One million immigrants claiming benefits

[AnxiousApocalypse]

Just been reading the comments sections of the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail articles about the one million foreigners claiming benefits in the UK. It feels like the final nail in the coffin and a lot of people will feel even more justified in expressing their anger and hate towards immigrants. What happens when Reform win the next general election and come into power? Will people be rounded up en masse and put in detention centres like the USA?

We don't have open borders.

Why push the lie that we do?

If you think that someone who has previously worked as an accountant and professional economist doesn't understand the difference between wealth and income then perhaps that illustrates your own lack of understanding?

In my area, all the immigrants are hard working and the white british people are lazy sods who spend their days moaning about how awful our country is.

Admittedly it's a headline grabbing figure. But I'd like to know a breakdown: which immigrants from where; which benefits are they claiming; are they otherwise working and contributing to our economy.

5.5 million Brits live permanently abroad, many of them in popular countries like Spain. Many of them are entitled to some Spanish benefits. The only difference is we call ourselves expats.

I know a shit tonne of Polish people who work extremely hard, just as an example.

You’re not exhibiting any sign of knowing the difference. I can only judge on the evidence of your posts. Anyone can be anything on the internet.

I note you didn't deny the bigotry, just accused me of being a sensitive broadsheet reader. Burn!

I'm 100% OK with migrants who work claiming child benefit, yes.

They really have got it made here..they get everything on a plate.

This country are taken for the biggest mugs in the whole world.

So no impending default?

I absolutely think a lot of newpapers sensationalise data in order to make money off angry, dispossessed people. It reminds me of the person being interviewed after brexit who voted leave and said something along the lines of "I dont mind europeans but not all these indians coming over and taking all the jobs". He was definitely stupid and he was definitely played.

I'm sure i heard that asylum seekers were not allowed to work, not sure if this is true.

It is true. Scandalous, isn’t it?

1 million so far. The numbers rise at a rate of 1000s each week.
We need a new government ASAP.

This is utter bollocks.

Only those who are entitled to benefits can claim them.

Those seeking asylum are not allowed to work and the home office can take years to process a single individual. They also receive less than other claimants. Other immigrants are not allowed to claim benefits unless they meet the criteria. So there's a big question here about the motivation of this sort of article. Personally I think it's done purely to stir up hatred among those with limited capacity for critical thinking and who can't recognise that a more efficient and cost effective home office processing system or allowing asylum claimants to work while on the waiting list might make a little dent in the pressure on the benefits system. Our government has failed us over the last lot of years and we're now feeling it as its been exacerbated by covid. That's not the fault of the people fleeing here in crisis from countries where they are not safe. Countries with unstable governments. Countries who's governments are unstable because of historic UK meddling to make us richer...

We take in one of the fewest percentages of refugees/asylum seekers in Europe. And there are loads of reasons why a diverse society is a better and healthier society. I know a lot of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The immigrants I know are all are working because they've no recourse to public funds. The asylum seekers I know are not allowed to work so are left in limbo relying on benefits but are all extremely motivated to work and are doing volunteering in their local communities or studying etc to fill their time and be productive while they wait, and the refugees I know are all working full time.

I know many, many 'local' people who are also on benefits or working part time or who are unmotivated to work for a variety of reasons. But they're white and born here so I guess that's not newspaper worthy.

It's just scapegoating the easiest target. They did the same thing in Nazi Germany.

Ah right, so you're emigrating? What will that make you in your new country of choice?

Those newspapers and the interests they protect you should alert you to misinformation. What do you mean though? Immigrants aren't entitled to benefits. Asylum seekers receive a very small amount that isn't the same as UK citizen benefits. This is just to distract us from the 1% sucking the money from our economy ...a dog whistle to racists.

Our care and health sectors couldn't survive without immigrants

I think we have a real issue between the professional middle classes and the more deprived areas of the UK.

The middle class areas are not where the immigrant communities are being housed. I don’t see any where I live. My park isn’t full of young men hanging around watching my kids. My daughters don’t get gawped at while going to school. My cousin is in a deprived area with loads of asylum seekers hanging around, harassing teenage girls, leering, arguing, playing music etc.

its easy for me to tell her that she should not complain about the migrants as they are good for the economy. I am not dancing the consequences. She is. The middle class set policies in this country but the working classes have a vote too. If their concerns aren’t listened to and addressed quickly a Reform government is all but guaranteed. It’s exactly the same situation as Brexit.

Totally agree

@User135644

So when we went over there on our boats and destroyed their way of living on a massive scale, took control of their oil and gas reserves, when we created borders that destroyed families and created poverty and conflict, when we killed and plundered - what was that? Perfectly acceptable? Heroic?

750k are on out of work benefits. That's the issue. Okay some of that might be attributed to asylum claims but most won't.

Asylum seekers don't claim benefits. Their money comes from elsewhere.

You are using quotations without saying where they come from.

The Daily Hate and Telegraph thrive on sowing dischord and hatred because it distracts from the billionaires who pay no tax and the conversation is always distracted

It will make me a self funding tax payer who shares the identity and culture of the country I have moved to and contribute to their economy by spending my wealth there. I suppose you are trying to make the point that I will be an immigrant. So what? Just being a person born elsewhere, a legal immigrant contributing to their new society, is not a problem. Why do you think this country is so tolerant of the many communities who have integrated and contributed well, with senior political figures from all across the spectrum having held some of the highest positions? It's the mismanagement/inflated cost/threat to culture that is the problem.

Tough because you’re not getting one for four years. Who are you going to blame if you get the Reform government you want and everything just gets worse?

Does state pension count as one of these benefits? There are probably quite a few people who arrived in this country in the fifties, sixties and seventies who have been working here for their whole life (doctors, nurses, transport workers etc) paying tax and national insurance and are now enjoying retirement perhaps looking after grandchildren so parents can work and pay taxes.
Do you think they shouldnt get the pension or that they should return to their home countries for retirement