DId you know it? We are more xenophobic and anti-immigrant than the rest of Europe

Now who made all this up then you might wonder? Well not so hard to guess now is it? It is our good old friend the Guardian on one of their blogs. They have it that the poll

"suggests the British are more anti-immigrant and xenophobic than the rest of western Europe – preferring a Fortress UK policy, blaming immigrants for unemployment, and split over whether to grant them equal social benefits."

That is quite a mouthful to blame on a peoples that are genuinely worried about the current net-immigration of 165,000 a year. That is a lot of people for such a small island country as England, and it is not helped by this sort of stuff. But hey it was a proper survey did you not know? So by that virtue whatever it says must be true, what is says completely and wholly describes the national character of Britain proper. Well, except the tiny little detail that when you click on the accompanying link to that article, which should lead to the German Marshal-Fund think you get a "404" message. Very embarrassing for the Guardian, not only are they smearing the rightly very worried British electorate but they have nothing, nicht, nil to back that smear up. Look at the government, at least they make a half-hearted attempt to have peer-reviewed smear.

But to raise the bigger issue, while it is all very well of accusing the people of being xenophobic, perhaps the Guardian should ask instead why the people are so worried if we are go with their claims? But of course that would actually entail proper journalism and the Guardian only does that very very occasionally.