“Everybody thought the EU was about people coming into the country … no-one told of us the benefits”.

It will be 3 times. They have a reform council....

But it was promised to the nhs!! Its almost as though it was...bull

Quite.

Let Farage fool you once, shame on him. Let's him fool you twice, shame on you.

I think you need to take your rose tinted spectacles off. The EU is not doing well. Loads of countries in the EU now have right wing parties in charge, Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Republic, Netherlands. France and Germany have a huge growth in their right wing parties. The European Union countries are not doing well economically. We can control our borders but no one has the arsehole to do it. Farage is old news. Restore Britain are the party that actually will do something if it is migration you care about. Plenty of areas do get funding, my city does from the levelling up fund. Blaming everything on brexit is nonsense. That shitshow covid hasn't helped the economy either. Instead of looking back and talking down our economy politicians need to get their arse in gear and look forward. We need young people to learn trades. They should also actually employ our British Dr's and nurses once qualified instead of opting to employ oversees nationals. Past posters have been correct that we have an ageing population and having to pay triple lock pensions and social care is crippling. That's got f all to do with leaving the EU. Instead of crying about a decision to take back control we need to actually have a party in that is going to make proper changes.

It's still eye watering even after a reduction!

We have borrowed and borrowed and borrowed since Brexit (but not related to Brexit, much of it because of Covid and because of failing to reduce public spending back to pre Covid levels once Covid was over).

The £350m bus money, which was the question, is more than swallowed up by that.

It's not actually relevant to that fact that debt interest percentage payments will be reducing because inflation is falling. The amount being paid remains eye watering and swamps the spending on several government departments, like double what we spend on defence.

So explain workplaces that only advertise abroad? That shouldn't be allowed but does happen. I remember a friend of mine who was a foreman in a factory. Every time they needed staff they advertised in Poland written in polish language. In the end all the staff were polish and never spoke English in work which made it difficult for him and he only spoke English and Punjabi.

Or Basildon council when they were fitting people's kitchens . Sent out letters says the operatives were unlikely to speak English. They'd recruited them from Bulgaria.

No reason why local people couldn't do these jobs

Education is free up till the age of 18. Government subsidies are available for college courses. Night schools or lucrative night-shifts are always there (see the Post Office, local hospitals). Learning a language can be done virtually free of charge, with internet resources. Professional qualficiations could be studied for around a schedule. Excuses again.

This is a free market, and it's not on the person to feel wanted enough to get a job. It's on them to prove their worth in order to get a job.

No - people should be working for the good of their country and society generally. They can then start to pay taxes, and contribute to amenities and the economy. Which in turn will benefit themselves in the long run.

You seem full of excuses. If immigrants who may speak English as a 2nd language, can find jobs - you do have to have the skills and actually apply to get a job - then so can the 40-something Dunelmian (disabilities accounted for).

Slavery is a ridiculous comparison. Employment means money, which means food and lodging, which means economic freedom, which leads to wider opportunities. You could argue that those who are wilfully long-term unemployed are slaves to the state, dependent on its crumbs.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-16/uk-s-reeves-is-set-to-get-a-boost-from-falling-debt-interest

Paying interest on our eye watering debt?

Aaah all that money that went to the nhs you mean? Where on earth did that go?

Nor do you have a clue how difficult it is to gain skills in a system that makes it clear every day that you are not wanted: that anyone from around the world is wanted first.

As dutiful slaves, everyone should just be working for the benefit of our lords and masters (all male incidentally, you aren’t really doing yourself many favours either)?

Go away.

There has to be rewards, just as there has to be a framework for consent and legitimacy in a government and indeed the whole system. The alternative is slavery and force.

If that is what our government, and again, the entire system, wants, then I challenge all involved to openly say so.

If your engagement in politics only extends as far as whining and perhaps randomly putting a cross in a box when you can be bothered, then maybe your views on democracy are rather limited.

Do role not realise that “EU funding” is money that originated in the UK? And was paid as our dues for membership?
It’s note being siphoned off somewhere else but we haven’t actually had a net loss!

Your points are well made but I want to add to this one.

I have done some reading on this and the economy does gain from immigration, but in terms of the people in it, there are winners and losers.

I find on these discussion that people consistently refuse to segment the immigrant base. Not all immigrants are equal in economic contribution.

The studies I have seen ignore the fact that there will be a percentage of immigrants who are a net drain on the economy and that the economy would benefit from them not being allowed to be here. They also seem to calculate the economic benefits as growth in GDP, when the measure of whether people are any better off is GDP percent head.

There are other aspects to this as well. I am sure that my brother's sizeable second hand vehicle business wasn't alone during the free movement years in finding it far more cost effective to employ a fully trained Polish mechanic than to train up a young British person. And Costa would have been mad to employ wet behind the ears school leavers or hassled returned mothers when they could just take on a bilingual Spaniard.

So opportunities for the young and less skilled were reduced by free movement.

Of course immigration was and remains essential, but it does need better control than free movement or the fiasco with which Boris replaced it.

Question- I agree with much of what you say has happened to these communities and I understand they want change...

They voted Brexit (championed by good ol Nigel) and we're shat on.
They then turned around and lent Boris their votes to 'finish Brexit', which screwed them even more.
Post Brexit, the Tories opened the floodgates and let more immigrants in...
In Austerity Britain we watched millionaires get richer than ever...
During Covid they fleeced us a bit more.

ALL VERY HIGHLY PUBLICISED, so wherever you get your news, you couldn't miss any of this happening.

Now, instead of acknowledging these politicians are not on their side, they dig themselves further into a hole of letting the same politicians tell them that their neighbours (usually in the same financial and social position as them), are the source of their problems.

Now Reform comes with a new wave of brainwashing, supported by the billionaire Elon who has never contributed a penny to them or their community, and they discover they have the power to 'effect change'... so what they use that power to do, is consume more hate and obvious nonsense and go to March on immigrants.

Immigrants did not close industries.
Immigrants did not crash the economy.
Immigrants did not say - vote Brexit at your detriment.
Immigrants did not close the colleges that taught trade.
Immigrants did not...
They are just trying to get by, like you are...

You have access to television, social media and all sorts. You know that people march on government when change is needed, but you choose to use your 'power' to terrorise regular folks. Not against businesses, not against governments; but against the people that live alongside you.

Being working class cannot be an excuse for fighting against your interests. Accept you have been lied to. Look at who has lied to you and fight that enemy.
Until you take responsibility for your own foolishness, you will continue to make the same mistake.

Because I'm talking about JOINING it in the first place so PRE 1993. Not sure why you can't grasp that

People had from 1993 onwards, the anti EU UKIP to vote for & also the Referendum Party until 1997.

I'm not sure why you cannot grasp these facts, then again, i'm not.

I mean I know "nuance" and "BREXIT" is a big ask but if I feel that my area has lost something due to immigration, then the fact that people in a city far away have got more growth, more skilled people, a wider range of restaurants or whatever, is entirely irrelevant to me if I don't plan to move there (apart from I suppose it props up the subsidy they might give me, but that's very indirect and uncertain).

Who's the "loser" from someone buying a weekly shop or joining a gym?

(In response to your original response to Nomas). Do you really think people who throw eggs at others would be the type to get social care jobs? Who deserve those jobs?

Part of the problem is the number of people in the UK who are convinced that they would be the next Elon Musk if it wasn't for all the immigrants.

(In response to your original response to Nomas). Do you really think people who throw eggs at others would be the type to get social care jobs? Who deserve those jobs?

No one is entitled to a job. If locals had shown signs of upskilling or retraining into these sectors they wouldn't have needed to find these workers from further afield.

Also adults aren't children. They shouldn't need to be shown there are rewards for working. They should simply be working. The locals got complacent.

I read this article yesterday
Very depressing, not just the voting but the sheer decline of that area
I dont actually mind them voting for brexit, much better reason to do it for the hope of change than racist reasons
But voting for reform again at council level then again at national elections would be mad

Probably because it wasn’t a popular position

if they had felt their support was predicated on it then it may have been different

In 1975 ? Labour opposed the EEC as a party. However they did not make it an official government position.

I guess you had to be there.

And paying attention.