Civil unrest, what's really going on?

[Sadworld23]

My DH keeps chirping up with, there's riots here, protests there, immigrants have done assaults in xxx etc. He sees me as a bit of a do-gooder..

All UK places, but when I look at my regular news, there's very little reporting of it.

My DH has some MH issues currently and to confront him with 'what the heck are you reading?' isn't worth it right now.
I make comments such as, ooh that sounds grim and doesn't sound good, and that's very worrying, but I'd really like to know if it's really happening and where he's getting this info.

@PersephoneSeethes

The EU average acceptance rate is about 46.6% and the UK stands at 47% of applications.

That’s pretty bad run for 16 weeks.

Saying that we have a man of unknown origin lurking around today and the Facebook is going wild. He’s tried to grab / proposition various women this afternoon and this evening. Police are trying to track him down. I have no idea what their status is. But the point of mentioning this is that in small towns everyone knows everything.

If you think a sea breeze and a few walks stops a sexual predator and a man capable of stabbing to magically reform. Then I don’t know what to say to you tbh.

I just don't understand this, although I know that in America it's a problem for right-wingers sucked into dubious news sources.

I have no problem distinguishing between good sources and bad, and to me it shouldn't be that hard for any rational person. In America, my main sources are the New York Times, and public media TV and radio. I don't know if the London Times is still a good paper, but there is The Economist, the BBC, The Independent, Reuters, etc., all of which seem to be reliable.

The issue as much as anything is the complete absence of resettlement programmes. If you are going to wave in millions of people, some from very violent countries with brutal regimes and completely different values - you are going to run into huge problems when they are not able to adjust to life in this country. The strain is obviously going to affect everyone eventually.

I do not agree with Farage’s policies, but I absolutely agree with him that we need a total stop on any further immigration altogether - with the exception of medical staff and essential workers/students studying.

The system is at breaking point. The country has had enough.
We need to put the brakes on before it is too late.

@Nestingbirds

Can we be the only European country that puts that policy in place?
How will we then be viewed globally? How will other countries respond if we do that? Is it fair that we accept approx the same number as other European countries?

@Nestingbirds

Which countries would you say ‘no’ to? Would you say ‘yes’ to some countries and not others?

Sadly I can’t see it changing. The government are clearly okay with this situation.
The men ‘lose’ their documents and are allowed to wander around the local town, we have no idea who they are. The Rwanda plan needs to return.

Erm im.sorry you're obviously distressed about what happened at a former Air Base..it sounds horrendous and totally lacking in police action.

Can you send me a link so I can understand the link to Brexit more. I'm pretty sure people voted for Brexit to reduce the numbers of illegal Immigrants, i always said it was a bad idea if that was their plan bc Brexit wouldn't stop them, but I can't actually see how Brexit aided illegals.

Yes i thought that, but finding myself totally uninformed about what's going on in my home town, never mind the UK generally, I'm not convinced.

Regarding the age concern - they used to have physical tests to try to determine whether they were under 18 like checking their teeth etc but it was deemed barbaric and dropped

Is it fair that we accept approx the same number as other European countries?

No it’s not fair. We are a lot smaller than most other European countries with a larger population in some cases, certainly in proportion regarding built up areas like towns and cities.

Until the issue of our schools and healthcare system has been addressed - in general but also in terms of the absolute deficit of adequate numbers being built to accommodate the high number of new-build housing estates - it’s ludicrous to accept tens of thousands more ppl into communities that are at breaking point as it is. How do they expect the local residents to feel and behave?

It’s not fair on anyone, including the immigrants/refugees and will only cause resentment and ultimately conflict, as we are seeing.

Sea air and walks?
There will still be issues it’s just the wealthier rural folk are no longer seeing them and maybe don’t have the imagination to recognise it’s still happening but not in their backyard.

Instead the villagers can say the men are all lovely but were bored and needed a walk and sea air! Why didn’t the country walks and fresh wholesome, non polluted countryside air stop them being criminals? It must be a far more relaxing place to live in after fleeing a war torn land surely.

I do think there is a huge element of ‘poor chaps’ but ‘not in my back yard because it’s clearly very, very unsuitable where I live, we don’t have errr sea air’. I hope some villagers are able to say it was a great idea but I’ve now lived it and I’ve changed my mind. And they use the lobbying skills to help the town folk affected.

@Sadworld23

I don’t know about latest figures but Germany is 1 and a half times our size but were taking 5x number that we were. Again I think we are about average/better than average in terms of healthcare/education across Europe. UK are often cited as one of the best education systems globally (not sure I agree).

From the Internet - I haven’t verified with multiple sources but we know the U.K. is more densely populated than most other European countries -

The population density in the UK is higher than in Germany. In 2022, the UK had a population density of 279 people per square kilometer, while Germany had a density of 240 people per square kilometer. This means the UK is more densely populated than Germany, with a larger number of people living within the same area.

I do think there is a huge element of ‘poor chaps’ but ‘not in my back yard because it’s clearly very, very unsuitable where I live

This is interestingly what a Swedish (immigrant) journalist has said about the situation over there right now. We tend to think of them as very liberal and accepting etc and that it’s one of the happiest places to live (think it was recently voted as such), but what is NOT widely known is the current crisis of underage criminals being used by mostly foreign gangs to carry out violent crimes such as murder - as they have a higher age for criminal responsibility there and children see far less jail time if they are convicted. It’s actually shocking and is a national crisis affecting local communities and schools, but isn’t more widely known for some reason. Teachers for instance are incredibly fearful at the ever-present threat.

The journalist was saying that he thinks the swedes want to accept asylum seekers/ refugees but don’t actually want them living in their neighbourhoods, so, like France where we have seen the massive rise of local terrorism, they are being housed in less desirable areas and accommodation.

I will try to locate the article….

@Notsosure1

Yes 279 compared to 240. But 5x acceptance in Germany.

I don’t disagree with you btw, I just think we need to think bigger than a UK solution.

@Notsosure1

Netherlands/Belgium are more densely populated. It’s parts of the UK that are dense. So perhaps a comparison there? And then - should we fairly allow a similar amount as other European countries, and take our less dense areas into account?

I think we are in the process of seeing a very different mindset in Germany regarding immigration - the political parties already show this, but I remember reading they have voted against an international issue recently (I’ve forgotten what) which made me think that it was in interesting development regarding their history of the last 80 years.

Since the end of the Second World War they have been at pains to try to compensate for the heinous regime of the Nazi party. The guilt runs deep and stretches across many generations. This has affected their laws and also their national acceptance/welcome of immigrants. Look at the mass immigration Angela Merkel instigated not so very long ago when they were putting themselves at the forefront of accepting refugees from Syria (over a million between 2015 and 16).

I think this was largely benevolent but it was also admitted to being pragmatic and for the good of the country, as they were facing a large, ageing population, and the fit, young men they were keen to welcome were intended to boost their economy by joining the workforce. There has since been a national backlash which the far right has seized upon and they seem to be rethinking their previous policies.

Do you know how many immigrants and refugees they have accepted in comparison?

Where is this? It absolutely should be publicised. Utterly scandalous not to report this in the media. This cowardly government really doesn’t care a lot about their prime responsibility which is the security of their citizens.

@FractionalKrispie I absolutely think it’s fair that the U.K. pauses on accepting any asylum seekers from countries where the men are having a significantly adverse impact on the safety of women and girls living in this country, other than on a case by case basis. Any genuine asylum seekers with legitimate concerns for their safety, who express a desire to assimilate, can arrive at an airport with documents and apply by the correct channels and have their case heard.

Why are you more worried about how we look on the world stage than about the women and girls here who are less safe? Surely we need to be realistic about the strain on infrastructure, schools, hospitals and the social fabric?

A pp mentioned Sweden - Malmo in Sweden has moved from being one of the safest cities in the world to being as safe as Baghdad. (According to Numbeo crime index by city 2025).

should we fairly allow a similar amount as other European countries, and take our less dense areas into account?

Do you mean build more houses in the countryside on green space and extend small villages and towns? Unfortunately they never seem to factor in new schools and GP surgeries when they do this, so the immigrants and asylum seekers will also experience the lack of facilities along with the local residents, as well as being blamed for being the cause.

Latest YouGov polling

@Notsosure1
@YouSetTheTone

Yes - it appears that Netherlands/Belgium aren’t publishing clear figures and Belgium are refusing a high percentage, but this results in a high % of single male asylum seekers sleeping rough in Brussels.

If it really is close to a million, and inexplicably the numbers seem to rise each and every year, then like a PP suggested, it seems the harsh but pragmatic solution is to create some kind of holding camps to accommodate them before processing them through the legal system.

This would also cost millions to tax payers in terms of infrastructure, heat, food, water access, entertainment, clothing. But it may put off the thousands who feel life in Britain is so desirable for them to risk coming to.