The issue is not that people should speak English the issue is that the debate around immigration is so toxic that that this becomes a dog whistle to hate and opress those who don’t speak English to some imaginary standard.
Its only an imaginary standard because its not been set further than “we should require people to learn some English”.
We have plently of standards in schools throughout the so thats not the hard part.
Now its not anything I would touch because of the level of racists that attach themselves to this “issue”.
Which turned out to be not very big.
Additionally, 1.5% (880,000) could not speak English well, and a small percentage (0.3%, 161,000) of the overall population could not speak English at all.
161k people don’t speak English? That sounds like a solvable problem, as thats not very many at all. The question would be how to identify them, and help them? My personal experience is generally elderly parents who have been brought here by someone acting as a carer, which puts it back firmly in “unsolvable”. If they haven’t already learnt it, and aren’t necessarily here though choice, its going to be a challenge.
Knowing our current government though, it would probably be by copying Trump and sending the military door to door to ask everyone a simple English language puzzle.
Which language would you rather demand 60 million Britains learn to speak to accommodate the incoming millions?
The issue is not that people should speak English the issue is that the debate around immigration is so toxic that that this becomes a dog whistle to hate and opress those who don’t speak English to some imaginary standard.
Its only an imaginary standard because its not been set further than “we should require people to learn some English”.
We have plently of standards in schools throughout the so thats not the hard part.
Now its not anything I would touch because of the level of racists that attach themselves to this “issue”.
Which turned out to be not very big.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021#%3A~%3Atext=Additionally%2C+1.5%25+(880%2C000)%2Cnot+speak+English+at+all.
161k people don’t speak English? That sounds like a solvable problem, as thats not very many at all. The question would be how to identify them, and help them? My personal experience is generally elderly parents who have been brought here by someone acting as a carer, which puts it back firmly in “unsolvable”. If they haven’t already learnt it, and aren’t necessarily here though choice, its going to be a challenge.
Knowing our current government though, it would probably be by copying Trump and sending the military door to door to ask everyone a simple English language puzzle.