Taxi drivers have been banned from using this sign
Yesterday, Jeremy Vine hosted a lively discussion with the deputy leader of Southampton City Council and the chairman of the city’s largest taxi firm which provided a vivid insight into the complexities of doing business in multi-cultural Britain.
The affair centred on the council’s decision to ban taxi drivers from using signs that say “English speaking driver” (see above). Some say it is racist to use such signs (redolent of the “Irish need not apply” signs of the past). To others it is an unnecessary restriction on taxi drivers’ rights to be patriotic and deny local residents their preference for English speaking taxi drivers.
Certainly, we think that people who seek a life in Britain should be expected to learn the language well enough to order a taxi, or for that matter to drive one. The costs of a Babylon culture to our economy and our way of life are enormous.
Incidentally, during the interview both Vine and the council official referred to the term “indigenous” to make the distinction between a non-English speaker and English speaker. Though the term was not invented by the BNP it has nontheless been hijacked by them. The use of this term is a clear example of the nasty effect the BNP’s rhetoric is having on our language. Let’s make sure we don’t lose this word to the fascists.
