To say thank fuck for Nicola Sturgeon

[Chippednailvarnish]

I can't stand her anti English stance, but at least one political leader is doing something for the refugees...

I could give you an exact counter story to the one you've given tolerate
also relating to when Nicola was Health Secretary but as it is part of a 6 year legal case that is still ongoing then I can't give exact details, by all accounts Nicola couldn't have given less of a shite if she was a severely constipated gnat.

Exactly another. And there may be space in rural areas of Scotland, but there aren't many empty houses for refugees to live on, nor any infrastructure or jobs.

IIRC, Scotland has been resistant to taking a significant share of the UKs immigrants over recent years, so is she offering a change in that stance when she says that the UK should take in refugees?

My only personal experience of her was pre-smoking ban and she came across as bright, human and less political than her equivalents. At the time it was considered political suicide to ban smoking and the other parties just dismissed it, but she felt that it was something that had to be done health wise. It was difficult to put through in Scotland because workers' rights isn't devolved but she still did it in a complicated way rather than shout at Westminster to do it. Our department (university health research), a mix of political persuasions, all agreed it was well handled.

The SNP have always been more pro-refugee and immigration than other parties and are being slightly forced into a shouty role by the lack of a cohesive Labour opposition in Westminster just now. Politicians are actually meant to listen to their constituents and the people they represent, what kind of reaction would there have been to saying nothing?

Was just reading about some Syrian refugees who are in Manchester. They were originally housed in, I think, Castleford. So if Castleford ain't cutting the mustard, a croft in the Highlands is certainly not going to appeal.

I think it's rather offensive and arrogant to dismiss thousands of people's views as not valid, as if we have no thoughts of our own and assume we have been taken in by a cult!

Of course we don't all agree on political issues, and it is quite right that we are able to make choices, but to dismiss people's valid choice over who to vote for, to insinuate that we're all a bunch of thicko idiots who have been "taken in" - wow, how condescending!

Ha ha wanker, i think most SNP fanatics actually think the opposite of you and that the press is totally biased against them. i don't think any of them appreciate the irony of setting up The National in response!

tbf the cities probably have the greatest chance of having appropriate facilities and infrastructure to support refugees or migrants or whatever they will be called by the time they are here, but initially what these people need is a safe place to be, a roof over their head and access to food and water. If they move on later (under their own steam) as they have arranged work/housing elsewhere then I am struggling to work out how that is a bad thing?

If anything, it was Scottish Labour that was "cult like" for decades - what was that old saying: "a red rosette on a donkey"??

Anyway, that is by the by, today's issue - refugees. Again, I'm glad and proud of the Scottish Govts response today. I shall wait and see what actually transpires though.

And I think many people consider the SNP to be a cult becuase the SNP have never been able to demonstrate how or why Scotland should be an independent country.

If you can list reasons why we should support the SNP (assuming that you do) perhaps you will change some minds.

trixy - what papers were they reading then?!! I guess we all see what we are looking for though eh?

I do know some intelligent, switched on, motivated and caring people who are SNP supporters so I am not sure what their excuse is :o

But then I know the same that Christians and that's another story for another day...

Has she actually done anything different to Shiney Dave? "On Friday morning, the prime minister said he would set out plans next week for the UK to take "thousands more" refugees from camps on the Syrian borders."

Wanker where will refugees be housed in Scotland? are there places with lots of empty social housing properties?

Interesting that you only defend them by saying how popular they are rather than defending the SNP stating their sterling results with education, healthcare, policing etc etc. Oh wait......

I'm just pointing out that when people roll out the same old blanket judgments about SNP voters ("cult", "brainwashed" etc), you are actually applying an ignorant generalisation about over a million people. You don't know why each of those people voted SNP, so maybe, just maybe it's just as bad as calling tory voters a bunch of heartless bastards who would happily reintroduce workhouses, or green voters hemp-wearing idealists.

Have they had sterling results with education?

I'm still waiting for the SNP to put forward a rational argument for independence.

I presume they will be housed in temporary accommodation the same as other "homeless" people would be i.e. B&Bs, private rented, emergency shelters etc.

I guess in their shoes they'd be happy to be on camp beds in community halls though as a starting point.

She hasn't done anything, it's all smoke and mirrors as normal.

It is important to draw a distinction between this huge tide of refugees now coming into Europe from Syria, and what has until now been mostly economic migrants from Africa who have been trying to get through the Channel Tunnel.
I am pleased the UK is going to be taking more people, and that those people are going to be brought here directly from Syria.

Ali I agree and I'm wondering if that is a policy based on the fact that they are technically only refugees until they reach a safe country - and afterwards they would be classified as an economic migrant?

i.e. Person leaves Syria as it's a war zone, they are a refugee - they cross the border into Turkey, not a war zone - technically the have reached safety so any desire to move on is economic migration?

I don't know for sure, just trying to make sense of it and therefore wondering if it is better politically to take the people directly from Syria and therefore they remain refugees until the reach the safe haven given to them in the UK? Whatever route they travel even if it is via other "safe" countries wouldn't change their status in this scenario as they are being supplied passage by the UK as our guests/citizens or whatever they become when they get here - kinda like being on diplomatic soil as it were?

I think there'll be plenty of accommodation becoming available over the next few years - you might need a helicopter to get out to it and the views will be a bit monotonous, but as the SNP were keen to claim all that territory during the independence campaign and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.

I am also thinking it's the right thing to do as they will perhaps be the people less able to help themselves (i.e. don't have money to pay for fake papers or smugglers or don't speak English/other foreign languages etc), although on the counter of that maybe they are also the people less able and motivated to change their situation by themselves and therefore maybe more reliant on state help for longer in their new country? who knows.

"Wanker where will refugees be housed in Scotland? are there places with lots of empty social housing properties?"

It costs less to house refugees in scotland, wales or northern Ireland than London. Scotland has far more room to build new houses than the south of England. Scotland is not all areas of outstanding natural beauty. I expect that there are areas of scotland that would really benefit from lots young people prepared to work hard. I feel it makes sense to put refugees in places where it is relatively cheap to house them. Prehaps some of the refugees can have jobs building more houses.

I am sure part of the rationale is that by taking people directly from refugee camps it cuts the traffikers out of the loop. And there is less motivation to set off from those camps with the hope of making it to the UK.

I support taking them direct from Syria as well, it means you get whole families and the neediest not the wealthy ones who can pay people traffickers and it cuts out the traffickers and the fussy "I'm a refugeee and my life is at risk but I insist on going to safe country x not safe country y" nonsense.
I'm not SNP but saddened by the nasty, mysogenist personal abuse some people are giving her. She doesn't claim to be fecking Mother Theresa she's a politician.

Some parts of scotland need young healthy working age people. Scotland has a low birth rate and a lot of elderly people.