Lord Dubs: Brexit has made the country ‘meaner and nastier’
Labour peer Lord Dubs answering questions in front of the International Development Select Committee at the House of Commons. Photograph: PA. - Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
World War II refugee and veteran politician Lord Dubs has said that Brexit poisoned the atmosphere and made the UK 'meaner and nastier'.
The 86-year-old Labour peer said that the rhetoric of right-wing politicians was having a devastating effect on the country.
He told The Big Issue: 'I think Brexit has certainly made us a meaner and nastier country. I knocked on a lot of doors during the referendum campaign and immigration was what they talked about.
MORE: Lord Bragg: 'Brexiteers are a cult like the Moonies'
'I pointed out that I had been in hospital and everybody who looked after me was an immigrant. People replied that 'it's not the ones that are here, it's the ones that are going to come'.
'There's a fear factor built up by Boris Johnson and the Leave campaign saying that 80 million Turks were poised to enter Britain, which is complete nonsense. Brexit did poison the atmosphere.'
You may also want to watch:
Lord Dubs was one of 10,000 Jewish children rescued and brought to the UK from Nazi-occupied Prague during World War II. He continues to campaign for child refugees to be given the same safe refuge he was given as a child.
MORE: May's 'queue jumpers' comments show the UK has taken a wrong turn
He said: 'I had hoped the campaign for child refugees, which started before the Brexit referendum, would make us relaxed about all refugees and make it more acceptable. I think it was working, but the referendum set that back a bit.
Most Read
- 1 The stench of scandal seeping out from Britain
- 2 Why is devout Jacob Rees-Mogg so quiet about Boris Johnson's affairs?
- 3 Major and Blair were right about Brexit and Northern Ireland
- 4 Dominic Cummings' new venture could cause concern for No 10
- 5 Roman Kemp: Depression and coping with George Michael's death
- 6 The symbolism behind the reopening of pubs
- 7 Why are there so few BAME faces on the fronts of our newspapers?
- 8 Government deletes pro-Scottish independence blog post
- 9 David Cameron and Matt Hancock discussed NHS scheme over 'private drink'
- 10 PM chooses not to attend Prince Philip’s funeral because of guest limits
He added: 'Some of the tolerance is gone.'
Dubs was awarded the 'Humanist of the Year' award in 2016 by the British Humanist Association.
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
