A former Labour Home Secretary has once again called for action to restore order in the Page Hall district of Sheffield which has been the scene of rising tensions ever since large numbers of Roma moved to the area.
The Slovakian Roma are entitled to move to Britain because of their EU citizenship but their sudden arrival in Sheffield has led to tensions and a 25 man fight last month, as previously reported on Breitbart London.
The Mail reports that ironically it is immigrant families from countries like Pakistan and Yemen who are most unhappy about the new arrivals. David Blunket now believes that the police must substantially increase their presence to avoid a full scale riot.
Blunket, who is the local Member of Parliament, had previously called for action in November but little was taken. This culminated in the fight last month, which was reported to be between Roma and Yemeni teenagers. Whilst there were no serious injuries one young man was taken to hospital with a broken arm.
In addition to this the new wave of immigrants have brought with them a culture of street drinking and some engage in crime and antisocial behaviour. This has made a major impact on Page Hall, which is a very small community where most people know each other. Also the street drinking has left the large Muslim population unhappy.
David Blunket said: “What is required is a clear, visible police presence in the evening… So there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind about the determination to clamp down on any kind of unacceptable behaviour. Those who perpetrate unacceptable behaviour need to understand the police mean business.”
“We have got to change the behaviour and the culture of the incoming Roma community… because there’s going to be an explosion otherwise.”
Many locals are now keen to leave the area but are unable to because property prices have tumbled to just £20,000 for a house. Meaning that anyone who owns a property would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the country cheap enough to move to.
The problem is unlikely to get better because conditions for the Roma community in Slovakia is dire and even a comparatively poor community like Page Hall would be a significant improvement for them. Also they have an absolute right to move to the UK despite complaints from locals because of Britain’s treaty obligations to the European Union.
Perhaps surprisingly Blunket is not campaigning to restrict access of poorer Eastern Europeans to Britain. He is Britain’s most successful blind politician ever, and is constantly accompanied by his guide dog.
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