Romania and Bulgaria are EU and receiving EU money. I think questions should be asked about why they are not supporting their own people.
There is no question here. Its not about 'looking after your own'. They can look after their own. They just don't have as good opportunities. It is a natural thing to want the best in life for your family. If there are more opportunities elsewhere people will gravitate towards it. Amazingly this is what a lot of Brits do, if they are offered a better standard of living elsewhere. Yes SHOCK HORROR. Brits do the same thing.
It's a simple sum .... if more people arrive they will need housing. It is not the obligation of the UK to keep building and building for either EU nationals or non-EU
Well perhaps your simple sum is, where it is cheaper to build houses and infrastructure in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.... Arh, but other places should 'look after their own' so you don't want to even entertain that idea because you are too short sighted.
Surely the upper limit should be under the maximum that the country can absorb at any given time.
And you enforce this HOW? If you do this then everyone will need a visa. Which has a cost too. We are not in a position to now impose this with EU countries because of the EU. But no one wants to acknowledge this. So you can bleat as much as much as you want.
Would you advise any upper limit to EU immigrant numbers?
Perhaps you would like to READ my posts. Why talk about upper limits when they are unachievable and its unenforceable. The horse bolted decades ago on that, when the EU started free movement. And is made worse by wars, increasing global inequality and ever increasing global populations. If you want to take immigration, look beyond your own borders to how you do it.
All the naval gazing and isolationism actually INCREASES migration it as it doesn't solve the underlying problems.
All migration is, is a combination of PUSH and PULL factors.
If you want to 'control' migration, you have to deal with BOTH push and pull factors.
Migration is also the consequence of high birth rates elsewhere around the world. People move when the 'maximum that the country can absorb' is exceeded. But we are not discussing how we control birth rates across the global, because no one screaming about immigration can draw the line between the dots and think the problem is solved with the draw bridge alone.
No one wants to share their wealth elsewhere, because if you are helping others you can't possibly be helping yourself. Can you?
The simplistic logic and thinking of isolationism or you should 'look after your own' is that every government in the last 500 years who has tried it, has found it undoable in the end. Because we do not live in isolation. This is true now, more than ever. We live in a global world.
Migration is the direct result of global inequality
NEWSFLASH. You can not stop migration without tackling global inequality. You can not 'hoard' the wealth on our little island.
Geography is a bastard for the UK. 20 odd miles of water or a tunnel or a border with Ireland mean we don't have the luxury of options.
The truth is, whilst we are doing well, people will come here, legally or illegally in large numbers because that's the nature of the beast
Do we want to pretend this isn't the case?
Say we do, 'close the borders' do you think this will solve the issue? Or will it drive it underground and will it result in more illegal immigration and illegal employment that we already have? Fuelling more exploitation and crime?
America has spent decades pretending that illegal immigration doesn't happen and has had to have amnesties in the end because of the problems its caused.
You want a simple magic solution to migration?
Well I have got one. Make the UK less attractive to migrants by screwing its economy up. Problem solved.
Or you stop thinking in terms of Them and Us and start thinking about how we go about reducing global poverty, overcrowding and political instability.
Sadly though, that type of joined up thinking doesn't appeal to the Farages and the Johnsons of this world, who appeal to popular thought and can get more votes by just ignoring the inconvenience of the nature of migration.
Why attempt selling the bitter pill of reality when you can sell the fantasy of unicorns and fairies for your political gain of power?
If you want to buy shares in unicorns please feel free, I'm not stopping you. But its not going to stop migration and if that's really your ultimate goal and concern, the longer you believe in fairies the more the UK will become overcrowded.
Well unless, the economy goes tits up.
In which case, we'll be stuck with lots of Brits with no where else to go due to migration control elsewhere. There will be lots more overqualified Brits competing with the 'underclasses' as others delightfully put it for the fewer British jobs there are. And if the economy is doing badly, where do you think money for welfare will come from? Oh yes. Forgot. The fairies.
Honestly. If you are going to preach at me about equations and housing, well here's one for you.
Think Global. Think Human. Think Inequality. Solve Problems. End Migration.