Angela Raynor still doesnt get it.

Not sure how he has the brass neck to comment given she was forced to resign in disgrace.

She is part of the problem and most definitely not the solution.

So you think the country has stayed exactly the same since Roman times?

There have always been other cultures existing within the UK. Also - we've colonised half the planet as a country so it's a bit rich so start moaning about other cultures existing peacefully within the UK.

And frankly, the globalisation genie ain't going back into the bottle. This was always going to happen when international travel became normalised. If you want to go back to the days of only meeting people who were born within a 20 mile radius and living only on British produced food (turnips, anyone) then we need to get rid of planes, trains and automobiles. But that part of our culture changing isn't something that people seem to want to take on board.

This is an insane comparison.

The jews were deported from their homes to concentration camps often to be murdered for no other reason than the fact they were Jewish. This is not comparable to someone voluntarily coming to a country, looking to claim asylum and stay there and being required to fund some of their accommodation with their own assets which can include jewellery.

This. I don’t want to be represented by her on the global stage.

They care about unskilled economic migrants abusing the asylum system

The unskilled economic migrants don't abuse the system though. They turn up, and they apply. Criteria are used to decide whether to grant asylum. They are actually following the process. If we don't like the criteria used, we should change it, but nobody is abusing the system.

Which has fucked the HE sector up no end. Which is why courses are being dropped , lecturer numbers decimated, less choice of modules, universities merging and a far poorer experience for all. But hey, less migration 👍🏻

He's just so desperate to be PM, he's been scheming against Starmer and briefing the press almost since day one. That hasn't helped Starmer/Labour at all. He's someone who's far more motivated by self-interest and desire for power than actual political belief or ideology. And he lacks personal charm.

Apart from that I'm sure he's lovely!

Haven't read the whole thread, but is there any view on how many people would willingly opt to leave the UK if Farage becomes the next PM? Various first or second generation friends have told me they would choose to return to their home countries if this happens.

Equally, I wouldn't want to live here under his government. I find Farage and his policies abhorrent. But my whole life is here, my children are here (one will still be at school, one at uni, one graduate) if this happens. Plus, while I have an EU passport, it's not that straightforward for my DH or kids.

I have liberal family in the US who are horrified by Trump and hate every minute of his presidency, but equally - they can't just leave.

What do we think will happen? Will a lot of us be forced into a similar position where we hate it, but just have to get on with it?

You're saying what you perceive the majority view to be. My post referred to "plenty of people". And plenty of people where I live want to get rid of all Muslims, legally here or not, born here or not. They talk of our MP, who's a British born Muslim, refer to "his lot" and speak of having him deported. If you challenge this and point out that he was born in the city you get "if a pig is born in a stable it doesn't make it a horse".

I don't think these people are in a minority any more.

But isn’t the issue the ‘2 cultures’. Until recently that wasn’t a thing. We had one British culture regardless of race. When I was at school, even though my school had children from a variety of backgrounds, we never ever thought we were culturally different. Didn’t even occur to us. We all went to same assembly at school, we all socialised together. No one dressed differently (apart from special occasions - I remember being in awe of my friend’s Saree she wore for an event). There was no side by side living, we all were British. This side by side living has only appeared in the last 30 years.

How is WS weaselly?

I do like Angela Rayner but I don't think she's got the gravitas to be PM. She likes getting pissed and while so do I, I'm not sure that equips me to have detailed conversations about trade with world dignitaries and also Donald Trump.

Not sure any of the mooted Keir replacements have that gravitas actually, apart from Ed Milliband. Wes Streeting - weaselly and the association with Mandelson is damaging. Andy Burnham - think he's a bit lightweight tbh.

Shabana Mahmood has made public comments about confiscating asylum seekers’ jewellery when they come to the U.K. (horribly similar to the Nazis confiscating the jewellery and money of Jewish people when they were deported to concentration camps):

https://www.ft.com/content/92ff5308-d657-4a2b-acd1-50e082921318?syn-25a6b1a6=1
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/18/shabana-mahmood-plan-to-seize-jewels-of-asylum-seekers-a-joke

Exactly.

How is it minimising Nazi policies?

And which other countries have said anything - like Shabana Mahmood has - about confiscating asylum seekers’ jewellery when they come to the U.K. (which is horribly similar to the Nazis confiscating the jewellery and money of Jewish people when they were deported to concentration camps)?

https://www.ft.com/content/92ff5308-d657-4a2b-acd1-50e082921318?syn-25a6b1a6=1

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/18/shabana-mahmood-plan-to-seize-jewels-of-asylum-seekers-a-joke

The Danes are doing something right.

What the Danes are doing right is raising enough tax to pay for decent public services.

Denmark has one of the highest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world, with total tax revenue equalling 43.4% of GDP in 2023 and estimated at 45.0%–45.8% for 2024-2025. This high tax burden funds extensive public services, including free education and healthcare.

By way of comparison the UK tax-to-GDP ratio is about 39%.

Urgh. I live in a town that's 30% Muslim and I don't recognise what you're saying at all. Two cultures can exist quite peacefully side by side. It's not either/or.

A lot of the places that are most upset about immigration are the places where they haven't ever experienced it, ie up in Northumberland. They're personally untouched by it and that makes it the scary, unseen bogeyman.

What RaynEr would want to do, is to tax anyone with money beyond the just-about-managing level, and tax the businesses that provide the jobs. It’s in her socialist DNA.

And I have to agree with whoever said more or less that she’d be an embarrassment as PM on the world stage. And it’s not, repeat NOT, because she’s working class! John Major was working class, but he knew how to behave.

I don’t disagree But I think the actual number we need is tiny. I’m just saying that when the government tries to limit immigration, the racist line is constantly put forward. But it is nothing to do with race, it is purely economic. If we don’t need immigrants, we are not obligated to take them. Some people think there is a value judgement that if you don’t take people from the 4 corners of the world you are racist. It is not the case. As a country we should be allowed to set the criteria of immigration without there being a moral judgment attached to it.

I don't even like labour but surely she's not preferred over Keir? She won't get more votes that's for sure. Is there no-one better to replace him? Is she the best talent that the Labour party has to offer? It's awful for all of us.

It would be stupid. We need some level of immigration. The fact that we've cut back on it while simultaneously increasing national minimum wage has absolutely destroyed retail and hospitality and is savaging the NHS.

Ah, a good bit of Reductio ad Hitlerum in action. Why compare with the Nazis when lots of modern day countries have similar policies in place?

Unsure about tax evasion, but she was up to some dodgy stuff with her house I think!

Who are even more terrifying

Which exactly? If the government decided tomorrow that it was banning all immigration completely I wouldn’t see that as a racist policy. It would simply be economic.