Britain’s Immigration Hypocrisy and Colonial Karma
The British Empire, once a sprawling global power that dominated vast swathes of the world, is often remembered for its role in shaping modern history through colonization. At its height in the early 20th century, it controlled territories across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania, proudly claiming that “the sun never sets on the British Empire.” However, the legacy of British colonialism is a complex and often dark one, marked by exploitation, cultural erasure, and systemic violence. Today, as England experiences significant demographic and cultural shifts driven by immigration, some view these changes as a form of historical irony. In this reversal, the colonizer is now being “colonized.” While this framing is provocative and not without controversy, it provides a lens to examine the consequences of Britain’s imperial past and how they reverberate in the present.
The British Empire: A Legacy of Conquest
The British Empire’s rise began in the 16th century and peaked in the 19th and early 20th centuries, driven by trade, military conquest, and a belief in British cultural superiority. From India to the Caribbean, Africa to Australia, Britain’s colonial enterprises reshaped global economies, societies, and cultures. The empire’s wealth was often built on the exploitation of indigenous peoples and resources, with long-lasting consequences that continue to spark debate.
While the empire brought infrastructure and governance to some regions, these were often designed to serve British interests, not local populations. The extraction of resources, forced labor, and cultural suppression left deep scars, many of which remain unhealed. As England now grapples with its multicultural present, some argue that the influx of immigrants from former colonies is a form of poetic justice—a reversal of the historical flow of power and influence.
In recent years, immigration has become a lightning rod for public debate in England, with sections of the British public voicing alarm over the changing demographics of their nation. From pub conversations to political rallies, complaints about “too many” Muslims, Indians, and Africans have grown louder, often tinged with xenophobia and fear of cultural erosion. Yet, these same voices rarely express concern about immigration from predominantly white countries like Ukraine. This selective outrage reveals a deep hypocrisy, especially when viewed against the backdrop of Britain’s colonial past—a history of uninvited conquest that shaped the modern world. As England grapples with its multicultural present, the question arises: do the British people read their history, or have they forgotten that their ancestors were the original colonizers? For some, the influx of immigrants from former colonies is seen as a form of karmic payback, a historical reckoning for centuries of imperial exploitation.
The British Public’s Immigration Anxiety
Immigration has long been a contentious issue in England, but the tone of the debate has grown increasingly polarized. In 2025, public discourse—amplified by social media platforms like X—reveals widespread unease among some Britons about the presence of Muslim, Indian, and African communities. These groups are often scapegoated for economic pressures, cultural shifts, or perceived threats to “British values.” Headlines and political rhetoric frequently highlight the strain on public services, housing, and jobs, pinning the blame on immigrants from former colonies. Surveys, such as those conducted by YouGov in recent years, consistently show that a significant portion of the British public favors stricter immigration controls, particularly targeting non-European migrants.
Yet, this anxiety is conspicuously absent when it comes to immigrants from Ukraine. Following the 2022 Russian invasion, the UK welcomed tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees under schemes like the Homes for Ukraine program. While this humanitarian response was widely praised, it stands in stark contrast to the hostility directed at other groups. Rarely are Ukrainians described as “too many” or a threat to British identity, revealing a racial and cultural bias in public sentiment. This selective acceptance exposes a hypocrisy: immigration is often only a problem when it involves people who look or worship differently.
Hypocrisy in Criticizing Colonization
The irony of this public outcry is glaring when placed against Britain’s colonial history. The British Empire, at its peak, controlled nearly a quarter of the world’s land and population, often through violent conquest and without invitation. From the 16th to the 20th centuries, Britain colonized vast regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania, imposing its language, laws, and culture while extracting wealth and resources. The transatlantic slave trade, which forcibly displaced millions of Africans, fueled Britain’s economic rise. In South Africa, British policies laid the groundwork for apartheid’s racial segregation. In Australia, the establishment of penal colonies decimated Indigenous populations. In Kenya, the brutal suppression of the Mau Mau uprising saw tens of thousands detained in concentration camps. And in Uganda, colonial divide-and-rule tactics empowered figures like Idi Amin, whose later tyranny forced thousands to flee to Britain.
These are not distant footnotes but foundational chapters in Britain’s history. Yet, many who decry immigration today seem unaware—or unwilling to acknowledge—that the presence of Muslims, Indians, and Africans in England is often a direct consequence of this colonial legacy. The British public’s criticism of a “colonizing” influx of immigrants is hypocritical when their nation pioneered colonization on a global scale, redrawing maps and reshaping cultures without consent. As one X post put it in 2024: “Britain spent centuries gatecrashing other people’s lands, and now they’re shocked when the world shows up at their door?”
Do the English Read Their History?
This raises a critical question: Do the English people read their history? The evidence is mixed. While British schools teach aspects of the empire, the curriculum has often been criticized for sanitizing its darker chapters. A 2020 report by the Runnymede Trust found that colonial history is frequently presented through a lens of British triumph, with less emphasis on the violence and exploitation that accompanied it. Public statues and monuments, like those of colonial figures such as Cecil Rhodes, have sparked heated debates, with some Britons defending them as heritage and others demanding their removal as symbols of oppression.
Ignorance of this history is not universal, but it is widespread enough to fuel a disconnect. Many who express anti-immigrant sentiment seem unaware that the British Empire’s actions—displacement, resource extraction, and cultural suppression—created the global diasporas now reshaping England. For example, the partition of India in 1947, a chaotic British exit strategy, led to millions of displacements, with many South Asians later migrating to the UK. Similarly, economic instability in former African colonies, rooted in colonial exploitation, has driven migration to the former imperial center. If the British public fully grappled with this history, the narrative of immigration as an uninvited intrusion might lose its potency.
Karma or Historical Reckoning?
For some observers, England’s multicultural transformation is a form of poetic justice—a karmic payback for centuries of colonial dominance. The phrase “the colonizer is being colonized” captures this sentiment, suggesting that the influx of people from former colonies is a reversal of historical power dynamics. Communities from South Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, once subjugated by British rule, are now integral to England’s cultural, economic, and political fabric. From the Notting Hill Carnival to the contributions of British Asian writers and African entrepreneurs, these groups are reshaping what it means to be British.
This framing is not without critics. Some argue it oversimplifies migration, ignoring the agency of immigrants who come to England for opportunity, not revenge. Others note that it risks inflaming tensions by casting immigration as a form of retribution. Yet, the idea resonates with those who see history’s long arc at play. As one Kenyan-British academic wrote in a 2023 Guardian op-ed, “The empire invited itself into our homes, and now we’re here, building lives in theirs. That’s not karma—it’s a consequence.”
The British public’s selective outrage over immigration—condemning Muslims, Indians, and Africans while embracing Ukrainians—reveals a deep hypocrisy rooted in a failure to confront the nation’s colonial past. Britain’s history as the world’s foremost colonizer, uninvited and often brutal, created the global conditions that now bring diverse peoples to its shores. Whether viewed as karma, consequence, or simply historical evolution, England’s multicultural present is inseparable from its imperial legacy. To move forward, the British public must reckon with this history, recognizing that the “colonization” they fear is, in many ways, a mirror held up to their ancestors’ actions. Only through such reflection can England embrace its diverse future without resentment or denial.