to feel that after living here for twenty years that i am no longer really welcome

[xmasadsboohiss]

I am from another European country and have lived here virtually all my adult life. I have worked for all of that time apart from a couple of months on the dole and on maternity leave. I will never consider myself British although I broadly share the values of the majority of people in this country. Over the last few months as Nigel Farage has been getting more and more air time I am feeling increasingly alienated and almost unwelcome - presumably Mr Farage's solution would be that I should pack my bags and go. If only life in the real world were quite so straightforward.

I know it's the dreaded facebook, but seeing some of the things [captioned photos etc] that get so blindly shared around, makes me fearful of how gullible some people can be and I find it scary that these people have the right to vote when they seem unable to look at the bigger picture.

Farage and UKIP in general are wholly unpleasant and most sane and reasonable people wouldn't give them the time of day. Please ignore their vile opinions. Britain wouldn't be great without all the diverse people who live here who have come from other countries or who have family originating in other countries but are British themselves. These views shouldn't even be considered, it is short sighted and it hurts people like you xmas. Please don't feel unwanted because some extreme idiot is being given airtime.

MakeMineAMartina - basically a points system - UKIP are not against immigration - just making it more like Australias way of controlling it.

It would be useful if anyone planning to vote for ukip could be very upfront about it, it would be so helpful to know who isn't worth talking to. Ditto fans of Mrs Brown's Boys.

I am ashamed that we have a party like UKIP.

Whenever economies falter, people like to find scapegoats (rather than looking at the bankers and politicians who may be to blame) Foreigners are an easy target.

Yes x 2 PicnicBasketCase

picnic Very well said.

If everyone "foreign" who works in Britain went "home", the NHS would close down in about 25 minutes.

Farrage and his supporters aren't living in the real world, we need immigrants more than they need us.

Pointy - that is interesting and almost comforting to know actually! It surprises me in way that this particular by product of his odious views hasn't been given more prominence.

I'm not going anywhere by the way!

there is another thread on here that is so pro-ukip it made my skin crawl and I had to hide it.

I am like you OP, but I don't feel like that at all.

Don't agree with most of what he says, but (unlimited) immigration needs to be on the agenda. There needs to be a sensible immigration and asylum policy.There needs to be good debate about this.

It is a scandal that the translators who risked their lives in Afghanistan were not given the right to come here (I think Germany took them in?)

Yet people coming for economical reasons (e.g. Romanian beggars) are welcome.

It is a bit weird, the current migration policy (if there is one?), isn't it?

In Australia and the US, only migrants who have something to offer (skills) are accepted, which does wonders for the economy.

There are massive problems with the EU (as witnessed by collapse of Greece) and too many countries have been accepted into the EU that are not ready, financially or politically. Another massive problem wight eh EU si that it is not very democratic, has a fat cat culture for the bureaucrats who are not accountable and the only EU staff we vote for (the Parliament) have virtually no power.

thanks for explaining the Aussie system.

i have no problem with people working here the bit i do find strange if iam to honest is the fact you don,t think yourself british after being here for so long .

Farage is a dick. A racist, xenophobic, foul minded rat of the highest order. Him and all his UKIP pond scum friends can fuck off to the far side of fuck, for-fucking-ever, as far as I am concerned.

Please don't think they are representative, there are a minority of horrible racist idiots, plus a minority of mindless/gullible/easily preyed on people who vote for them. It's such a shame.

He's a chinless gobshite.

I am also in the Farage is a total twat who does not speak for me. Or any of my friends or family.

There was a another twat in the pub about 6 years ago who complained about "the x nationality taking all our jobs". I told him he was a twat then. And that he was wrong. He shut up. I would do the same again.

It really is a shame he gets so much airtime but, if he really spoke for everyone, he'd be in power now... He's not! I come from another country too and I feel like ramming their hateful leaflets down their throats!

UKIP supporters hark back to the 1950s as a golden age.

Racial and religious discrimination was legal, women were paid less than men and had no maternity rights, domestic violence was seen as a 'family matter', medical schools operated quotas so no more than 20% of their students could be women, marital rape was legal, abortion was illegal ...

There be Grauniad Readers ....................

I think you might be giving Farage to much credit there actually Hop. His main gimmick is his anti-EU stance. He's more daft than dangerous and if UKIP get more than two parliamentary seats in 2015 (two would be v good going for them), I'll buy the whole of mumsnet a drink.

"If everyone "foreign" who works in Britain went "home", the NHS would close down in about 25 minutes."

Also, if you were to try to line up everyone who is actually genuinely 100% British you'd be left with about 3 people and a dog. Even our Royal family come from all over the place.

Britain is a country of immigrants, always has been and always will be - Irish, Huguenots, Italians, Jewish people from all over, before you even get to the more recent immigrant groups.

Hello

My sister in law has also been here for about 25 years from poland. She has also worked and never been on dole etc.

She also agrees we need to limit immigration as she see's the impact an open door policy has.

In no way does she blame anyone for wanting to better their own lives, as indeed she has.

She does not take any comments on immigration personally and she does not feel un welcome as she knows it does not relate to her personally.

Its simply a question of numbers v facilities.

She blames our government for opening the borders to so many without having any provisions in place for the numbers of people who have come over.

She also said - if you get open door immigration, whilst you do get the usual normal people who want to make a better life for themselves, you also get the not great people who cause problems, because, anyone can come here.

Where we live we have had a lot of social issues and she has seen that.

If you try not to take peoples gripe with immigration personally, and think about the problems it has caused, I think you will realise, its not about foreign people but numbers...its NOT about YOU.

I'm also from another's country and have lived here for donkey's years. I don't relate to your post as I don't feel unwelcome at all. Most countries have some uneducated nationalists, the UK is no exception. Who cares? There are plenty more reasonable people around. Your post is a tad attention seeking .

Aprilanne, why would someone change nationality because that's lived in a country for a long time! I will never ever consider myself British! There's nothing wrong with being British... I live here... But I'm not British! Most of my friends, my husband, my in laws, even my kids technically... Are British! But I ain't! I just kinda ended up living here and situations meant I've kinda stayed here for now... But I love and miss my country an incredible amount and my nationality is something I'll always have!