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The presenter’s stance on immigration has caused widespread backlash. But is the response a sign that the immigration debate is shifting?
When Rylan Clark first appeared on the X Factor in 2012, sporting a set of blinding white veneers and a wotsit shade of spray tan, it was hard to imagine he’d one day be at the center of a national argument about immigration policy.
But on a recent episode of This Morning, the singer-turned-presenter rehearsed a number of the talking points that have been floating about refugees and asylum seekers under an increasingly evasive Labour government.
Clark’s comments are notable for the context in which they were made (This Morning is a generally apolitical programme), and the position Clark himself holds in the cultural zeitgeist. In the years since appearing on the X Factor, he’s become a beloved staple of British TV – a working class boy-next-door who represents the general population in all their ordinary-ness.
That’s why his stance is such a threat: Rylan will be listened to. And for a Labour government that has been flailing in its comms around immigration – an issue of growing importance to much of the British public –this highlights the faults in their own strategy.
I’ll quote Clark’s words at length, given much of the backlash he’s faced since uttering them is founded on a lack of tendency for nuance. Our political conversations are becoming increasingly polarised and leave little to no room for debate or misunderstanding.
The presenter started with a caveat about Britain’s immigrant population, stating that ‘this country is built on immigration […] the doctors that saved my mum’s life came over here from other countries. They’re living a great life, they’re paying into this tax system, they’re helping this country thrive.’
But he also said there was ‘something wrong’ with the way refugees were being welcomed at the border.
‘I find it absolutely insane that all these people are risking their lives coming across the Channel. And when they get here, it does seem – and I think this is why a lot of Labour voters as well are saying there’s something wrong – it feels like, “Welcome, come on in … here’s an iPad, here’s the NHS in the reception of your hotel, here’s three meals a day, here’s a games room in the hotel. Have a lovely time and welcome.”’
The danger is that Rylan’s points (some of which are valid, and some of which aren’t based in fact) will churn up feelings of racism and anti-immigrant sentiment amongst the UK’s more right-leaning individuals. And with no Labour commentary to counter – or, at least, temper – these thoughts and feelings, where does that leave us?
