Sunita Webb, wife of Lawrence Webb, a member of the minority United Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP), is a native of T&T, an immigrant to the United Kingdom, and is in full support of the UK leaving the European Union (EU).
The main reason Webb was in support of the move was surprisingly her stance against the inadequate regulation of immigrants to the UK.
Webb, originally from Chaguanas, migrated to the United Kingdom in 1990 in order to complete her training as a nurse.
In 1994, training complete, she returned home to Trinidad.
Less than a year later, she was on a plane headed back to the UK, and although she would travel back and forth between the two countries for several years, she permanently settled in the UK in 1999.
She met her husband in 2001 and got married and started a family shortly after.
Still a nurse, Webb was very supportive of Britain leaving the EU and was pleased to see the results of the referendum on the subject which saw 52 per cent of Britain choose to leave.
“The jobs for nurses were a lot better than in Trinidad. Financially it was a better move and I had a family (parents) in Trinidad to support, so I did what was best at the time.
As an immigrant to the UK in the 90s, Webb didn’t have an easy time.
“We couldn’t claim any help from government and received no benefits or handouts.
“I applied for my work permit, followed the regulations set by the permit and if it expired, I reapplied,” she recalled.
“If you were starving, that was your problem, not theirs.”
She said today’s arrangement, specifically with the European Union, is a lot different.
“I’ve noted that migrants now, some of them don’t work. They don’t contribute and don’t pay taxes. I think that’s unfair.
“They get free healthcare and contribute nothing toward it. You can have the most expensive surgery or the most expensive medication for free.”
As an immigrant herself, she acknowledged that part of the desire to leave the EU stemmed from anti-immigrant sentiments.
“There are still a lot of Brits who are anti-immigrant.
“Yesterday my sister was walking down the street and a young white British boy on his bicycle heckled her as she walked by.
“He shouted ‘When are you leaving? When are you leaving?’ ”
Still, Webb said, she sees daily how immigrants drain the resources of her new home.
The other reason she was supportive was due to what she called an independence of character bred in T&T.
“The British was really being dictated by the EU.
“Trinis are very independent and so when I wanted to buy a new more powerful vacuum and was told we can’t get them in the stores because of rules made by the EU, or a certain type of hair dryer or lightbulbs, it went against the independence that I believe in.
“The EU has limited things we can buy. It’s simple things, but how is it their concern?
“You’ve worked hard for what you want in life but what happened to independence and democracy.”