To be shocked at the net migration figures currently being discussed

[Feelingathomenow]

Yesterday’s figures discussed by the Tories stated that since 2010 the net migration figures to the UK has equalled the size of the population of Wales. Today we were told the figures to June 2023 showed a net migration figure of nearly 1 million for that year, for the year to June 2024 this had reduced to a mere 3/4 of a million. The numbers coming in of the boats per year alone is equal to a large town. AIBU to think this has to stop. We need to immediately crack down on people allowed into this country- limit it to urgently needed highly skilled jobs and start offshore processing (or similar) of the people who are here illegally (basically like many other countries).

We just can’t cope with those numbers. - no wonder our infrastructure is collapsing, we have a housing crisis etc.

I want to hear from the government how they are going to tackle it. We have heard from the Tories now it is over to Starmer.

I think the issue here is that many middle class people are completely cushioned from the negative impact of uncontrolled immigration. This means they’re able to sneer and feel morally superior to those who are impacted and don’t have the financial means to escape it.

@MauveCrow I bet you voted tory because yes they should be paid more but capitalism baby. Social care should never have been privatised but it was agencies charge say 31 an hour poor carer gets 12 an hour maybe a bit of fuel if lucky. So who rakes in all the other profits from that then? Theee businesses don't pay enough the gov doesn't fund enough it's all a mess. There in my experience are many good care workers that are british but it's crying for more and inhavd now got two ladies from Pakistan who seem very nice so yes immigration is needed

The Illegal Immigration Act which is itself illegal you mean?
International law says you can enter a country by any means if your intention is to claim asylum and you do so as soon as practicable. Which makes perfect sense if you think about the situation of asylum seekers for more than a millisecond.

Oh believe me, having lived in an area where there were many people coming from Hong Kong I did point this out. It totally changed the nature of the area.

There is an excellent Stewart Lee sketch along these lines. A lot of the anti-immigration posters on this thread would do well to watch it.

It’s not uncontrolled.
Many migrants are students etc and probably middle class themselves.
I live in an area with a lot of asylum seekers. Not an issue.

I am working class live in dewsbury yet I have no big issues i find many working classes that hate immigration tend to live in small towns that are very much white actually. Yes many do feel like you do in my area but I also know many that don't even have immigrants near them

Yes this is the case for legal migrants. I think if you come as an asylum seeker whilst you may have “no recourse to public funds” you will have the same access to the NHS as a citizen. And I believe women here on their husband’s visa with “no recourse to public funds” will still receive full maternity care including health visitor visits etc. There is a huge cost to all this. If you go as a “trailing spouse” to most other countries, the working spouse would need to pay private family medical cover, or their employer would.

@PlopSofa You are wrong. No one cared about migration until housing got to expensive and living standards went to shit.
Except migration is not the cause.

Many migrants are students etc and probably middle class themselves.

There's certainly the wealthy students attending the major universities, but there is also a huge market in "student visas" for dubious tertiary educational institutions. It's a huge loophole.

@MoMhathair
So what if men are put up in hotels while their claim is being processed? What do you suggest?
You've hit the nail on the head. Some of them come from a culture that does not respect women or treat them as equals so consequently many women are fearful of them.
This is an important issue and one hat isn't treated with the importance it deserves.

Who are we talking about specifically, each group of people and their movement will be different

I agree - and I would not believe everything in the Telegraph by any means.

Go look at our state run care homes, you will be appalled. MANY of the men and women who paid into the system are downright being neglected

And how is that the fault of immigrants?

That would be colonisation/invasion, not founding a country.

Bloody hell, so many people talking absolute rubbish on this thread. I despair.

Always interesting to see the disparity between the poll and the comments on threads like this.

Thats already the case. You have to pay a fortune in NHS surcharges to get a visa nowadays. And you can't claim any benefits either when on a visa.

Ok, specifically Irish people, for the sake of argument.

The ones who speak a language other than English, and who don't have family/connections in the UK, generally do.

the spouse has to pay an NHS surcharge which is comparable to the cost of private health cover.

Migrants would not come here if there wasn't a commercial or social driver. The NHS and UK universities actively recruit from overseas, the NHS because it needs the workers and universities for the fees. We are an ageing population with a falling birth rate so that is only going to be balanced by younger working-age immigrants to look after, house, transport and feed us all. I should be more worried if we didn't have as many immigrants as that would leave some sectors badly understaffed. They pay tax and contribute to the economy.

@louddumpernoise But why do we need so many now? has the country aged dramatically in the last 4 years???

Yes. This is exactly what has happened, although it has happened over the last two decades rather than just the last 4 years. The median age in the UK passed 40 years old in 2021/22 - in 1980 the median age was 33, and in 2000 it was 36.

The baby boomers have reached retirement age, so not only did they leave the employment market, but as they got older, they also needed more social and health care. Some of the numbers produced around the time of the Brexit referendum highlighted the issue. The average age of British lorry drivers was well over 50, so when the EU drivers left and the British drivers retired, there were shortages of drivers. Over a third of nurses, mainly those who trained in the UK in the 1970s, were over the age of 50 and therefore due to retire in 2010s and early 2020s.

I am a second generation immigrant. My parents came here in the 50s to work in the NHS and were subjected to all kinds of abuse. I work in the NHS. My DH is a first generation immigrant and also works in the NHS, which is how we met. Many of our friends are immigrants (first and second generation) working in the NHS. Indeed I have no idea how the NHS would function without people like our friends and colleagues. However, every single one of the first generation had to go through an extended application process before they got here, even the ones that were extricating themselves from difficult countries and frightening situations.
It just seems to be such a muddle now and the boat situation is horrific.
BUT, I live in an area with lots of money laundering establishments and dodgy dealing going on and the individuals involved in that seem to be coming from a supposedly safe country, so I don't know how that works.

Does this figure include people under 20 and over 60? So those you wouldn't expect to be contributing? If so it seems reasonable, we probably work for around half our lives
Figures can be very misleading out of context.