For too long now ethnic minorities, migrants and East and Central Europeans  in the UK had been made the scapegoat for a lot of the ills of British society.  Critics had blamed them for the pressures on housing, healthcare and social services, for illegal working, and for taking jobs away from the locals.  In this difficult time of global recession, these had created a climate of fear and uncertainty among migrants, and resentment in the wider British community, instead of acceptance and integration. 

Government policy had not helped at all, continually putting pressures on migrants, squeezing them  for more money and making it more difficult for them to exercise their rights as British citizens.

Instead of this, Alcantara said, “I would stress the positive contribution of migrants to Britain, harness their energies, and work on building a more inclusive and fair society that does not discriminate  or exclude those who have spent their lives serving the good of this country.” 

Alcantara urges all ethnic minorities, migrants and East and Central Europeans as well as their families and friends in  London to register to vote and turn out on polling day to make their voices heard.   It is estimated that some 29% of the 7 million Londoners come from the ethnic minorities, and its population is the most diverse in the UK.