Angela Raynor still doesnt get it.

But that’s not why people are emigrating. People emigrate overwhelmingly for financial reasons. People also dislike illegal immigration and a large part of this is the cost of policing and then sustaining those who come illegally

No, it won't be (comparing apples with apples). As you say, the ONS have only recently started to look at who is leaving, so the data doesn't exist yet. It will be interesting to see once it starts to emerge.

The key for me is that the current government are processing faster, so backlogs will reduce and arrivals will be processed much more quickly.

If the arrivals by boat are processed rapidly and returned where necessary, that will likely be a discouraging factor to start the journey. That said, it isn't necessarily the individuals who are making informed decisions, they are just buying in to what is being sold to them by the gangs running things.

It isn't a quick fix situation as Reform will find out should they ever gain the chair. Most of the methods they have stated currently are either not possible or are against the law. It is very easy to say what would happen when one has no responsibility. I have a feeling a lot of newly elected councillors will be discovering this in the coming months.

I think that people who complain about immigration are mostly concerned with illegal immigration, which "ex-pats" very rarely are.

It’s still not resolved, HMRC is still awaiting a £40,000 repayment.

And that’s aside from fraudulently having overvalued the family home so she could draw down sufficient for the deposit in the £600,000 beachfront flat down south! From her son’s Trust Fund. How???
Those that have the means will find ways to circumvent the system. They’re all mired in corruption.

I really don’t think this is really about immigration but cost of living and a terrible job market. I know so many people who have been going through restructures in middle management/exec roles. There seems to be very little confidence at that level which in turn means people that otherwise might be spending on services aren’t or are cutting back in some ways. The reforms re NI have then also really hit companies who hire a lot of people at or around minimum wage so the job market seems to be taking a hit all over. I think it’s really about a lack of confidence in public services and the economy. Reform has found a scapegoat for that.

I know, and it can also be the ones we would like to stay who are leaving.

The level of processing and returns of irregular arrivals has increased under this government, although nobody appears to be reporting it.

But who else can they blame? It is his party and he is the leader. If his party won't push through the reforms then it is down to him.

They will punish the left of center MPs at the next election but in the meantime all they can do is punish the labour councillors and Keir Starmer will probably pay the price.

It’s what bothers me and most of my family and quite a few earlier immigrants.

Why do you think not?

I don’t want an anti immigration policy but I want a government to really look into why we need it. We are a small, over populated country, and I honestly struggle to understand how we are not able to resource ourselves properly with the population we have. Genuinely find it baffling. It is one thing wanting people who do very niche roles but other than that there is something fundamentally wrong that we can’t train up the doctors/nurses etc that we need internally.

It's rather ironic, all the people considering emigrating because of the number of immigrants, what do they think they will be in their new country? Oh I know "ex-pats". I hope they remember that before they voted for the grifting gurners policies they could have moved to any EU country without problem.

Yes. We no longer seem to have standards on who can be elected into positions of power any more.

She’s twice got into serious trouble with HMRC, there was a convicted terrorist allowed to stand for recent election (the poor British guy who was kidnapped abroad to secure said terrorists release was horrified), it appears that a young man convicted of attacking a teenage girl with a claw hammer has been elected for the Greens (I have seen the reports and the photographs of the suspected person and am satisfied it is the same guy but will not mention any names until it is independently or publicly confirmed), Islamist MPs who are openly only promoting Muslim interests, there is the Starmer/Mandelson/Epstein friendship/state security issue plus Starmer taking free stuff from his extremely wealthy friends and working with his chum Hermer (and has now promoted to Attorney General) to hound out Forces Veterans on charges they knew early on to be lies - the list is so long.

And Starmer promised he was different.

It makes little sense that to beat Reform you have to be more left wing!! Under Corbyn the left promised everything but the kitchen sink and still lost the election.
Whether it’s right or wrong - immigration and the welfare bill are what politicians are finding on the doorstep.

I am not a fan of Sir Keir as PM (although I think he's a decent man) but, honestly, the alternatives being suggested are terrifying. And Angela Rayner is the worst of the lot - if she becomes PM, then we'll become a laughing stock across the world.

FWIW Rayner might be in for a nasty shock in her own constituency - she’s not well liked and the candidate who came in second in 2024 was Reform. Tameside elected so many Reform councillors they’re now the official opposition. She could well lose her seat.

Agree. I don't want an anti immigration party, and I don't know anyone who does. People like me count too, we don't need to pander to the lowest common denominator

It absolutely does take a lot of brass to see the nation overwhelming vote for a set of policies completely as odds with her own and still going ‘yeah you are all wrong, I know best’ and still thinks she’s electable. Delusional honestly.

I think it features more heavily for some. That and Rayner spelling corrections.

I agree that the two biggest issues are illegal migration and welfare reform. I guess we'll have to try and be more collaborative with France (good luck with that!) to tackle the illegal migration issue. Once they're here, of course we have to house them, and therein lies the problem.

Regarding welfare reform - Starmer's up against his own MP's who seem to think the taxpayer is an endless resource to be tapped at every opportunity. People on PAYE are absolutely sick of this, and quite rightly so. For a start they should increase the personal allowance for everyone. Ok, people will say it has to be paid for, but a decent economist (i.e. not Rachel Reeves) should be able to juggle the books to accomplish this.

The cliff edge of benefits is so wrong - for example, have a small private pension and, quite rightly, you pay tax and council tax - so you're still an active participant in society, doing your bit. But be on pension credit in a rented house and everything's paid - rent, council tax, free dentistry, free glasses. So that person who has tried to think ahead and provide for themselves feels like they're being punished - personally when I was thinking about providing for my retirement I certainly hadn't factored in council tax of approx. £3k per annum for an ordinary house.

Likewise young working people - paying lots of tax on PAYE - let people keep more of their income. This would also help low paid people too, who get income support. I know my opinion is unpopular on mumsnet, but I believe people should be encouraged to be more self reliant. The generosity of the benefits system has gone too far now. I speak as someone whose mum, as a young woman, was disabled through polio - so I totally get that severely disabled people and disabled children need society's support to live a decent life.

Depressing thoughts for a Monday morning!

^"Both British and EU+ net migration is negative. In other words, more people are leaving the UK than arriving. The data and method improvements we’ve made mean British net migration in recent times is around 100,000 per year lower than we were previously estimating, while EU+ net migration, although still negative, is now around 20,000 higher than we previously said. Overall, the impact of our changes from these groups on our net migration estimates is in the region of negative 80,000 per year since 2023." https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2025/11/27/what-is-driving-the-current-fall-in-net-migration/]^

I like to read ONS blogs from time to time, this one causes me to wonder whether your statistic is comparing apples with apples. There have been improvements in data collection, which should make things more quantitative and objective - but we are going through a transition in the measurement system, so......

Because of actively campaigning to reduce the rights of UK passport holders. Job done! Restrictions on how long UK passport holders can spend in mainland Europe now, so let’s apply for a better one.

Because people are angry and stupid? They need a focus for both. Brown people and the likes of Farige are ideal for that.