Immigrants on Benefits Figures Published/UK Migration Watch

30 replies

BobblyGussets · 20/01/2012 13:02

Was anyone else listening to R4 this morning? The Government has published (with glee/gusto no doubt) the number of immigrants on benefits (around 350,000 if I remember correctly). Apologies for being vague, it was something on the radio, so will only probably be done in detail in the papers tomorrow. UK Migration Watch (sounds evil, like big brother or something) said their piece too about too many resources being given out in the form of benefits.

My heart is sinking at the coalition between government and the DM and I am imagining the headlines tomorrow. One subtle legal step away from incitement to racial hatred is something the right wing tabloid press to very well and I am very uncomfortable that the government is buying in to this by doing such a thing. On the other hand, I suppose there is an issue with Freedom of information. This does not bode well.

Please feel free to fill in the (no doubt many) gaps, sorry for being vague.

OP posts:

longfingernails · 22/01/2012 18:22

If the number of immigrants on benefits is greater than zero, it is too high.

Any immigrant who comes here to work and is nevertheless unable to support themselves and their families is not worth having in Britain and should be deported.

ChickenLickn · 22/01/2012 17:56

UK benefits are already the lowest in the EU (before the cuts!)

The UK loves poverty.

MmeLindor. · 20/01/2012 13:37

That was from this article

I was interested to read that Grayling wants to take action against EU allowing foreigners to apply for benefits under reciprocal arrangements. Which is bad news for any Brit who lives abroad and is made redundant.

Seriously, how long before the EU lose patience and chuck UK out.

MmeLindor. · 20/01/2012 13:34

The government wants to prevent "benefit tourism" in which migrants come to Britain to claim benefits, says the employment minister, Chris Grayling. But he said that the vast majority of immigrants claiming benefits in Britain were entitled to do so.

His comments followed the release of figures from the government that revealed for the first time that 371,000 foreign-born claimants were claiming out-of-work benefits. Of these, 2% were suspected of making fraudulent claims

2% is less than the general population. So more Brits than forriners are scamming. FAB

Grayling said there was "a lot of talk" about Britain's benefit system being a "magnet" for people from around the world.

"Maybe it isn't a big problem right now," he said, but added: "We want to ensure we don't have in Britain a system that encourages benefit tourism."

So we don't actualyl have a problem right now, despite it being insinuated for years. Funny that.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 20/01/2012 13:28

I don't agree with your sinking heart. If anything, the numbers demonstrate that people from overseas aren't 'coming over here, sponging our benefits' because the percentages revealed are rather lower than the rest of the population. The DM will try to whip this into a 'sponging foreigners' story.... they can make any story take that angle let's face it... but I thought the minister on the Today Prog was anything but making this a race issue. Quite deliberately. We have freedom of information for good reason. How anyone chooses to interpret it is down to them.

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