To feel sick about this RE Tony Blair and Immigration, apparently it didnt interest him.

[EatenEasterChocsAlready]

I am staggered to have come across these articles this morning. Someone has written a book about him and immigration, interviewing people in office at the time, and so on.

Staggered I actually feel sick.

I expect the backlash over this, BUT I feel ill, because I live in an area that was really suffering in 2007 and I had my first child then.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3466499/Conman-betrayed-Britain-immigration-utterly-amoral-PM-led-conspiracy-let-MILLIONS-migrants-breaking-rules-deceiving-public.html

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3466512/The-Eastern-Europeans-shouldn-t-worry-numbers-Blair-turned-blind-eye-impending-migration-crisis.html

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3466485/How-Blair-cynically-let-two-million-migrants-Explosive-biography-reveals-PM-s-conspiracy-silence-immigration-debate.html

totally with you tony blair and croonies have a lot to answer for... i want out of e.u yesterday, flame away. .

All Daily Mail links, so I don't expect they are presenting the information rationally...
It looks bad, though. But feeling sick? Over reaction. Odd reaction, even.
YANBU to be cross about it, but your reaction is strange.

Tony Blair has been paid handsomely for his actions as will DC when he goes. "We are all in it together".

Utterly amoral PM who betrayed Britain on immigration: How Blair led a conspiracy that let in MILLIONS of migrants by breaking the rules - and deceiving the public

by Tom Bower

For this book, I interviewed dozens of junior and senior officials, Permanent Secretaries and all the Cabinet Secretaries from the Blair years as well as successive junior ministers and Cabinet ministers. In total, I spoke to 200 people.

Even the three most important public servants in his administration — Robin Butler, Richard Wilson and Andrew Turnbull — concluded that Blair was never a suitable guardian of the public’s trust. Richard Wilson echoed the others. ‘There are events during my period as Cabinet Secretary that make me shudder at what I remember because we had high hopes and we were so disappointed,’ he said. ‘He promised so much — but, in the end, so little was achieved.’

^^ sorry direct copy from the paper, its all in a new book.

I assume due to libel laws etc that the author has to stay within the law and the truth.

card op is concerned for her dc like a lot of people in this country for many valid reasons. we live on a small island that can't be expanded.

Well there's lots of us not surprised at all. In fact I'd go further. He and his vile cronies bought votes with their traitorous open door policies and free for all benefits. Hideously corrupt government. And hasn't he done well off the back of it. One of the biggest traitors this country has ever seen.

I've preordered the book, but I won't go so far as to click a load of Fail pages, so i'll have to wait a few days to find out what I think.

However 'immigration didn't interest Blair' isn't really the takeaway message is it? The assertion is that it did interest him in a specific way.

Initially, Blair was wary about lifting all restrictions on migrants from the new EU states. His misgivings were addressed during a trip to Warsaw, where his hosts in the British embassy described the virtues of allowing unlimited numbers of Poles into Britain.

‘Let’s be good Europeans,’ Blair was told by the Foreign Office’s senior representative.

‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘We shouldn’t worry about numbers.’

In London, the Treasury’s Permanent Secretary Andrew Turnbull agreed. The Germans, he thought, were ‘crazy’ to pass up the opportunity of employing hard-working East Europeans. The only concern was public opinion. People were alarmed by what some Blair aides called ‘the immigration tinderbox’.

The solution, everyone agreed, was simple: they would just avoid mentioning numbers

‘Is this handleable?’ Blair asked.

‘Yes,’ replied Blunkett. ‘It’s legal migration, which we can control.’ The truth, as both knew, was the opposite.

I am not sure Goose.

Yes it did interest him but someone in the book says, after he allowed EU workers to come, as in, not put brakes on like Germany did etc, he didnt think much about it after that.

Tom Bower's background is interesting, considering;

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Bower

Tom Bower's background is interesting, considering;

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Bower

What don't you like about immigration? I think it's been a good thing.

I don't think OP has said that she 'doesn't like' immigration has she Techno?

Probably because it has directly or indirectly benefited you, Tech, but it's hugely disadvantaged many. And many are Labour's core voters.

There is immigration and mass uncontrolled immigration.

At the time I had my first child the local hospital was collapsing under the strain horror stories everywhere in my local community so I couldn't go there.... One was already failing the other had to shut it doors frequently to women in labour.

I was caught between a rock and a hard place and I directly lay this at Blairs door.

I have a fear of birth and labour and this compounded my issues.

The Royal Berks in Reading was my hospital. It was a terrifying time for me.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3372647/Maternity-wards-t-cope-Migrant-births-rise-older-mums-blamed-HALF-maternity-units-turn-away-women-labour.html

"Patients at the Royal Berkshire in Reading have been sent to Swindon"

"Half of maternity units have turned away women in labour because they had no beds, shocking figures reveal today.

"Hospitals are struggling to cope with growing numbers of older or obese mothers and the rising birthrates caused by record levels of immigration"

Some women have been forced to travel as far as 50 miles to have their babies

"Experts said the findings were very worrying. ‘Most women in labour are already anxious, so to find that their maternity unit is closed can be a shattering blow,’ said Elizabeth Duff, of the National Childbirth Trust"

"Patients at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading have been sent on 50-mile journeys to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. It has closed its doors 29 times this year, including once for 48 hours"

The worry and fear I already had was massively compounded by the fear I would be turned away and sent on.

There was already a shortage of MW and numerous articles in the papers at the time, of women left to labour alone etc.

It was awful.

I have just googled "Tony Blair immigration" to see if I could find something from a source other than DM, but nothing.

I'll reserve judgement until the mainstream papers report, but I don't need much evidence to further convict TB of being a complete wanker in my head.

I think that immigration is frankly a big issue and the fact that people like to call you 'racist' at any related suggestion is a problem.

So your fear of birth and labour is now related to immigration.


I'd love to know just how many midwives working their arses off in the hospitals you link to are immigrants...

Interesting timing for this subject matter. It seems the press is obsessed with immigration.

It takes the shine off Osborne and his ect range cuts because he is not doing his job properly.

www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4701002.ece

Apple you need to google TOM BOWERS and tony blair immigration.

Just a note on libel laws - they don't mean that's true. There are books published that accuse people of crimes they didn't commit, or unveil conspiracy theories, or blame the government for 9/11... There's lots of books that have less than a solid basis in truth. With the right disclaimers, a lawsuit is difficult and often expensive. Sometimes it's just not worth it. Sometimes it is, but the book is published long before legal action is taken (eg the book about the McCanns).

I should imagine Blair will be encouraged to let this pass and not respond so as not to ignite it further, too. That tends to be the general position on this type of thing.

I've got no idea if this book is true or not, but don't believe it just because it's in a book.

I don't understand chipped. I had a fear of birth and this was made worse yes!

My local hospitals were massively hit by un precented numbers of migrants, its in the article on my local hospital.

You have to be aware that the NHS would collapse without immigration.

TBF Vertigo it's publishing lead times at play.