Description
TLC Zoom
Wednesday 14th May 2025 @ 18:00 BST
Immigration! Confronting the Challenge
Peter Kellner CBE
Since the year ‘dot’ we seem to have ‘welcomed’ immigrants to our shores – Romans, Vikings and Normans as ancient examples. But historically we have also been an hospitable nation giving welcome, succour and asylum to those who have been dispossessed, targetted and suffered from prejudice and persecution. Being an island nation means our boundaries are very clearly defined both geographically and physically.
But – have times changed? Have we become intolerant and angry at the apparent abuses of our hospitality? As a country are we full up and fed up? We welcome genuine refugees but the treatment of the Windrush generation was appalling.
Politicians appear to pander to these prejudices. Images of ‘hordes’ of migrants sailing across the Channel in highly dangerous inflatable boats only serve to fuel these fears. As a result we got the ‘Rwanda’ solution which was no solution at all.
But what should be done?
I was hugely impressed with a piece recently written by Peter entitled ‘Immigration? No thanks. Immigrants? Yes please’ and I thought not only would you appreciate his thoughts but this would be an opportunity to air your own views. You can enjoy the article here
https://kellnerp.substack.com/p/immigration-no-thanks-immigrants
…and I heartily recommend signing up to receive all Peter’s Substack posts free via “subscribe” button fairly early in his immigration feature?
Biography
Peter Kellner is a political analyst, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, and former President of the pioneering online survey research company, YouGov.
He was Chairman of YouGov from 2001-07 and President from 2007-16. He was named as Chairman of the Year in the 2006 Quoted Companies Alliance awards.
He has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines, including the Times, Sunday Times, Independent, Observer, Evening Standard, New Statesman, and Prospect. He has also been a regular contributor to Newsnight (BBC2), A Week in Politics (Channel Four), Analysis (Radio Four) and BBC TV election night results programmes. He has written, and contributed to, a variety of books and leaflets about politics, elections, and public affairs. He was awarded Journalist of the Year in the British Press Awards in 1978.
Peter has also been a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, a distinguished visiting fellow at the Policy Studies Institute, London, and served as a member of committees set up by the Economic and Social Research Council to commission research into elections and social exclusion. He received a Special Recognition Award from the Political Studies Association in 2011.
Peter has served as a trustee with various charities, including Action on Smoking and Health, the National Literacy Trust, the Hansard Society, UpRising (a mentoring charity) and NIESR (National Institute for Economic and Social Research). He has chaired the Royal Commonwealth Society (2009-13) and NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) (2016-19). He was awarded his CBE in the 2023 New Year honours list for his services to charity.
Before joining YouGov, he acted as a consultant on public opinion research to a number of organisations, including the Bank of England, Corporation of London, Foreign Office, National Westminster Bank, and Trades Union Congress.
