@Hatfullofwillow
"You're overstating the health benefits of work. The mental health benefits of working peak at just 8hrs a week. Manual labour is the direct cause of a multitude of health problems and work related stress the driver of many more. The former don't really improve on retirement but the latter do."
On that logic why should anyone work at all beyond 8 hours a week? And if manual labour is indeed a cause of health problems and work related stress can't you see how horribly racist it is to import people from other countries to do such manual labour jobs? Why not just go one step further and reintroduce slavery FFS!!
"Out of the 8.5 million "economically inactive" 26% are too sick to work, mostly with long term illness. "
Out of the 9 million economically inactive a very large proportion are sick because they are not or have not been economically active. Getting them back to work for many would fundamentally improve their long term health.
"Of those that are economically inactive that want to work, so 1.9 million, only 30,000 of them are what's called 'discouraged workers' the ones who could be encouraged into work. For the rest the practical barriers to work may be much higher, even if they do want a job."
Everyone has practical barriers to work such as childcare, retraining, transport etc and if this needs investment (because that is exactly what it is) by the government in subsidising childcare, retraining, transport etc then absolutely the government should make that investment because it will pay for itself through lower health costs etc and higher tax revenues.
The arrogance of pro immigration lobby to be willing to write off the UK's economically inactive as being unwilling or incapable is precisely what creates support for people like Tommy Robinson.
And lastly the argument for importing labour through immigration that are too dangerous or underpaid for UK nationals to do is horribly racist and reminiscent of the argument for using slave labour in Caribbean sugar plantations. How about instead making these jobs safer and better paid and providing the necessary training that UK workers are willing to do them?