“High unemployment levels owe more to depression after loss of children than to immigration.”

The constituency of Wolverhampton South West, made famous by Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech, became the focus of the immigration debate again today.

Equal Parenting Alliance candidate Ray Barry said immigration had become a “political football” yet closer examination showed the effects on unemployment had been misrepresented.

“So much long-term unemployment traces back to people losing touch with their children. There’s a strong correlation between it and people being alienated from their kids, which drains the heart out of them,” he said.

Link to full BBC report