To be so angry with our government treatment of refugees.

[Kendodd]

First Syria
Then Afganistan
Now Ukraine
They see a crisis and put every barrier they can get away with to keep people out.
The first two they pretended 'ooh security ' so many young men, they're all Islamist terrorists.
Well what's their excuse now? This lot are all women and children.
I suspect the truth is this plays well with their bluekip 'they're not coming here' base, that's why they do it.
I'm not even going to bother writing to my Leave supporting Tory MP about this one. No fucking point. I'll just get the Tory HQ lies back about how we're doing more than any other country for refugees (actually heard Johnson say that on the radio yesterday).
I'm ashamed to be British.

I'd say they'll do a u-turn, but it's very embarrassing and difficult to defend the current situation when other countries have opened their borders.

Saying we don't have the resources, or school places or healthcare facilities is a very Little Britain attitude - surely the same argument can be made for any other country? UK needs to step up and do their bit.

[quote worriedatthistime]@bossox i would be in favour of no. Of mps per vote though, i haven't bothered to vote last time because my vote won't make any difference in the area I am in
But do any countries offer this way of voting ? [/quote]
PR (Proportional Representation) and Single Transferable Vote systems usually result in reps from different parties and indos in each constituency. This keeps reps on their toes as each rep is vying for a vote next time around! It is used in Northern Ireland Assembly elections and in the Republic of Ireland. Some countries use a hybrid of Party lists and PR. US and UK use FPTP. Some others too, but I can't recall which, but I am sure Wiki will say.

Your vote would definitely matter in a multi seat PR/STV system. Have you ever seen the way the votes are counted? It is great theatre and often nail biting. Counts can go on for days. Your vote could be the one that brings the last candidate over the line. British system is over in five minutes!

@SwimmingOnEggshells its probably true we don't have the resources to a degree but question should be why and how do we change this ( answer isn't always money - although it helps)
I was in a & e yesterday on a trolley in the hallway as my town has grown massively but the hospital has not
Successive goverments from both parties have not kept up
Re:refugees though you can soon work out what a manageable amount is and hopefully for many its short term
In some areas of the country there will be more places than others nut even some temp housing and provision is better than nothing and who knows maybe not many will actually want to come here

@bossox ok yes we were given a vote in the uk to change system but hardly anyone showed but im not sure what changed to
I don't think any party wilL change the system unfortunately but your right it does need to be better , we lack credible opposition its almost always between two parties and it would be better done another way although some may disagree as i think UKIP would of had more mps had we ran our voting system differently

@worriedatthistime re. people not wanting to go to the UK, it's likely that less will travel to the UK purely for geographical reasons and are likely to prefer to stay closer to the Ukraine so that they may return more easily when all of this is (please god) over.

@SwimmingOnEggshells yes I agree , hopefully we will have a u turn soon , many are voicing opinions to mps and mps also bringing it up to the govermnent from their own party as well

[quote forcedfun]@worriedatthistime yes sorry that wasn't clear was it! A relative from Ukraine in Poland awaiting a visa and being told they will be waiting weeks[/quote]
It is shocking. I really have no idea why they need visas at all. They should be given a two year work and residence permit on arrival in the UK. How hard can it be. The Home Office/Foreign Office staff could just do it. They can't all be sacked.

I really have no idea why they need visas at all. They should be given a two year work and residence permit on arrival in the UK. How hard can it be. The Home Office/Foreign Office staff could just do it. They can't all be sacked.

If you ask Priti Patel this question I'm pretty certain her answer would be they want to do checks to ensure all applications are legitimate and that all immigrants are traceable to ensure they don't outstay their visa.

To be honest, I wouldn't trust her to not give them a 12 month visa and deport them back to Ukraine mid-war.

@Clavinova

This.
I'm getting slightly annoyed at the British bashing on the thread by some.

@MrsSkylerWhite

Mark Easton’s Newsnight report from Calais last night was beyond shocking.

Three junior people in an empty, difficult to find without going through hoops port building, a trestle table, a packet of crisps or a kit kat and no visa applications, just a phone number to ring between certain hours.
Shameful.

Yep, I heard that. Sadly, totally unsurprising!!

@girlmom21

I really have no idea why they need visas at all. They should be given a two year work and residence permit on arrival in the UK. How hard can it be. The Home Office/Foreign Office staff could just do it. They can't all be sacked.

If you ask Priti Patel this question I'm pretty certain her answer would be they want to do checks to ensure all applications are legitimate and that all immigrants are traceable to ensure they don't outstay their visa.

To be honest, I wouldn't trust her to not give them a 12 month visa and deport them back to Ukraine mid-war.

In many cases, people who are waiting have a long history of regular visits to the UK already as family visitors (I'd assume in the majority of cases).

@Kendodd

Completely agree that the Tories have absolutely decimated public services, but who's fault is that? It's not the fault of refugees, they can't even vote.

Decimated means reduced by 10%

So how many refugees do you think we should take op and not just from the Ukrainian? 10,000, 100,000, a million?
Should we build the infrastructure to cope with 50 million refugees wanting to come here because that’s possible with climate change.

@SuitcaseOfWhine

YANBU our government have always took the tactic of strategic incompetence and then lying about everything and pretending that we are 'leading the way' without any evidence whatsoever. We have to hold them to account, also not forget recent misdemeanors because of the war too.

I do wonder if this war would never have happened if we had credible UK and US leaders in the last 5 years and a more unified Europe. COVID has divided and demoralised people too. I think Putin looked at geopolitics worldwide and thought he was in a strong position and would not have much resistance. In a way, I blame our own weak, corrupt leader for this. At least Zelenskiy is showing the world how to lead and reminding world leaders that their job is to actually serve us and not themselves and their friends.

The least we can do is help displaced refugees. To those people who moan we do not have resources, how about we tax the large corporations who evade tax to raise the funds? I'm sure other countries have similar domestic issues to ours, but are still taking in more than 300 refugees. That just makes me think our economy is in a much worse state than our government is letting on.

I understand some of your perspectives, but on the issue of tax, if the UK tried to tax them more all that would likely happen is creative accounting to reduce the tax as much as possible, and or relocation of the headquarters to avoid taxation. (I could be wrong)

No replies from any of the MPs I’ve emailed ( very politely)
I wish there could be a massive (i.e. millions) one day mail drop on Parliament. Millions of Goodbye cards ie I won’t vote for you- ever.

They are trying to say everyone trying to come to Britain needs biometric testing to make sure they’re not terrorists. Ffs. A war situation, on our doorstep, homeless children, babies, mothers and grandmothers and they’re told to go to Brussels or Paris and they’ll be seen by appointment. I’m surprised my tv still has a screen.

The government thinks it got elected on the back of the Brexit vote meaning everyone wants Fortress Britain. This means they put keeping foreigners out ahead of virtually every other policy, including those fleeing a war, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about they type of people running our country. Public opinion actually turned against them in this instance so they have had to start making it a bit easier for Ukrainians to get visas.

I do not understand those saying Britain does not have the resources. What a load of rubbish - we are one of the wealthiest countries on the world and have considerably more resources than Lebanon or Turkey or Uganda or any of the other countries that have taken in the vast, vast majority of war refugees or displaced persons in the past few years. 85% of all refugees are hosted in developing nations, with 27% being hosted by the world's least developed countries.
www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/#:~:text=Turkey%20hosts%20the%20largest%20number,as%20of%20mid%2D2021)

@Fairyliz

So how many refugees do you think we should take op and not just from the Ukrainian? 10,000, 100,000, a million? Should we build the infrastructure to cope with 50 million refugees wanting to come here because that’s possible with climate change.

Well the UK population dropped by 1 million due to brexit & covid so seems feasible

I read that it had gone up by a million in the last couple of years

www.worldometers.info/world-population/uk-population/

@Luckypom @Clavinova the UK deserves to be bashed. Don't you see that? People around the world and about 50% of the population of the UK itself as far as I can see are disgusted with the carry on by the disgraceful lying cheating corrupt thick government you have there. Get rid of them. Have higher standards. Don't give platforms to corrupt self serving people. Ask more of your public servants. Get off your fucking knees bowing and scraping to queens and public school wankers. Jesus. Do you realise the reputation so damage the UK has suffered over the last few years making and breaking agreements, lying & colluding with corrupt people? It's not good.

Also oh cut and paste queen @Clavinova here's a cut n paste for you. ireland is the Goodest country in the world. I know because I saw it on a Ted talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/simonanholttwhichcountryydoestheemostgooddforthee_world

@Xpologog

No replies from any of the MPs I’ve emailed ( very politely) I wish there could be a massive (i.e. millions) one day mail drop on Parliament. Millions of Goodbye cards ie I won’t vote for you- ever.

They are trying to say everyone trying to come to Britain needs biometric testing to make sure they’re not terrorists. Ffs. A war situation, on our doorstep, homeless children, babies, mothers and grandmothers and they’re told to go to Brussels or Paris and they’ll be seen by appointment. I’m surprised my tv still has a screen.

They will scrape the barrel for any excuse they can find. It’s sickening.

@BeckySharpish

The British Government is disgraceful and the replies on this thread show how many British people think the way Britain is being governed is fine. The reputation of Britain is in the toilet. Ireland is taking thousands of Ukrainian refugees. They will be given a social security number a social worker if needed and a school place, and their visa requirements have been waived because they are being bombed to shit and it is nearly all women and children. I’m taking 2 young women, my sister two women and an 11 year old, my friend 1 women with her 2 children. The Irish refugee council is getting people out although it’s lagging behind what ordinary Irish citizens are doing - paying for Ryanair flights from Warsaw or krakow and welcoming people in to their homes. The people who have arrived so far have small backpacks, suitcases had to be ditched due to no space on trains. They have left husbands and sons and fathers behind. It’s utterly heartbreaking and British people who say there isn’t space are selfish cunts. We have a housing crisis here but people are finding space.

I couldn't agree more - mind you, I do think that many people would be prepared to host a refugee if they could get into the country..!

I haven't seen what Putin's useful idiot and super fan boy Nigel Farage has to say about this yet. Maybe he'll do another 'Breaking Point' poster .

@Kendodd

I haven't seen what Putin's useful idiot and super fan boy Nigel Farage has to say about this yet. Maybe he'll do another 'Breaking Point' poster .

With any luck, brand Farage has tanked faster than Russian Vodka in supermarkets.

www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/nigel-farage-net-zero-rally-at-bolton-wanderers-stadium-cancelled-following-fan-backlash-315287/

However, with his charisma, charm, and most importantly dodgy backers, I can't see him being out of the game for long.

If our government are treating refugees and other migrants so appallingly what has been motivating 300,000 of them a year of to travel across multiple peaceful countries to reach the UK?