.
In the meantime, we shall quake as we read our national epitaph:
“My name is Migrant Baby, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Adam Barnett is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow MediaWatch on Twitter
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4 Responses to “The migrant babies are back! Daily Express looks with terror on tiny ‘foreigners’”
stevep
I hope it`s true. After two months of reading some of the Redneck comments on this site, I feel the UK gene pool could do with some help!
JoeDM
Well done to the Express for providing this information.
What proportion are muslims ?
Cole
Isn’t the owner of the Express Jewish? Presumably his family were migrants not that far back. It’s odd that his paper is so obsessed with immigration. Or has he figured out that it’s a good way of making money from right wing bigots?
damon
I was a migrant baby.
But it will be pretty crap when the UK population hits a hundred million.