Scapegoat Tracker
Tracking the UK's favourite blame targets. Each narrative paired with what the data actually says. Scapegoating is bipartisan — left and right both do it.
"Immigrants are taking British jobs"
ONS Labour Force Survey shows employment rates for UK-born workers have been broadly stable. The structural issue is that vacancies have fallen 30% from their 2022 peak while economic inactivity among UK-born 16-64s remains at 21.6% -- driven by long-term sickness (2.8m), not competition from migrants.
"The EU caused Britain's economic problems"
UK-EU goods trade fell 15% in real terms post-Brexit. UK services trade with the EU grew slower than with non-EU partners. The OBR estimates Brexit reduced UK GDP by 4% relative to remaining. The EU didn't cause UK problems -- leaving it created new ones.
"Crime is caused by immigration"
Home Office research consistently shows that immigrants are less likely to commit crime than UK-born citizens. Crime rates correlate with deprivation, not demographic composition. Areas with highest immigration often have lower crime rates than deprived areas with minimal immigration.
"Billionaires are destroying the economy"
UK wealth inequality is real but the framing misses the mechanism. The top 1% own 21% of wealth, but the structural driver is asset price inflation -- primarily housing and financial assets -- not individual billionaire behaviour. The rentier economy enriches anyone who owns assets, not just billionaires.
"Young people just don't want to work"
Youth unemployment (16-24) stands at 13.3%. But the real story is underemployment: 1 in 4 young workers wants more hours than they can get. Average real wages for under-30s are still below 2008 levels. They're not lazy -- the economy offers them less.
How We Count
"Times invoked" tracks how often each narrative appears in analysed political statements, media quotes, and Parliamentary records. Counts are from AI analysis of public discourse — they indicate frequency of the claim, not its validity. Every narrative here is matched against the best available public data. We don't care who's making the claim — if it dodges structural reality, it's cope.