232 The European Union – United or divided? tiques dealer, flies the union flag from his Old Curiosity Shop. He was born around the corner and has seen the street change beyond recognition. “The whole nature of the place is different. I’ve worked like a donkey since I was 14 but the immigrants are allowed to come in and get all their bills paid for them,” he says. “I don’t agree with this idea that Polish people come and do jobs British people won’t. I think that’s propaganda. A jobless British person would take anything going.” Morris, like many here, has always voted Labour (the party has held Southampton Test since 1997). “But I’m going to take a close look at what Ukip are saying. I’ll be listening to those boys carefully before the next general election.” Southampton boasts a long and proud history of immigration over the past 500 years from the Huguenots in the 17 th century to the West Indians and Asians in the 20 th century. Shirley Road and the High Street are packed with restaurants, shops and supermarkets reflecting that diversity. Following the enlargement of the EU in 2004, people from eastern Europe, mainly Poland, arrived. The eastern European delicatessens opened, adding to the cultural mix on the Shirley Road. According to the 2001 census, 89 % of the population in the city were “white British”. This had fallen to 78 % by the time of the 2011 census. The “other white” population had increased by more than 200 % to more than 17,000. Today, about a fifth of the city’s 237,000-strong population was born outside the UK. Naturally, not all residents are as strident as Andrews and Morris. Neil Walker, the owner of Retro, is quick to explain that he was not trying to make a political statement by opening a very British-looking cáfe: “It was a business decision. I thought there was a gap in the market for good old staples. Actually I think the Poles and all the other races here have brought good to this area. They’ve made it more vibrant.” Quentin Thatcher, an estate agent, agrees: “For us, they’ve created a demand for housing locally, which has helped our business. They are hard-working, plainspeaking people – good to deal with.” But he is worried about the expected arrival of Romanian and Bulgarian workers. “This is a small island. There is pressure on housing and pressure on services,” he says. Up the road at Southampton general hospital, Sue Smith, a bank worker in her fifties, is waiting to pick up her aunt, who has just been to the eye unit. “You have to wait days to see a doctor now, weeks to get a hospital appointment,” she says. But she also sees good in at least some of her new neighbours. “I’ve been treated by a Polish doctor and I’ve got an elderly friend who loves his Polish carer at a nursing home. I don’t mind skilled people coming, but there needs to be a way of keeping those without any qualifications away.” The academic studies on British people’s reaction to immigration are complicated. According to the latest British Social Attitudes survey from the social research agency NatCen, published at the end of last year, three quarters of people favour “some reduction”. This compares with 63 % in 1995 and 72 % in 2003. Just over half say they want a “large” reduction. Neil Walker, the owner of the Retro Diner on Shirley Road in Southampton 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 71051_1_1_2015_Inhalt_4.indd 23 21.01.15 10:39 Nu r z u Pr üf zw ck en Ei ge nt um d es C .C .B uc hn er V er la gs