Politicians - please appeal to our hopes and aspirations rather than exploiting our fears

The immigration issue is taking centre stage in British politics and looks sure to be an important debate in next year's election.

But listening to the debate, and hearing Nigel Farage and Russell Brand on this week's Question Time, it is clear that there is a lot of emotion but very few facts around the issue.

Most arguments against immigration at current levels are, it seems to me, emotional rather than factual - so it's harder to change people's views.

There are a few points that need to be made.

Nobody is in favour of 'welfare tourists' coming to this country purely to take advantage of our benefits system.

Nobody has offered any real evidence that there are welfare tourists - and if there are what the scale of the issue is. Most people are agreed that the majority of people coming here make a positive economic contribution to our country and its cuture.

We should be proud that we live in a country that takes care of its weaker members.  The disadvantaged, the disabled and the sick.  This is what makes us better than most other countries and we shouldn't

Nigel Farage claims that the population of the UK has risen from 57 million in 1990 to 63 million today and that the main reason is immigration.

But there are other reasons for population growth.

In 1990 average life expectancy in the UK was 75.88.  By 2012 it had risen to 81.50. So an additional 4.2 million people are alive in the UK due to this factor alone.

And these older people don't work - so we need more workers to service their needs and pay tax to contribute to their pensions and care provisions.

Nigel Farage is also worried that "Without immigration control Government cannot plan because they don't know how large the population will be." This is complete nonsense. We are not communist China. We we have an open emmigration policy and not knowning how many people will leave the coutry isn't a problem either.  Neither do we control the right to have babies - unless UKIP has plans in that direction - so cannot control population size that way either.

UKIP is worried that there are no controls on immigration.  But, in effect, there are.  EU citizens come here because we have work for them. If the jobs run out they won't come any more. At the moment we have jobs - so we need them to come and they want to come.  It is not rocket science.

The bigger problem is with the countries they leave because we are taking their youngest, brightest most ambitious citizens.  It was called a brain drain in the 70s when the right warned that taxing high earners would make them leave this country.

In retrospect we should have bought the air tickets for Fred Goodwin and his cronies - it wouldn't have cost the £38 billion the bail-out of RBS cost.

UKIP claims to be changing the face of British politics. This is laughable - a bunch of ex-Tories who want to take us back in time instead of embracing the future is the last thing we need.

We need politicians who will offer people hope and appeal to their aspirations - not exploit their fears.

Our politicians are failing us and it is time for change - but UKIP isn't the answer.

The View From Surrey: Time for Allardyce to Go?

The View From Surrey: Time for Allardyce to Go?: West Ham fans seem torn on the question of whether time should be called on Sam Allardyce. And listening to his interview on Talksport thi...

Time for Allardyce to Go?

West Ham fans seem torn on the question of whether time should be called on Sam Allardyce.

And listening to his interview on Talksport this morning won't have helped.

In fact the media seems to be divided on this question. Some think he is a dinosaur while old school pundits like Alan Brazil and Andy Gray lob him easy questions while talking about him being a "proper football man"(whatever that means - presumably not like Wenger, Mourhino or even Roy Hodgson) and ask what it is that West Ham fans expect?  "You know what you'll get with Allardyce - he'll keep you in the division".


Well are they sure he will?

If we hadn't somehow managed to win 4 games in February we'd be looking at the Championship fixture lists right now.

What we want is a team to feel proud of and to be entertained. We not expecting Champions League Football any time soon (if ever) - but we want to see good football at the Boleyn - preferrably with West Ham playing some of it.

Few would now argue that Sam was the right appointment when he joined the club.  He sorted many of the problems we had and got us promoted at the first attempt and then achieved a fantastic 10th place in our first season back.

But that doesn't mean he is the right man to be at the helm now.

Ricardo Vaz Te scored the winner at Wembley but no one is suggesting that means he should be playing up front for us for the next 5 years.

Remember we came up with Southampton - who changed their manager half way through the following season to much derision - only to have it proved an inspired decision.

The arguments for changing manager now are strong:

• Last season wasn't good and a backward step from our first one back. This one is shaping up to be as bad.
• We finished last season without a single First Team player under the age of 25.
• The only young player to have emerged is Ravel Morrison - who is also the most talented player we have seen at the Boleyn for years - and Sam seems unable to manage him.
• Not a single youth team player has broken into the First Team (apart from cameos) since Sam arrived.
• Let me repeat that - not a single youth team player has broken into the First Team (apart from cameos) since Sam arrived.
• It's not just that we don't like the style of football - there doesn't see to be a long-term plan or strategy that supporters can buy into and get behind. Everything seems to be geared to hanging on to a Premier League place until we get to the Olympic Stadium. But what happens then? Doesn't it matter if this plan doesn't work after we are in there?
• WE NEED A LONGER TERM PLAN THAT TAKES US BEYOND MOVING TO THE OLYMPIC STADIUM

We are fortunate in that, while they aren't billionaires, our owners do care about the club. Contrast David Sullivan's call to Talksport. Some of what he said may have been ill advised - but he spoke from the heart without the caginess you usually get from Sam.

They have shown the ambition that all supporters crave from their owners - and taken the opportunity to move to a fantastic new stadium - with its attendant risks.

But it is now time for them to thank Sam for his work during his time at West Ham and look for a brighter more energetic manager with a 5-year plan for the club - it's what they would do in any of their other businesses and they would be making a mstake if they think football management works differently.