Life in Immigration Town Panorama

Tonight on Panorama, how immigration is dividing

Britain's most diverse town.

But you, sir, came from another country, didn't you?

That's true. I am. If I am rude, chuck them out.

Migrant labour has given Slough one

of the UK's most successful economies.

If you take the migrant workers out of it, who's going to do the work?

But when I came here ten years

ago, the town was already struggling with immigration.

They're very angry

around here, you know what I mean? Very angry.

So, how many new arrivals can one place take?

I'm born in Slough and I'm in the minority in my own little world.

And why are thousands of white Brits abandoning immigration town?

I'm not worried about the diversity of people here,

it's simply there are too many.

Father and son are on their way to work.

Arturo Sr and Jr are

from Seville in Spain, where almost a third of the population

is unemployed.

Arturo Sr came here last summer, even though Britain had

already voted to leave Europe.

Now, they both work in Slough.

-It's a grande problema.

-Grande problema, grande, grande, grande.

Label?

He speaks hardly any English, but Arturo can do the work.

-Yeah, do a label for that one, mate.

-OK.

He's one of the best people I work with here. Every day I work with

him. This is our little bench, this is.

At the printing firm, he works

alongside his son. Arturo Jr was the first of the family to arrive

in Slough.

The family home was about to be repossessed in Spain, so he

helped his 60-year-old dad to find a job in the UK.

He was like reborn. Because you have a new country, new language, new

weather, new culture, new food and new job, because that's the first

time he do that kind of job.

They haven't been put off by Brexit.

The whole family has moved to the UK for work.

-Collection.

-OK.

That's different.

You can't actually get to the workforce you need if they're not

going to allow people to come here.

Where do we end up then? You can't expand.

Immigration, I think, for work, is good. I don't have a

problem with it.

I think it's the work ethic that people bring is

very, very good.

I made a Panorama about Slough ten years ago.

It was clear then some were unhappy about the new arrivals.

They're taking everything.

If you heard what people were saying back

-then, Brexit may not have come as a surprise.

-They're very angry around

here. You know what I mean? Very angry. Like, people have been living

here all their life, worked and paid tax and all that, they get nothing.

Ten years on, immigration is now THE national issue and at the

heart of the Brexit negotiations. So where does that leave a town built

on foreign workers?

To see how immigration has changed Slough since

I was last here, I went to St Anthony's Catholic School.

Who was born outside of Britain in a different country?

About half of you. About half of you.

How many of you, your parents were born in a different country,

they weren't born here in Britain?

That is pretty much everybody.

More than half the pupils start school unable to speak much English,

like this girl.

-What is it?

-Orange.

-Good girl. It is the colour orange.

-And what is it? Do you know what it is?

-A car.

It is. A car or a bus. Can you say

that in a sentence?

Antonia, say, "I have got an orange bus."

-I have got an orange bus.

-Good girl.

By the time they leave, all the pupils can

read and speak English fluently.

Immigration has doubled the number

of pupils at this school since 2004, which saved it from closure.

It was in a poor state of repair, because of falling rolls.

There wasn't enough money to look after the classrooms, the building

or surroundings. The school was in the position where it was likely to

-close.

-So, you've seen this school transformed because of immigration?

Absolutely. Absolutely. It invested money into the school and it's

brought a richness in many ways.

52% of the pupils are from a Polish background.

I've heard, you know, the Polish are horrible and they're

not nice. That was one of the reasons I didn't bring my children

here first of all. Because I heard that there was no English taught at

all. And that everybody was Polish. I was like, "Oh, you know, I need my

"children to learn something." But I came in, looked around and it's not

like that. So, sometimes you can't just listen to word of mouth.

What about you, how does the mix work?

You're Polish and British, how does it work?

At school, I speak English, and, at home, I speak Polish.

So, you're Polish at home, British at school? Poland play England at

football, who do you want to win?

-Hard to say.

-A draw? England play

-Romania?

-England.

-England?

Jamie Vardy, I think he might put two goals in.

Jamie Vardy, even got a scorer, that's great, well done.

The children in this school speak 31 languages. Across the town 150

languages are spoken.

Slough may look a model of integration, but

even our most diverse town wants change, 54% voted for Brexit.

So, has Slough had enough of immigration?

We're doing a thing about Brexit and immigration.

-BLEEP

-you're in the right place.

-Why?

-No comment.

A lot of the guys, they lose their

jobs to people that come from you know, from

-around Europe and stuff like that.

-They literally do? Do they think

-that they do or they actually do?

-They actually do.

-Why do they

get the jobs?

Maybe cos they get out of bed in the morning.

Maybe they work harder, maybe they want it more, I don't know.

I think it's too much immigration here. There's too many

Polish people and too many, I don't know, the Indian people. It's hard

to find, like, an English person here.

-But you're a Polish person.

-Yes, I am.

On the whole, do you think immigration has been good or bad for

-Slough?

-Absolutely good. There's no way that you can't move forward

without people coming into this country.

But I think you've only got so many resources to supply all the demand.

PEOPLE SING

So, is immigration still working for Slough or is it starting to

harm the town?

While new migrants are still arriving, some of the those who came

here for a better life want out.

The Polish community has told us that

dozens of Poles have left the town since the Brexit vote.

Konrad and his wife have been working here as carers for elderly

people for more than a decade.

But they no longer feel as welcome.

I think, now, we

think more about coming back to Poland than before.

-Why?

-Because

-I've got feeling they don't want us here.

-My feeling, we always will be

-immigrants. Always.

-You're almost not an immigrant, because you've

-been here all of your life?

-Yes, I'm still an immigrant. I was born in

Poland. I came here. I immigrated and still people think I don't

-belong here.

-Mr Farage, for me, opened the Pandora box.

Now it's just worse, worse than it was before.

They committed themselves to the UK and bought their own home.

Now they've sold it in case they need to

leave quickly and they're renting.

That's very unsettling, though.

That's why we're renting the house now

and not buying a new one. Because we are not sure.

Before I came here, I thought immigration, moving around

and, you know, work is open. It's fantastic. But, unfortunately,

people, we always think we are the best, we are better than you. So, if

you look at this point, immigration is wrong. Immigration is wrong.

Immigration has helped make Slough an economic success.

Unemployment is

just 1.4%, the average wage is amongst the highest in the country,

£558 per week.

Slough is booming.

Ten years ago, I visited this stonemason's,

run by Italian migrants and using Polish workers.

They used to come in with a rucksack on their back, on foot.

Then we started seeing bikes come in.

Now they've all got nice cars. A couple are purchasing property with

mortgages.

Hi, Richard. Good to see you again.

-Ten years.

-Passes, doesn't it?

-How's life?

-Yeah, very good.

'This place reflects Slough's success.

'In the ten years since I was last here,

'the business has tripled its workforce.'

-More business?

-More business.

'Immigrants have helped build this company,

'so is Salve using foreign workers ahead of English

'because they're cheap?'

No. Not at all.

You can get someone of any... wherever they've come from

for a cheap price.

The minute they can do the job, they can go somewhere else.

There's no absolutely no benefit in terms of cost.

Salve is always looking for new staff.

-He's a nice bloke. He's a Polish bloke.

-His English?

-His English is good.

-His English is good?

-He's a good attitude.

He's a really good guy.

We've got a lot of Eastern European workers here in this company.

They've always been here. We can't lose them. We need them.

Not... Because we don't pay them any cheaper.

It's because they're very good workers.

And they're our friends now, as well.

Some of those friends on the shop floor

say if they're not wanted in the country, they'll leave.

Profession, I've got 20 years' experience

as a stonemason's sculptor, yeah?

I can find a job everywhere.

Some people don't have a choice.

Arturo and his family are getting used to a new life in Slough,

but they left Spain because their business went under.

OK. Yeah?

When you heard about Brexit,

that British people had voted to come out of the European Union,

did you have second thoughts about moving to Slough?

TRANSLATION:

Slough attracts people because of the work.

The town itself is then changed by the new arrivals.

Ten years ago, some locals were already unhappy.

You can't walk down the streets now, like you used to be able to.

You're just frightened to walk down the streets.

You walk through Chalvey, you can't.

Since then, Slough has changed even more.

White British people make up just 34.5% of the population.

For the first time, white Brits are a minority.

-Got lots of tools and stuff up here...

-Right.

..that we could get rid of.

Ann and Bernie are getting ready to move away.

It's the old telephones with...

..with numbers and letters.

Do you want to throw stuff in there?

They lived in this house for 35 years.

-Put these things in there.

-This is for the bin, yeah?

-Yeah.

They've both spent nearly all their lives in Slough,

but they've decided to leave the town and move to Norfolk.

I don't feel any antipathy against the people,

it's simply that it's not for me any more,

so I want to move on, you know?

I want to move to a place

that is more like what I've been used to as a youngster.

What about you, Ann? How does it make you feel?

I feel quite sad. I just loved Slough and everything about it.

But now I can't find anything that I like about Slough.

Ann and Bernie aren't alone.

In 2001, 69,000 white British people lived in Slough.

By 2011, that figure had dropped to 48,000.

This so-called white flight is happening across the country.

White people are moving to live in whiter areas.

What I am against is the uncontrolled immigration,

the masses of people coming into the country now.

And this country has only got so much resources.

There is no tipping point, as such,

it's just an accumulation of things, you know,

that made us feel we would rather be...

-rather go somewhere else.

-It builds up slowly.

-We've had the best of Slough.

-You can't change Slough now.

If people are happy with it, I'm happy for them,

-but it's not for us.

-Yeah.

PEOPLE CALL OUT

George, George, get in!

-Matty...

-Wake him up!

Take a look at him, Liam!

-Well done.

-Work it.

He's gone in!

On a freezing pitch in the middle of Slough,

Chalvey are fighting to stay top of the league.

Too straight, one's got to drop in to receive.

It's not happening.

Chalvey is one of the most diverse parts

of Britain's most diverse town.

New communities often settle here first.

FINAL WHISTLE BLOWS

After the game, the team gathers at the working men's club.

The members here reflect the old racial mix of Slough -

white, black and Asian.

-Did you score today?

-Silly question, isn't it?

Slough has always been proud of the way different communities get on,

but there is tension about new arrivals.

Immigration needs to be nipped in the bud,

simple, job done.

There's a feeling here that public services are at breaking point.

And some blame immigration.

It's gone too far. It's not just the work itself,

it's the draining it's having on the resources in the local community.

You know, schools, hospitals and things like that.

The immigration goes OK to a point,

but when it overcomes the whole town,

then the town starts closing down,

which is what's happening in Slough.

So, when Slough voted to come out of Europe,

what were they saying, what was the message?

We're fed up of all this influx of people every time.

There is no housing for local people.

There is a housing shortage in Slough,

but immigrants are not given preferential treatment.

Some think that immigration is changing Slough for the worst.

Do you feel like a minority now in Slough, and how does that feel?

Not only feel like it,

it's the fact that we are, and it feels awful.

It feels awful that I'm living in my own town.

My mother was born in Slough, my father was born in Slough,

God rest the pair of them, I'm born in Slough,

and I'm a minority in my own little world.

To me, there seems to be a big parallel between you coming over

and doing work, and the Poles coming over and doing work -

you both came here for a better life.

Yeah. We were asked to come here.

It was difficult to get somewhere to live,

because, then, white people didn't want to take black people

in their houses.

That sort of ignorance about immigration, or about new people,

do you think that applies now, as well,

to Polish people or Romanians or whoever is coming into Slough?

I think it does.

I hear it every day on the street.

I heard it on the street ten years ago.

Hello.

Hello, we're from the BBC.

'I saw straightforward prejudice -

'the Roma community was being singled out.'

That's what I'm saying to you...

But why are people nervous? Why would they want to run away?

It's not nervous.

-The thing is, because they don't want to see us...

-Why?

Because, you know, they think they are the best.

Ten years on, people are still openly racist about the Roma.

Some people are all right, some people are just scatty,

disgusting human beings.

-The Romanians.

-Why do you have a problem with the Romanians?

They are disgusting people, to be honest with you.

Think about it.

If they come to my restaurant,

they're dogs when it comes to food.

It all seems really, you know, bad language.

They're dogs and they're not humans and stuff.

Why do you say all that?

I don't know. They have a different mentality.

While we're on the street, a man calls us into the barber's.

What were you saying to me through the window there?

I say today, you came. No Romanians today.

The Roma community is unpopular

because some gather in the streets.

-Today, you come...

-Yeah.

-Nobody... They see you - gone.

Oh, right? So, if I wasn't here...

If you weren't here, all the people, they stand up there in the side.

-The Polish are better than the Romanians.

-Why?

Because this is rude.

These people, who will stand up on the road all the time,

they get good money.

We people, all the time working and pay our taxes, pay everything.

But you, sir, came from another country, didn't you?

Yes, that's true. I am.

If I am rude, chuck them out.

What shocked me was how widespread these attitudes were.

Even the local police officer

seemed willing to label an entire community.

The Roma gypsy community, they're the only fly in the ointment.

There is a perceived problem with the residents.

And, yes, there are some other issues, as well,

but a lot of it is perceived by the residents of Chalvey

about the big gatherings, the noise, the shouting,

the kids and youths running around.

But the Roma are not breaking the law.

If they broke the law, there are laws that you can use against them?

-That's it.

-All they've got is a different method of integration.

They just don't slot in.

Everyone agrees that hanging around in large groups

throughout the day and evenings isn't normal,

especially talking loud, shouting at each other.

It's intimidating, and a lot of people can't understand that.

There is therefore the perception of antisocial crime going on.

Immigration...

I don't like that, that name.

That's a nonsense name.

I don't like that.

But you can get your...

English people say that we are immigrants.

Have your say.

They say, the Roma community,

they hang around everywhere.

That's all. That's the problem.

They think we don't work, but we work.

If we didn't work, we wouldn't have these clothes, looking good,

we wouldn't have no food.

Do you feel integrated?

Are you part of Slough? Are you Roma or are you Slough?

Are you a gypsy, as you told me, or are you Slough? Or are you both?

-British.

-I'm both. I'm both.

-I'm British.

-You're British?

-Yes.

I love being English, I love being in England.

England is a good country.

If you respect me, I respect you.

Yeah, it's like this.

Treat people how you want to get treated.

That's how I am.

The local bobby thinks the Roma community should behave

in a more British way.

Integration, it doesn't seem to be high on the agenda.

Hopefully, in time, that integration will happen

and the kids growing up will feel more...more British

and less...less...gypsy.

I mean, we want them to feel proud of their roots,

but we want them to understand

that they are actually in another country.

Across town, another Slough teenager is having a revision night.

Arturo's son Daniel only arrived from Spain five months ago.

How can I change it for the better, like, because...

You could say, "She was relieved of her duties."

He'll take his GCSEs this summer.

Right now, he's still getting to grips with English.

The first day was like, "Me not speak London."

OK?

Just imagine!

I'm happy with my English right now

because I see it's improving quite fast.

I think England now is my home and I have to do my life here.

If I think about it, it's crazy, because when I was little,

I was dreaming about travelling to England

and I'm actually living in England.

Wow, what a dream, yeah.

You're in a town that said it didn't want the European Union,

and part of that was, it didn't want economic migrants,

which is what you are.

What do you think about British people in Slough?

What's their attitude to immigration?

What it means is that people don't understand what immigration means.

It means that you can take public transport, you can go to the doctor

and you can go...because people like me. I'm paying for that.

Maria's got a job in a pub within weeks of arriving from Spain,

all three adults were working.

What's the future, then, for this family?

Is this your new home, Slough?

Is this where you go forward from or is this a temporary respite

from whatever is happening back in Spain?

I have the opportunity to get a new future, to have a real life,

to build my future here.

Bernie and Ann's future is away from Slough.

-That's a lovely picture, two lovely-looking children.

-They are.

They want out, even though it means leaving their children,

grandchildren and great-grandchildren behind.

I don't know what I'll do without my children.

This is what has made this move difficult.

In the past, I couldn't bring myself to move away from my grandchildren.

I am not coming back.

I am going to stay. Once I go up there, that's it.

I'm not coming back to Slough.

Migration has made Slough.

Its economy is thriving.

But all those new people have changed the town for ever.

And some think, whatever the benefits of immigration,

that's too high a price to pay.