"Because they keep coming over here taking our jobs!"

[LookAtMeGo]

Did anybody see this on the BBC news when a woman who looked to be about 80 uttered this phrase when asked why she had voted Leave.

Was I the only one to have seen the irony in the fact that as she said this she was having her nails done by an immigrant in a nail bar?

"The Leave politicians are also going to do mothing about immigration numbers"
I totally agree with this. However, many people who voted leave are concerned about migrant workers. Their concerns need to be addressed, not rubbished. It's no good just saying they are racist, and totally ignoring the underlying problem.

I live in a village, and we have a community of migrant workers who are paid less than the minimum wage doing building work. This is taking jobs from other workers (including migrants) who have mortgages to pay. There also isn't enough accommodation for them.

The fault lies with the government not policing the minimum wage, and not sorting out the shortage of accommodation. Surely we need to see that those people who have been adversely affected need to be helped. This includes those migrant workers living in substandard accommodation. Look at Shirebrook, with the posturing MPs in the select committee - it's made no difference. There're still plenty of jobs paying less than the minimum wage. They just chug along below the radar.

Can we not look for consensus? Recognise that there are people who have been badly affected by migration. Give help to those people (from wherever they are) who are struggling. Where was Jeremy Corbyn to stand up for them? I feel he could have swung the vote, like Brown did for Scotland.

Nobody's won with this vote - least of all (horrified) Boris with his pyrrhic victory.

There's always been immigration. Back in the 50's, it was exactly the same complaint about "these blacks coming and taking our jobs".
In 1290, the King was so incensed by it, he expelled all the Jews from this country.
Idi Amin did it; Hitler did it.

Immigrants are a nice, handy scapegoat for a bad leader when things are going wrong.

I was thoroughly embarrassed the other day when watching my local news to see them speaking to various people regarding the referendum and why they voted the way they did (which just so happened to be leave).

I kid you not, every single one of them cited 'immigrants' as their reason for voting leave. One lady had 6 children and couldn't find housing big enough for her and her brood, apparently it's all the immigrants fault. Of course it would have never have occurred to her to evaluate her housing situation and take steps to ensure it's appropriate before having as many as 6 children

I don't believe every leave voter voted for these reasons but I do believe a heck of a lot of them did and that's nothing to be proud of.

The most racist person in our road (that I know of) is an immigrant. However, she's been here a long time so it's ok apparently

It's never ok to be racist. But frankly the debate on immigration has been so inflammatory it has allowed people to reveal existing views. The main issue in the north east appears to be the economic decline and lack of help to sort it out and immigration.

Er, has anyone on here who thinks immigrants undercut wages ever heard of the minimum wage?

I voted leave, but nothing quite like stupid is there. What te jobs that The native British don't want to do, or think is beneath them, whilst relying on others working, including immigrants, to keep them.

I voted leave because I do not like Britain being dictated to by Brusels, and that they can veto decisions that our government can make. To me it's one big faceless beauracuracy.

Maggie you are naive if you think all companies/businesses pay the minimum wage. Immigrants in my area are more than happy to be paid £4 quid an hour for cleaning, packing, manual jobs. I know this is true as i interviewed several for jobs. Needless to say I hired locals for above minimum wage. I was also testing the water for who and what was available.

Yes the minimum wage is supposed to be the lowest wage acceptable but I can tell you there are loads of employers paying nowhere near this amount.

How can this help locals when an employer can pay 2 immigrants to work for the price of one local. These people coming in are taking locals jobs and it needs sorting.

What decisions, exactly, have been legally taken by our Government and overturned by Brussels"? Please give a list. Do you know the difference between the EU and the European Court, Aero? Or is it just more leave rhetoric you have naively believed. The EU Commission is like our Civil Service. Do you know all of them personally? Perhaps you needed to understand more about how the EU works before you voted but it is too late now.

Some areas of the country have agricultural workers picking British grown vegetables that British people will not pick. They work in the grotty jobs in care homes, helping the elderly and in the NHS - all jobs we don't want to do. There are enough jobs here, but people prefer not to do them. Train as nail stylists - it is perfectly possible. Setting up a nail salon is not that difficult. Why can't British people do this? If anyone has the money to use one, they are hardly on the breadline.

If we provide new housing for immigrants, Councils get flamed for choosing to house immigrants over "British" people . You just cannot win. It is possible to ask companies for audited accounts showing wage levels. These could be policed.

The North East has car plants, EU money and lots of relocated government agencies, not to mention a buoyant higher education sector also partially funded by the EU. Money has been put in. If I was Nissan I would be considering my position in the North East. What is the point in staying now?

imwithspud We obviously live in the same TV area - the lady with 6 children was annoyed that 'the immigrations' (sic) were being 'given 4-bedroom houses on a plate' and appeared to believe that someone would now be evicted so that she could be given a house...
I cannot believe some of the language that I've heard in the last few days - it just feels as though I've woken up in another country (Germany in the 1930s springs to mind..!) and I really do fear the future - the first time in my life that I have felt like this...

Apology: When I said grotty jobs I really mean perceived as grotty. I did not intend to demean anyone doing those jobs to whom I am grateful and welcome.

Seamstress yes that's the woman I was referring to! She made my blood boil with her stupidity and entitled attitude.

That is what I understand Boj and yes Europe can veto our policies and laws which I don't agree with.

Caligstro - but it's possible to both work and claim benefits

joey when employers are paying below NMW, we should be slamming those employers in jail or fining them a full year's financial turnover, not blaming the immigrants. Maybe if the laws around the NMW were enforced and had some real teeth, we'd get some progress. Scapegoating gets no-one anywhere - immigrants get exploited, British workers still don't get the jobs and nobody wins.

Who care's? Some will always make their vote on illogical reasons. I don't believe she's a majority of the leave vote.

but it's possible to both work and claim benefits

Of course it is, I know :) (currently in that position ourselves) but a lot of people don't realise that (as shown by many MN threads over the years, among other things); in any case I think the meme is poking fun at those who assume the immigrants are on out-of-work benefits, hence 'lazing around' etc. :)

"Maybe if the laws around the NMW were enforced and had some real teeth, we'd get some progress."
This. But how will that happen when the politicians claim there is no problem. There is a problem when there's an influx of workers willing to accept much lower wages, and the government doesn't enforce the legislation. Remain seemed to insist there was no problem with immigration, but where I am, there is. And the problem isn't with the immigrant worker, who have been unfairly demonised.

If you find your job is undercut, and the Remain campaign denies there is a problem, the only voice you have left was to vote leave. Where were the passionate Remain politicians speaking for those people?

You (we) may look down at these women with their six children, but UKIP's share of the vote is small. Those who voted Leave aren't, on average, racist. I would be even more depressed if I thought that was true.

The fault lies with the EU for admitting so many 'ragtag' countries who were so much poorer than the wealthiest.The inevitable consequence was their people flooded the richer ones with labour for unskilled jobs
.
Whatever smallfox thinks, the forces of supply and demand apply and the cost of unskilled labour has been kept down

Was I the only one to have seen the irony in the fact that as she said this she was having her nails done by an immigrant in a nail bar?

that is NOT ironic, it is the OP's point!!

The fault lies with the EU for admitting so many 'ragtag' countries who were so much poorer than the wealthiest.

A fact that we often don't appreciate in this country is that the fundamental basis of the EU is peace. Admitting poorer countries (once they have met the very strict accession criteria) is done because prosperity reduces conflict. Membership of the EU has helped to lift countries like Ireland out of immense poverty.

My sister vote out because she hates immigrants. She lives in the Middle East, as an immigrant and her London flat is let to a group of Germans, making her more money.

Tweet from Adam Boulting, a presenter on Sky News:

"This weekend I and my family have witnessed 3 "when are you going home?" Racist incidents aimed at EU citizens here."

FFS

Hate Crime and ASB bursting out in England...this is distressing and irrefutable

Do you know, I think these incidents would have been even worse if the country had voted Remain.

Personally, I think they are the direct result of the ridiculous decision to have a referendum, and would have happened whatever the result.