George Walden in his Gibson Square book Time to Emigrate? now in its third printing, examines why Britons of all ages are quitting the country for Australia, Spain, France and the US in droves. The book is written as an extended letter to his children, who are considering leaving the country for parts further afield.
As the book rightly asks on the cover "Why is no one asking about what is happening in our country?" Walden attempts to explain in plain but not overly emotional language why Britons are leaving the UK at record numbers that rival its greatest exodus. The book is interesting to me as I have few close friends and acquaintances who are not either leaving, planning to leave or seriously contemplating emigrating. This is a serious question that deserves serious answers and not the knee-jerk cries of racism and snobbishness that often accompany even the slight brushing of this subject.
As always, Walden uses his gift for words to deliver some cracking observations. For instance he states that: "The truth is that if you and others like you go a fair number of people in your community wil be happy to see the back of you and your whitey middle class ways."
He asks if Muslim terrorists will use a nuke if they have one and answers his own question. "The answer is yes. In the case of Muslim fundamentalists is not just no, we cannot be sure: it's yes, they'd do it. The threat from the IRA was ultimately political. That from Islamic terrorism is civilisational."
He is not impressed with David Cameron, MP, the leader of the Conservative Party, to which Walden formerly belonged. He refers to Cameron as a "transexualised Diana", a man who has mastered all the Dianisms that made her so beloved by the public.
The book makes for pretty grim reading but reading that really must be done. Walden comes at this his own special way and really does a good job at encouraging the reader to look at the real reasons why people are quitting the UK. Agree or disagree, it is compelling reading.
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