Protest march threat is back because of language problems 

- the great and the good don't understand the voice of the people!

It’s seven months since the march planned to protest at the effects of high levels of immigration on Boston was postponed – but according to reports at the weekend, it may well be back on the agenda once again.

Ironically, the announcement came after the grandly-named Social Impact of Population Change on Boston - Task and Finish Group heard from local MP Mark Simmonds.
As we have previously observed, both the date and the time of the meeting were arranged to Mr Simmonds’s convenience – and it has also emerged that an agenda was set limiting the duration of the session and the time allocated for questions from councillors and the public.
Mr Simmonds reportedly called the immigration issue “complicated” and requiring “forensic analysis.”
Well done, that man.
He called for a “zero tolerance” approach to anti-social behaviour, defended his record as a constituency MP, and challenged the view that immigration had been completely negative – saying that he thought most people’s views were broadly in line with his.
Overall, the meeting and the MP’s performance was given null points by protest group members who attended, as well as on the group’s Facebook page.

Afterwards, the man who started the protest
march campaign – Dean Everitt – was quoted by the BBC as saying: "I think there's been a lot of waffle going on and not a lot of straight answers.

"We are seriously reconsidering putting the march back on."

Mr Everitt was reported to be planning  a public meeting within the next few weeks so he and other campaigners can vote on whether to hold a march.
Mr Simmonds chipped in: "I very much hope that the march won't take place.
"Inevitably it would suck in people who I don't want to see in Boston.
"As happened before there would clearly be an anti-march protest from the anti-fascist league and that is not the sort of thing we want to see in a nice Lincolnshire market town like Boston."
Those closing words suggest what many already believe - that Mr Simmonds has lost touch with life in Boston.
The town has not been a nice place for some time now – although you won't be told that if you ask the great and the good of the borough.
One frustration that is very strongly felt by the protest march contingent is the conflict between their experiences and the “official” version.
Over the last few months, the task and finish group has heard the police minimise public concerns, unions deny that migrants are taking jobs from local people, educationalists saying that multi-national classes do not cause difficulties, and the farming industry branding locals as work-shy and lazy.
The incidents they raise on their social network, however, tell a different story.
Having said that, one point made by Mr Simmonds  – which has quickly proved to be correct –  is that a march will bring outsiders to the town.

click to enlarge picture

Already, Casuals United – a self-styled “blog for peaceful hooligans” (see picture on the left) has declared “Boston march may be back on – If nobodies (sic) listening, MARCH we will support you.”
The core of  the problem seems to us to be that those involved in this debate are looking at it from different viewpoints.
The protest march contingent has frequently pointed out that it wants to highlight the problems caused by the large and rapid influx of migrant families into Boston – with the concomitant impact on services such as policing, education, and employment.  It wants an end to the free-for-all entry in such numbers.
The authorities, however, see it almost entirely a matter of finance – saying that establishsing the real population of the borough would force the government to pour in more funds to improve services and ease the pressures.
However, they fail to see the argument that enhancing local facilities and building more houses simply kick starts the cycle once again.
The Task and Finish Group has just two more sessions to go – if the council’s meetings and agenda calendar is correct.
On 21^st June, officers from “various public services” will be questioned, whilst the final meeting on the 27^th has yet to confirm its "guest list."
No minutes of any of these meetings have appeared - so it has not been possible to tell how rigorous the sessions were.
But from what we have read in the local “newspapers” it would appear that - by and large - apparent differences between the "official" view and that of the public have gone unchallenged.
By "the public" we mean the man and woman in the street who have to put up with anti-social behaviour; the worker and his wife who lose their jobs after being priced out of the market. As parents, they see their children being bussed to schools miles away from a nearer and better choice for their child's development.
Yet time and again they have been told that they are wrong – which not only patronises them but effectively accuses them of lying.
If the Task and Finish Group hopes to take some credit from what will otherwise be a complete waste of time, it might consider recalling some earlier “witnesses” to see if they might depart from the politically correct line that most of them have been toeing.

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