to wish I could vote ukip loud and proud

[Mumof4worried]

I've nc for this, as I generally have to in life.

I'm voting ukip, I live in Peterborough where we have had massive immigration. The affects have been huge. Enlargement of EU distroyed dh building business overnight. The schools are close to bursting and have to do a school run to two different schools, had a 5 hour wait in a and e. Teenage son struggles to get part time farm work like I did when I was a teenager. House prices are out of control, god knows how any of mine will ever leave home.

I'm not saying all of these are 100% to do with uncontrolled immigration, but it has Made the problems so much worse.

I'm not racist, most of my friends are 2nd gen Asians or homophobic, my brother and his husband visit a lot.

I just want an oz type points immigration system. I don't care that lots are highly skilled, that is often very bad as it leads to a brain drain in other countries and my children will have to compete with the worlds most ambitious and motivated people.

I just want to be able to express these thoughts but I'm shamed into hiding them by the media.

I love the way Farage suggests giving special treatment to Christians, but completely ignores the basic teachings of Christ, from 'love thy neighbour' to 'the good samaritan'.

The way people have reacted to UKIP on this thread, shows me that people DO take UKIP seriously and DO see them as a serious contender and possibly a threat. If UKIP weren't a threat, they wouldn't generate so much reaction.

Absolutely. I take UKIP very seriously, as I would would take any far right (or other extremist) party seriously, if it managed to attract a significant amount of popular support. Of course it's a threat.

I don't think that UKIP are going to gain more than a handful of MPs at most in this election, if indeed they get any at all, so it isn't an immediate threat in that sense. However, I think there is a very real danger that the high levels of support for UKIP at present create an impression of legitimacy with regard to the racist, sexist, homophobic and disablist views that they espouse. That is surely a threat to any civilised society.

We would be negligent not to take UKIP and their ilk seriously.

People tend to believe what they want to believe, regardless of the existence of any evidence, logic or other reasonable argument.

For a good example see Creationism.

I'm not sure why we expect politics and the general election to be exempt from this.

Apologies MrsD, I declared my love for you and then disappeared offline for 9 hours. However I will be very happy to join you and Saga in the tree :)
I find these threads give me such mixed emotion, I get quite depressed when I see people buying into the hype that we've been fed about those awful foreigners coming over here and ruining everything.
But then it really lifts my spirits when I see people speaking sense, and speaking with compassion.
Yay for the human race and all the good that we are capable of, and yay for the weekend being here :)

And how many pass through safe countries before claiming asylum in the UK? Anyone travelling from a safe country and claiming asylum here should be deported on the spot.

The trouble with that policy is that it ignores the reality of modern travel and the way asylum seekers manage to escape. If you live somewhere where you are in daily fear of your life and can't just drive over the border to the nearest safe country or even leave openly without your family being held hostage against your return, you have to use whatever means of escape are open to you. Frequently your only option is to pay someone to get you out, and the people who will do that are none too scrupulous. They basically take money to put escapees on a plane and, surprise surprise, it's not open to the asylum seeker to demand that the plane land in the nearest safe country. Traffickers will tend to put people on planes to countries where they have a base because they want to make those people work in order to pay off their debts, or just to make more profit from them.

The trouble with the UKIP mindset is it assumes that the only thing that motivates immigrants is the availability of benefits. In fact they are far more interested in finding work and, as the statistics demonstrates, that and geography combined means that in fact the UK is well down the list of destinations of choice.

I'm also very slightly in love with MrsDV, have been for years! She always speaks sense, and she does it so eloquently. :)

Kampeki you're v welcome to join us in our tree I'm sure we will have an open door policy

I'll try not to destroy your way of life, what, promise!

They choose not to claim asylum in France as they will get more handouts in the UK.

if UK benefits are so generous to be such a draw for the feckless abroad, then it must also do the same for people in this country, no? if so, the problem is benefits, not refugees.

I imagine, however, if you are fleeing the disaster zones some of these people are, they are not going to be choosey over france vs england.

Back from work.
Come on people! Keep the posts more publicity going

Interesting that our resident 'expert' giddy can't even get the name of the UK's immigration authorities correct.

I knew someone from outside the EU who went to France to study as a student. He wasn't a refugee but a lot of people from his country were entering the country as refugees at the same time and the French perceived them in a certain way.

Your prospects are very poor in France as a refugee, it's much harder to find employment or get any sort of educational opportunity, they do tend to close those doors much harder against the non-French. He stayed in the country as he married a French girl but never worked there as nobody would employ somebody of his nationality because they were stigmatised as refugees.

They left France as a result and have both worked in the country they've moved to now (which isn't the UK).

But there are often good reasons to leave France when you're a refugee. Although there is a good point about all the other countries they go through before France too.

Interesting that our resident 'expert' giddy can't even get the name of the UK's immigration authorities correct.

Oh FFS! The UKVI was called UKBA until fairly recently. It's an easy enough mistake to make.

Immigration issues are a daily topic of conversation in my workplace, and there are plenty of people who still forget and use the old name.

It's the same old incompetent, chaotic organisation, regardless of what they choose to call themselves.

Apologies MrsD, I declared my love for you

Only on Mumsnet where's the sick bucket

Is this more of that "I don't attack unless someone attacks me first" stuff you mentioned?

the fish bites

I don't even know why I replied. Typical bullying behaviour.

Saga, you have the memory of an elephant. I Am Impressed.

You do realise that without immigration your wait in A&E would be a lot longer due to lack of staff?

omg. Still on about blimming immigration I see.
A UKIP supporter has been gone EIGHT HOURS and people on this thread are still talking about immigration.

Doubtfuldaphne do not engage. I repeat, do not engage.

You have to admit. It IS kind of funny.
Even when UKIP supporters (shock horror) aren't on the boards for hours, you lot STILL continue to argue the toss about immigration!
Why?

I know! We're on tenterhooks waiting for you to make an intelligent argument.

Uncle when I worked there we were the IND. The acronyms have changed more rapidly the the Geneva Convention though.

Do not engage. I repeat, do not engage

Looks like the reverse psychology has worked.
Seems as if this anti-UKIP thread has come to a satisfactory end.
give enough rope and all that seems to have worked.

800, not bad!