to wonder how the country will cope with hundreds of thousands more people each year?

[evilcherub]

If the UK is going to continue to have immigration of hundreds of thousands every year (which is more likely if we don't leave the EU) and the Tories apparently having no real interest in building more genuinely affordable homes (because lower house prices do not bring in votes for the Tories), then where are the millions of extra people and families going to live (when there is already a massive housing crisis and homelessness is going through the roof)? Also, what about all the extra schools needed, the extra hospitals (when at the moment they cannot cope and the Tories want to privatise them anyway), the jobs etc? Unless you are well off/bought your home years ago and have a well-established, well paying job, then immigration means extreme and expensive competition for housing, school places, healthcare, jobs etc. I just don't see it ending well.

Anyone who whinges about the population without even being willing to discuss the birthrate loses all credibility.

Sure. Who here isn't willing, though?

wheelofapps

I note you have no comments on the bias of the Curriculum
(harder to accuse me of lying here as it is all enshrined).

I don't think that there is a problem with a curriculum being culturally biased towards the country it is being taught in. As a child growing up in Scotland I was NEVER taught specifically about Scottish history, politics, or even geography. After years of being ignored, I think it's wonderful that the curriculum in Scotland should include Scottish stuff. Being taught some Scottish songs and poetry is not going to damage your child's education - only enhance it

Your post was an enormous sweeping generalisation about the whole of Scotland, when in fact you have a problem with your child's school. THEY don't acknowledge other cultural celebrations (mine does, both nursery and secondary). THEY are not acknowledging your child's additional needs (mine does - even if they have a non-Scottish accent). THEY are wearing snp badges (in school premises?) (mine didn't - but my son's nursery teachers did slag me off within his earshot for having a 'yes' sticker on my car which he told me all about the second I picked him up).

So yes - the tone and content was pish, because you were asserting that Scotland as a country is racist and exclusive - when it's not.

Sorry everyone else for veering off of intended subject matter

I do agree that we need to re-evaluate our economic immigration policy to ensure for example the skills we need to help maintain an effective work force

I disagree.

I do agree that we need to re-evaluate our education policy to ensure for example the skills we need to help maintain an effective work force

Fixed that for you.

Ok, so I live in probably one of the areas most affected by this. I am also married to a migrant, but not recent. Around our area we have many HMO's and also unofficial HMO's, the houses opposite us were re-let recently, they are 2 and 3 bed and now house 10 people collectively. My neighbours next door in a 2 bed have a child and also a lodger as the rent is high (they are paying well over double what we pay as mortgage for same size property).

The schools in the city I live are almost all full and it is very difficult to move schools if you move to a different area. Many of the classes at my son's school are over the 30 in infants and well over in juniors. It has also expanded twice in recent years.

My DH works for a well known national firm whose shops I am willing to bet most of you have frequented. He works in the logistics side. Over the years since he started the proportion of migrants as workers has grown but also the benefits they used to get and the actual contracts have been downgraded hugely. My DH is lucky, he is on an old contract which means he still gets a decent wage. But he feels horribly guilty about coming out with nearly £400 more in his wage packet than his friend from Eastern Europe for the same work. The terms of the contract often mean that some of the workforce (migrants) come out with so little that they are having to go to food banks. Just this year they lost the small bonus that they did get and the day off for Christmas shopping that they historically have had since the firm was founded.

Just the other day a Polish colleague was complaining to DH that she couldn't get a doctors appointment.

Many of the migrants DH works with have already returned because life isn't that good here and they can see very little way of progressing and moving up the ladder. Our neighbours (Polish) would desparately love to buy a house, but it's out of their reach.

And if we take more and more and more people? Can we tell them that yes, the services will be there for you, no you will not have to use foodbanks, yes you could hope to buy a house, no you won't have to live in a house with 8 others that was built for a couple and child, yes there is a primary school place for your child, you will be seen by a doctor when you need it.

Sadly I don't think around here we can answer positively any of those questions.

Where is all this money coming from?

As we are frequently reminded the UK is the 5th biggest economy in the world, so there should be some money somewhere.

Or have I misheard over these past few weeks ?

Crabbitface

Teaching ONLY Scottish things (telling a 7 year old Einstein 'doesn't count'?)
is NOT a healthy way forward for Scotland. It is inward looking and isolationist.
Plus it produces kids who know ALL about WW1 from the perspective of Crofting, but who barely know which other countries were involved. Daft!
What happens to the Asian kid who doesn't have a Clan? Or the Chinese one? Or the African one? Or the English one? they get to sit there, feeling left out.
Inward looking, isolationist, focus on the past, an 'eye been' approach does not equal a modern dynamic country.

Some parts of Edinburgh and Glasgow are better. Less racist, less navel gazing.
But that leaves a lot of other areas.

My local school is awful yes. But the point is that the system in Scotland is currently so poor (esp in Primary) that Nicola Sturgeon is having to introduce compulsory testing for Primary age children as standards are plummeting.
It is by no means 'just my school'. Even the amount of hours at school varies wildly, and the achievement gap is widening.
Have a look at Education Professional bodies opinions on the CforE.
Are they 'sweeping generalisations' too?

I also would say sorry for veering off subject quite so much - won't continue here.
But to accuse someone else of talking 'pish' because you disagree (even though other posters are chiming in) is a bit much.

Everyone who votes to Remain must have blind faith that the unelected elites chipping away at the UK's sovereignty will always be benign. Because once democratic accountability is gone, you can't just vote in a different government that will bring it back again.

"Here you are, have absolute power over me. I trust you to always do the right thing with it."

"Numbers work the same, it's the French that work differently. Much more aligned to renting rather than buying and much less about using property as an investment vehicle"

My point exactly : why blaming AGAIN migrants and EU when increase in house price are mainly due to all this mad-drive buy-and-let investments? People are in awe of buyer in shows such as "Homes under the Hammer" and next thing they wonder is how come they can't anymore afford buying in their local aeras...

Here you are, have absolute power over me. I trust you to always do the right thing with it.

Is this the EU talking? I don't recognise this, sorry. I just don't understand the Leave rhetoric about how leaving will 'liberate' the UK. From what exactly? Great trade deals? A place at the table allowing us to take part in negotiated agreements?

On trade, I read that the UK currently has no trained or experienced trade negotiators. Unless we can magic up some really shit-hot ones immediately on leaving the EU (God forbid), we're going to be well and truly shafted.

And even if we DID manage to produce top-flight negotiators out of thin air, trade agreements would take years to hammer out, while the pound devalued and hyperinflation set in. Good times, eh?

wheelofapps

Your whole first paragraph is astounding - do you honestly believe that ALL schools in Scotland are teaching exclusively about Scottish things. Your example is very interesting because my six year old came home raving about Albert Einstein the other day! They were actually looking at dyslexia and he came up as an inspirational figure with dyslexia - they went on to learn all about him. So once again - this would appear to be just your school.

The Curriculum for Excellence is a whole other matter. The state of Scottish education cannot be attributed it's "Scottishness".

I got a thumbs-up

[chuffed]

Love the thumbs up - how do you do it???

Not sure about Android phones.

No one is ....

Not 'just my school' sadly. I am in touch with people from the Highlands to lowlands, and both coasts who have worrying stories, often with hard evidence.
There was much discussion on MN during the IndyRef time.

I am glad to hear that your school is better however.

"The state of Scottish Education cannot be attributed (to) it's "Scottishness".

I never said that this was the sole cause of the problems.

But an insular, unquestioning, political approach to Education can never be a good thing, nor will it produce future citizens who are comfortable with (or educated about) the 'outside world'.

I think any further chat about this would be best 'off thread' though as it is a real diversion now. Feel free to pm me if you like.