RACISM is rising across Europe, indeed Britain. Politicians eager for a cheap soundbite, and tabloids desperate for scare stories and moral panics, are helping this cancer to spread. Strict new laws are now in place denying refugees benefit payments - which make it a little harder to survive, as they're not allowed to work either! These people now have to rely on local councils to provide food and shelter for them. This is putting a strain on the finances in some places - which racists are quick to exploit.

Surprise, surprise, New Labour has done nothing to address these problems, choosing instead to continue the policy of the previous government. The most recent Government White Paper on immigration proposes to make it much harder for those fleeing persecution to enter this country in the first place. This is no doubt to save the Government the embarrassing appeals against its rulings which generally find in favour of the asylum-seeker. In Dover, the fascists of the National front have held two high profile marches calling for "gipsies to go home". You obviously don't need a brain to belong to the master race.

M Naughton

Nevis Grove, Bolton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.