to be concerned re. what is going on re. immigration and population growth?

[ClarityJane]

So many non-English voices, especially East Europeans, but so many different nationalities en masse it seems have moved here in the last 10-20 years - completely unprecedented historically. And in an already very over-crowded island.

Today I read Labour MP Frank Field say that the population increase due to immigration by 2031, i.e. less than 20 years, will be approximately 10 million and will require building something like seven new Birminghams! Or another London! Based on latest predictions in the papers today anyway.

Did Blair and Mandelson envisage this when they signed up for European Community rules on immigration and refugees? Or did they cynically not care because it meant cheap labour, cheap votes, increased profits (via membership of the European Community).

Did the architects of this policy not consider how it would affect housing, jobs and education and the resulting massive investment needed there, and the over-crowded population we have already.

I believe we have never been consulted or told anything honestly about what the consequences of EC membership was immigration-wise, if indeed there was ever any plan (doesn't seem to be, just a kind of opportunistic carpetbaggers philosophy approach of selling England by the pound).

I feel deceived and hoodwinked really. But are there any more positive thoughts on this? I find it v. depressing.

Non English voices - I know what you mean - DH rabbiting on in Arabic

Immigrants come over here - you marry them and they still insist on talking foreign!

@WidowWadman

Mylovelyboy there is a Housing Crisis because the Government aren't building enough to supply demand and because most Private Landlords are allowed to get away with blue murder dodgy practices at best.

Ok then Clarity.

a) I'm from Birmingham. One of the most muti-cultural cities in the UK. Do you know what I hated most about the place? The white yobs. They were the ones causing the trouble near me, not the quiet Indian families living on my road. No, the white, English, born and bred there idiots who liked to smoke weed outside their houses all day every day, drinking cans and being a nuisance, tearing up and down my road on scooters and in illegal cars. They're the ones who were intimidating my DD and her friend by asking 'what are you fucking looking at' out of the car window.

b) my SIL and her sister are from Lithuania. When SIL arrived her she worked three jobs. In care homes and cleaning. Shitty money, shitty, unsociable hours and getting abused. Her sister works three jobs currently, cleaning and making school dinners.

I know who I prefer.

I absolutely love the way people like the OP on thread like this ALWAYS always resort to saying things like people who disagree with them " in a very narrow or privileged/comfortable or even make-believe world" Lived in Sparkbrook for 10 years, work in Brum - prior to that Lived in Liverpool - including 2 years in Toxteth

I still disagree with you

and I think you will find the likns posted are factual :)

I know Chazs DH insists on speaking in Shona and Ndbele, even though he also speaks perfect English what with it being the national language in the country he comes from. Bloody multilingual foreigners!

Why do people keep bleating on about resources being stretched? Do they not understand that us fucking foreigners actually do contribute, in the form of tax and NI, to the pool of resources?

I'm one of the people 'bleating' and I've stated that people from different countries contribute to this country massively, in fact it would fall without them, or you. That doesn't mean that what we have currently is enough though - for anyone. People who come over here should be able to live well and safely and if the country carries on the way it's going that's not going to happen is it? I know it's supply and demand, but the demand is here now but being ignored. I hope I didn't cause offence, I didn't mean too but resources being stretched is true. With or without immigration!

Awesome Huff Post article, Sooper.

start reading The Economist. They generally believe that immigration is a good thing for the British economy and that some of the checks out in place (such as not allowing foreign students to stay on post-graduation) are actually detrimental to the UK economy. Most immigrants, especially European immigrants, tend not to claim benefits, work hard, pay taxes and there is the benefit that we have not paid for their education - so we benefit from them working without having paid for them to have got to that point.

There are going to be huge numbers of people in their 80s - people aren't living much longer but due to the baby boom in the 1950s the number of pensioners will, I believe, double. We therefore need more people to be paying taxes to support the services needed by the elderly. We do not want to get to the stage they are at in Germany, where the population is no longer replacing itself.

certainly there are immigrants who come in who are not economically beneficial to Britain, but they are the minority. The government should be more focussed in who it wants to stop coming in, rather than stopping well-educated, well off immigrants who have a good chance of being higher-rate tax payers and who are vital for certain sections of industry (such as all the tech companies in east London), that's just stupid.

Mylovelyboy

I'm fine thanks. I was laughing at your 'I'm not racist, I have non-white friends' bit. And the 'we need to say NO MORE'.

Hilarious.

LaurieFairyCake I bet half these people that are seen are only visiting/Tourists anyway!

I think this is going to be one of those long and tortuous threads that generates a lot of self-righteous heat, but no insights.

Oh well.

Would you like us all to go home, then? Would you? Would you really?

Seems to me there are more people with English voices sitting around doing naff all contributing nothing by way of taxes than those pesky hard working Eastern Europeans.

I think this is going to be one of those long and tortuous threads that generates a lot of self-righteous heat, but no insights

It started as it meant to go on, then.

well it will be if you ignore the pesky facts and refuse to accept people can disagree with you without being stupid OP yes

Yay young hardworking people coming into the country who will be able to pay taxes to fund my pension and provide my personal care when I am old and sick. What's not to like?

And P.S. why is everyone telling me what to read? Do people really think I don't read? More patronising BS tbh.

Oh well.

MrsOakenshield but you forgot to mention about all those Immigrants that drain our NHS Resources! (Oh and the twice as many that actually work and contribute for and to the National Health Service. :)

Most immigrants, especially European immigrants, tend not to claim benefits, work hard, pay taxes and there is the benefit that we have not paid for their education - so we benefit from them working without having paid for them to have got to that point

This is obviously anecdotal, but I once lived in a share house with some Lithuanian lads. 5 of them in a tiny bedroom. They worked every day god sent, all sorts of hours. I told them they'd be entitled to benefits but they looked at me like I was mad, and said they didn't want to claim anything they'd work for their money. They said they had loads of friends doing the same thing.

They also introduced me to the delightful mixture of beer and cheese - I will always be thankful for that

Nice first post OP.