Your say / Racism
‘It is the greed of a privileged few, not immigration, that is Britain’s problem’
I was born and live in Bristol, and it is my love of the city that led me to join the Green Party and become a local councillor.
For a long time, I felt that British politics needed to change. The elites get away with making themselves richer – and then blaming everyone else for the problems that creates.
Years of colonising other countries mean Britain has a long history of extractive greed, which is deeply linked with racism.
People living in the Global South and Sub-Saharan Africa have been exploited for centuries by colonising countries, extracting resources for the benefit of a handful of oligarchs. Leaving behind a trail of famine and destitution.
Green councillor Lorraine Francis says Bristol must continue to face up to historical hard truths – photo: Martin Booth
The example we know well in Bristol is slavery. Between 12 and 15 million people were trafficked from Africa as slaves between 1500 and 1800, and Britain’s enslavement of black people earned a few traders what, in today’s money, is about £400,000,000.
A report co-authored by a UN judge has called on the UK to pay £18.8tn in damages for its slavery involvement in 14 countries.
Over a century later, in the 1940’s to 1970’s people from Caribbean countries, which were previously enslaved by the British, were encouraged to migrate to the UK to rebuild the country after the two world wars.
They entered essential services such as the NHS and transport, and were encouraged to fill the gaps where British men and women did not want to.
Many of them endured despicable racism and hatred. My parents and many other parents, who made a significant contribution to society, were vilified by some and made to feel unwelcome here.
And given this history, it is ironic that a common accusation levelled at immigrants is that “you are taking our jobs”.
Now, 70 years later, the same message is being sent to asylum seekers and consequently to people who have lived in this country for decades: people who are proud of their heritage and of being British.
Earlier in 2025, anti-immigration protestors were met with fierce resistance from counter protesters – photo: Rob Browne
Blaming asylum seekers for the lack of opportunity or other politically manufactured issues, such as the housing crisis, is misguided and will only serve to ensure the rich stay rich – and get even richer.
Greed was the cause of slavery, and greed is the cause of the housing crisis. Greedy landlords charging high rents and equally greedy developers, supported by Westminster, have a stranglehold on planning regulations that have allowed them to build houses that only the very rich can afford.
Racism, and its toxic nature, is creating a Britain built on hate and lies. It is the greed of a few, not immigration, that is Britain’s problem.
While many people were forced here for the profit of a few traders or encouraged to come to help rebuild Britain, the industrial revolution and modern society now mean that people travel from all over the world for careers or because they have been displaced from their own country.
I am proud that Bristol is a city of sanctuary and has shown little tolerance for the fascism we see creeping into normal everyday discourse. A view that I know is held by many, if not most, Bristolians.
But we must continue to build and fight for a city that faces up to historical hard truths and acts to be actively anti-racist.
I will continue to work tirelessly for climate, racial and social justice and push for a Bristol that does the same.
Loraine Francis is a Green councillor for Eastville
Main photo: Jon Craig
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