Welcome to Britain
There was a very disturbing opinion poll published by YouGov earlier this year and recently highlighted by the pollster, which took 16 policy propositions across a variety of subjects and set them against each other in a sort of Politics World Cup to find out the British public’s priorities. The result was predictable but no less depressing for it.
By some chillingly large margins, the policy the people of the UK want implemented more than any other is the spiteful removal of the right to benefits for new immigrants. (We suspect that if the question had offered the option of withdrawing benefits from immigrants full stop it wouldn’t have changed the figures much.)
And we couldn’t help wondering how big a deal that really was.
So we set to finding out, and it wasn’t that hard to get at least a decent guesstimate.
The total annual bill for working-age benefits (that is, excluding pensions and Pension Credit, which new immigrants wouldn’t be eligible for) in the UK is £77bn, claimed by a total of 5.15m people.
Of that 5.15m just under 400,000 are foreign-born, which is 7.7% of the total (a lower proportion than the 8.3% immigrant population overall, backing up numerous studies which have found immigrants are less likely to claim benefits than natives).
That suggests that all other things being equal, the total cost of benefits for immigrants is around £5.9 billion. But we’re only talking about those who’ve been here for two years or less, and the most recent figures say that 479,000 “non-British” people came here in a year. (Full immigration stats also include people moving from Scotland to England, or Wales to Scotland, and so on.)
So that gives us 958,000 “new” immigrants in two years, which is 18% of the total immigrant population of about 5.3m. If we apply that to the total number of immigrants claiming benefits we get 71,460 (18% of 397,000) immigrants who would be excluded under the proposed new rules.
From the total UK figure we know that the average annual amount per claimant comes out at £14,951 – £77bn divided by 5.15m – which means that immigrants here for less than two years cost Britain somewhere in the region of £1.07bn a year. (We’ve made a lot of assumptions, but we’re only after a ballpark figure.)
For perspective, the UK’s current deficit is £96bn. Taking benefits away from new immigrants would reduce that to £94.93bn, a saving of 0.7%. A billion pounds is a significant sum of money, but in terms of government finance it’s a rounding error.
Casting tens of thousands of families into misery wouldn’t only be a mean-spirited and short-sighted thing to do (because immigrants make a sizeable net contribution to the UK economy, paying in much more than they take out in the long run), but it would save so little money even on the superficial level that we simply wouldn’t notice.
A relentless tide of negative coverage in a right-wing media owned outside Scotland has poisoned public attitudes to some extent, but even now Scots are significantly less hostile to immigrants than the rest of the UK. A poll in the Sun at the weekend found that immigration was a “key issue” for just 34% in Scotland compared to 56% elsewhere, and while it was the single biggest issue in the rest of the country, Scots were more concerned with the economy and the NHS.
As UKIP go from strength to strength and the two big Westminster parties compete with each other to see who can be the cruellest to both immigrants and benefit recipients, Scotland is drifting further away from the rest of the UK with every passing day. It remains to be seen how long the strained ties can hold.
Before you fire up the ovens in the concentration camps, first you have to convince everyone that the intended victims are sub-human.
Never forget the Empire invented the concentration camp.
I’m truly mortified to live among such ignorant, malicious scum.
This only becomes an informed debate when we know what other EU countries do in respect of benefits paid to immigrants. I doubt very much if the people voting in above Poll know how the UK compares to other EU countries. It’s fine for WoS to take the moral high ground here and maybe if we lived in Clacton we’d feel differently.
A clear presentation of the facts would go a long way to helping us all.
Looking at the way they are beginning to fire up the working population, and sadly the non working young against the elderly, the migrants will just slightly be ahead of the queue. Seems the Lords of the Manor still have their willing to do their bidding, instead of shooting at the real enemy they turn and fire at the person standing next to them.
Why do people turn on those who are just like them whilst letting the already stinking rich carry on. We should be out in the streets demonstrating that people, all of the normal sma’ folk in this country are having to use food banks and they are working.
Unemployed a painful 18 months, after three I stopped claiming benefits because the process was humiliating, a deliberate ploy by official to discipline and deter.
On one occasion I barked at a crass official reminding him not all were malingerers, and he was on a good salary to carry out a service, not undermine the dignity of those waiting. He looked surprised by the retaliation. Another official was sympathy and civility personified.
I felt genuinely sorry for the long-term unemployed who stood in line with me but had no hope of creating new work themselves being wholly reliant on others for work.
Currently I am working with Polish craftsmen. They’re superb, their work ethic and skill second to none. They have been here many years, now with family. I’d hate to think they were soon to be singled out for being ‘foreign.’ Polish people have emigrated to Scotland since early last century.
If stigmatised, it’s bestowed on Scotland by its ‘enlightened’ No voters.
We apparently live in a scapegoat society where politicians and the media can select any group they feel like to accept the blame for their failures or further their agendas.
Indeed only one thing is really required to fulfil the ideal criteria.
An inability to hit back.
Yes Bian dishonest politicians and the knuckle dragging public always need scapegoats this time it is immigrants. Scapegoats have a purpose I wonder what the purpose is this time. One thing for sure it won’t be honourable.
“This only becomes an informed debate when we know what other EU countries do in respect of benefits paid to immigrants.”
Other countries’ policies have no effect whatsoever on the size of the UK’s budget deficit.
No no no, your analysis assumes that preferred policies are based on sound, reasoned analysis of economic impact.
Policies which are targetted at uninfomed voters who are looking for a scapegoat, typically doesn’t need any economic analysis because the target voter is unlikely to understand, notice, or care about actual facts.
What troubles me more is the use of carefully leading questions in the YouGov poll to herd those polled towards particular, pre-determined end goals. Its basically a carefully-constructed justification for the Tories of whatever color to follow UKIP in a race to the bottom. “The people said they wanted this”.
If it was purely aimed at Scotland, I wonder what the questions would be and what the final result would mean?
Grouse Beater, we had a long standing problem with our last house and it took a firm staffed with Polish workers to solve it. We also have a young woman as manager in our Local Aldi, she comes from St. Petersburg, a hard worker and always willing to help her customers as are all who work with her be they Scots, or Polish or what ever.
All immigrants to work for two years as unpaid “interns” to elderly Nawbags and to provide assistance as Daily Mail / Daily Express comments column amanuenses. Sorted.
Call me a right winger if you want, but your statistics (which are normally quite good) don’t reflect the full depth of the problem.
Net immigration to the UK in the past year (in – out = net) was 243,000 people. To put that into perspective, that is almost the entire population of the London Borough of Hackney. In one year. Think about that. How many houses, hospitals, doctors, dentists, wheelie bins, public transport, Police, ambulances, social workers, teachers, schools and so on it takes to serve the needs of Hackney? We need that again in one year. How can we cope with that volume in a sensible and structured way?
Lets look at cost and contribution. To be a ‘net contributor’ (to pay in more than you take out) to the state, you now need to be in the 40% tax bracket. That’s right, anyone who earns less than £40K a year is a net receiver. The deficit is growing every day. Tax receipts do not cover expenditure and haven’t done for a decade. Record levels of employment and GDP is flat lined, we are not growing economically. The psychological benefits of work and it is a tough world out there to find a job, are huge. People who have found employment should quite rightly feel very proud of themselves. The criminal part of that is that their contribution to the economy is making no difference to GDP figures. Low wages are state subsidised by benefits. There is no escaping that fact unless you earn over the 40% tax threshold which only 18% of the working population do.
So anyway, back to access to benefits. This is all irrelevant anyway. All EU migrants have to do is register as self employed to gain an NI number. This gives them instant access to welfare, housing benefit and child benefit (even if their children don’t live in the UK). This is all hot air and lies to make it look like they have a hope in hell of controlling immigration or access to welfare.
It’s another case of divide and rule from an empire that did far worse than “just” invent concentration camps
Also, the poor cant save so benefits go straight back into the economy in an almost perfect multiplier, until that is we get to rent. So who pockets much of the rent benefit? Landlords making mega bucks in a tory boy UKOK completely devoid of any sane social housing policy. Westminster pisses away hundreds of borrowed billions on unwinnable endless war and WMD’s but refuse to invest in the foundations of any decent society, housing and education. Our imperial masters are red and blue tory maniacs, or completely sane and bloody clever. Thanks again proud Scot buts.
Not long at this rate,Scots seem to have a completely different mindset. Setting the poor against the poor while hiding what the rich actually have and get while holding onto power is the game.
The housing one was interesting too. Building 200,000 homes a year when there are more than triple that lying empty.
Yep the stats are depressing and shows the majority of people are too lazy to even research the facts.
“2 million UK citizens living in rEU”
http://euobserver.com/social/123066
So, if UK leaves the EU and they all have to return home, then we’re back where we started, no?
real job’s creation investment needs to be put back on the political aganda.
it has been absent for so long now people have forgotten that it ever existed, instead once nationalized industries have been decimated.
the size and scale of benefit tourism is a myth.
political parties must stop scapegoating the victims of govt policies that have allowed the city of london to ride roughshod over the UK economy, for far too long now.
just think back to when the welfare state was in fact created, very hard times persisted indeed, but it was still done.
the following words of prof allyson pollock apply now as they did back then, and to the creation of the whole welfare state.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz5dl9fhj7o
Note no questions on stopping austerity, or banning banking bonuses, etc
Also, I’m prepared to bet that other things may well have tumbled out if you’d mixed round one differently…
That is just depressing, but not surprising given the angry news stories with demented headlines that we all know and despise.
So when will the truth be made public?
Probably as the full force of austerity hits? Or as the water cannon are deployed for the angry masses?
Probably not even then…sadly
So, if UK leaves the EU and they all have to return home, then we’re back where we started, no?
Thats probably the weakest out of EU thingee going around. Europeans moved around Europe before the EU came about. What may be the last straw for Brussels is automatic freedom of movement for us proud Scot buts and everyone else wanting to come and experience that grand ol teamGB experience. Certainly BBC R4 liggers have been squeaking about Norway an awful lot this week but its unlikely your average Brit with his house draped in the Cross of Saint George has a clue what Norway’s EU relationship actually is, or where it is for that matter:D
I live in Newcastle and feel no differently about the demonisation of those on benefits and those who migrate to the UK of GB and NI. I’m not entirely sure what living in Clacton would do to make me feel differently, or are you, Brian, having a white van man in Rochester moment?
From previous research I believe that migrants from EU countries are entitled to claim similar benefits in the UK to those in their original EU country, though I have seen some debate about that not being true. Immigrants from outside the EU, which you could probably find the figures for, are entirely paid benefits at Westminster’s discretion and within it’s existing laws. Failed asylum seekers get nothing at all, and rely on charities while they await appeals or deportation.
Perhaps, one should consider the benefits paid out to UK migrants living in EU countries? I understand there’s a lot of benefit tourists from here in Germany. It may be on balance better to pay the benefits and stay in the EU, than to come out of the EU and acquire our migrants back. Just think about all the cold weather payments to returning silver surfers from Spain for a start. Of course I’m making the wild assumption there will still be benefits. Hahahaha.
Roll on the day your headline can say Welcome to Scotland and for it to be meant as a welcome to our country rather than part of the UK.
YouGov themselves point out that there is an issue of perception over reality here and this is, in my mind, no doubt fuelled by the right wing, unionist press. Pick a sore and watch it grow as my granddad used to say.
More and more WM politicos are engaged in a race to the bottom, the bottom for humanity, for ethics, aiming to become the lowest common denominator so as to appeal to the masses and hang on to power.
You are right Stu, the media has poisoned attitudes in there own race for sales. Report, and I use that word loosely a “problem”, then report the consequences and pontificate on the perceived solutions. Sloppy, corrosive journalism tarted up as concern for Britain and the British.
Is there anyone in these isles who does not have an immigrant ancestor?
An independent Scotland should be a beacon for inclusivity, fairness and compassion.
Owen Paterson Con MP says the EU has been telling the UK lies for decades.I would recommend he watches a vidio of the singing kettle,the wan wie the black pot in it.
“a saving of 0.7%”. Maths error, should be about 1.02% (guess).
I see this was set up to fail in the carefully-constructed pairings:
“Hold a referendum in 2014 on British membership of the European Union”
(assuming they expected UKIP foam-mouthers to pick the alternative, which was anti-immigrants).
Because after all, a referendum might lead to different parts of the UK having different opinions. Like Scotland wanting to stay for example.
Also of note: sample size 1833. Sample from Scotland, 139. Fieldwork: 4th – 5th December 2013.
The detailed results show Scottish answers as follows:
Hold a referendum in 2014 on British membership of the
European Union 18
Ban immigrants from claiming welfare benefits for their first two years in Britain 46
Neither 31
Unsure 5
The really awful part about the immigrant rhetoric, and UKIP support, is that the bigots are very open about their feelings in public on news threads etc.
The anti Scottish stuff is still going on, and there is a dreadful hatred and arrogance towards immigrants. They openly parrot the crap they read in the Daily Heil, Sun etc. No one cares about the contribution made to the economy, they care they have someone to give a kicking.
Even on Hope not Hate, which is anti fascist organisation, they crawl from under their rocks to shout down any condemnation of the far right antics.
It is truly shocking how prevalent it is.
Why isn’t the education of immigrants taken into account, if they have been born,raised and educated in a different country, they actually cost a lot less than resident people.
Stu – you do realise that rather than being “published by YouGov at the weekend”, Kellner’s piece was actually published in early January and based on polls taken in early December.
It’s also worth pointing out that in the tables the Scottish respondents supported the “Ban immigrants from claiming welfare benefits for their first two years in Britain” option in all its head to heads, though there is some interesting variation elsewhere.
And it’s a long leap from the that statement to “withdrawing benefits from immigrants full stop”, whatever you suspect.
I think these ‘knock-out’ polls are stupid and all to easily manipulated (to be fair they don’t do them very often), but it’s important not to get too excited and misanthropic about it. Especially when it’s hardly news.
O/T…slightly, could the St. George flagwavers be reminded of the fact that their patron saint was Palestinian? It’s important that they know this.
We have been targeted for years by insidious propaganda from the MSM/BBC.
This is just the conclusion of the relentless pushing of Rule Brittania and all who sail in her, Made in GB – as seen recently on cards in M&S, the Royals, etc etc.
Listening to the radio right now and Teresa May is full on about how the security services have ‘foiled’ numerous proposed terrorist attacks eg ”Mumbai like gun marauding in the streets” – whatever the hell that means.
What this country is becoming I don’t know but I hate the sound of it.
England is being driven to the right, to the very edge of fascism and the dark side of nationalism. A deeper question might be, who’s doing the driving and what is their motive? Truth is, the sooner we Scots take a different route into the future, the better.
Sometime else to consider, all this scapegoat politics and manipulation of people’s views …. The more we Scots work towards self determination, the more likely we are to become targets for those dark forces. Beware … One minute it’s blame the immigrants, next it will be blame those sponging greedy Scots! Who promotes the perverse idea that we are subsidy junkies? More to the point, why?
“For the Government to use any spare money to reduce its deficit faster”
It would help if they could actually stop increasing the deficit.
“Tougher regulation of Britain’s intelligence services to limit their ability to monitor phone calls and emails”
Vs.
“Tougher regulation of the BBC to ensure that it wastes less money and reports the news in a more balanced way”
Better the devil you know, apparently.
@Liz, was just about to mention Teresa May today, all over the news, we are facing the biggest threats ever from terrorists, apparently.
I don’t think it’s coincidence that Muslims are constantly stigmatised, and there is the threat to make Britons stateless if they return etc. As someone commented, making your people stateless is like dumping your trash on Europe. The other thing is, some claim they have travelled to help the refugees. There must be some way to prove what they were doing surely, rather than just ban everyone. Even if they joined the Jihad, does this country not have a duty to take them back and try them?
There are young British Muslims in this country who feel very uncomfortable in their own country due to the barrage from the MSM.
The way this is laid out it is just another Westminster scam
I always find articles like this really heartening. As a descendent of immigrants myself, it’s nice to know that my family and I are considered “other” and unwelcome by the WM establishment, the UK media and seemingly by many of my fellow citizens in the UK. Funny, the five members of my family who died in two world wars fighting for the UK were never told that they weren’t “properly” British and so therefore shouldn’t be fighting! You’d have thought they’d have mentioned that. Thank God, most of my fellow Scots don’t feel that way – I hope they never do.
It’s even funnier when you think that many of my mongrel, multi-national “foreign” family members in Scotland are some of the most vehemently proud Scots (no buts) you’ll ever meet and all voted Yes with great pride. Sad though when you think that many of my dad’s relatives (he’s of Scottish, French and Welsh ancestry although was born and raised in England) agree with this nonsense. There are a lot of Kippers in his family down there (they still live in England) and they’re all very well-educated and in good jobs too – so stupidity shouldn’t be an excuse. Shame.
Still, I look forward to the day that someone knocks on my door and tries to tell me I’m not “really” Scottish – I’ll be sure to take pictures.
I believe Scotland looses 30,000 people a year through immigration.Thats young,bright,dynamic people who should be staying to biuld a strong economy.I also believe our population growth is very small in comparison to countrys of a similiar size eg Norway ect and the only reason we dont have a shrinking population is because of immigrants.Who would be paying our ever increasing ageing populations pensions ect if it was’nt for immigration?
Obviously our low wage economy causes further problems,but Scotland needs immigrants never mind the cultural benefits they bring.
Wow another yougov poll.
Take it with a large pinch of salt. Stupid folk will look and see nothing wrong with leading questions , others smell the “Yougov” name tag and are reminded that they are govt run and as bias as the BBC.
Imagine anyone outwith the UK seeing this. What a welcome. This shows the way the govt scapegoat anything that may highlight their own problems on policy.
Disabled and poor still get the “scrounger” treatment. Single parents being sanctioned allowing the children to go hungry and cold.
Why would anyone want to come here ??
This is the sorry state of a union gone bad. We must get out of this fast. I have no feelings of pride when the UK do anything. Only the changes in attitude and support for better here in Scotland gives me belief that we can do much better. Lets be honest how could we do any worse.
The NO vote coming back to haunt us again. Oh Scotland i despair. Westminster policies will bring civil war one day. 🙁
My mother in her 80s, is Irish of many generations, but oft tells the story of a ship of the Spanish Armada going down on the rocks off the the wild West Atlantic coast.
My mother had raven black hair and brown eyes in her youth, and looked a bit Latin. She criticises her Austrian born friend for talking nasty about immigrants, then she goes on to use racist language, with no hint of irony.
She also defends the Catholic church to the hilt, despite me always raising the latest scandal with her.
It’s hard work.
.
The reaction to the launch of the National today is very, very amusing. The Guardian have an article on it, calling it McPravda, and Wings Twitter is funny too, with David Maddox of the Scotsman talking about propaganda… 😀 😀
@ Caroline Corfield
Returning ‘silver surfers’ from EU countries would cost not a penny more as far as Winter Fuel Allowance is concerned. It is paid to all elligible pensioners wherever in the EU they reside… not sure about further afield.
Its Ironic that a lot of immigrants into Scotland voted No because they were scared into doing so by Bitter Together telling them that they would be thrown out of Scotland if we voted YES.
People are being sanctioned and denied benefits who have paid in all their lives. It’s disgusting. People are expected to work for firms funded by Westminster, but they are denied benefits.
People can’t claim benefits until they have paid NI for two years? Unless they are sick or disabled.
If Westminster stopped destabilising half the world, there would be less migration to Europe. Westminster illegal wars and funding terrorists have increased migration.
Propaganda works & is very effective. That’s why the BBC & the London based establishment use it to their neo-con advantage every day.
I’ve found that the Brits dont like the dodgy coloured ones with the funny clothes most.They dont seem to mind the Irish the Poles The Bulgarians and so on as long as they dont talk and clean their cars good so as not to be too noticeable.Us Scots they tolerate as long as we keep our place and dont have any opinions on anything, then we go back to being whingeing Scotch Gits and they talk behind our backs,but never to our faces just in case we have no sense of humour regarding their jokes about our Nationality, or the Irish, or the Welsh or the people from Sheffield or ….Well, just about everybody really
“The baby boomers get more money than our generation”
“Immigrants take our jobs”
“Immigrants bleed the welfare system”
“People on welfare get too much for nothing”
“The Scots get too much money via Barnett”
“The Catholics get houses easier in Glasgow”
“The protestants get the best jobs / promotion first”
“The Polish…The Romanians…Northern Ireland…the poor…etc,etc
It is all very simple if you look beyond the headline!
Divide and conquer
The phrase is attributed to Philip II, king of the Macedon (382-336 BC), describing his policy toward the Greek city-states. In politics, divide and rule (also known as divide and conquer) is referring to a strategy of gaining and maintaining power based on the fact that many smaller opponents are easier to manage than one larger one.
The strategy includes:
* breaking up power alliances into smaller chunks that are easier to subdue/manage
* preventing small power groups from linking up and becoming more powerful
Effective use of this technique allows those with limited power to control those who collectively would have had a lot more influence.
The key part of course is to have native people from the smaller areas given special treatment or recognition to act as your agent.
In Roman times it was the award of Roman Citizenship.
The 21st Century equivalent in the UK is Westminster and a seat (Commons or Lords)
All the media attention on immigrants is to divert attention from the bankers and financiers, their huge salaries and bonuses.
That is the plan.
Just look who are the major donors to UKIP.
I always agree enthusiatically when I get a Ukipper at our Forward shop complaining about immigration. More than 8%, nearly half a million, of our population I agree are immigrants – from England. That usually shuts them up.
I always add they are very welcome, of course.
I believe that part of the reason immigrants are more welcome here is that we in Scotland have seen so many of our people forced to seek a new life in other parts of the world over the centuries. The flight of so many of our people of course being another “benefit” of our mighty union.
“Net immigration to the UK in the past year (in – out = net) was 243,000 people. To put that into perspective, that is almost the entire population of the London Borough of Hackney. In one year. Think about that. How many houses, hospitals, doctors, dentists, wheelie bins, public transport, Police, ambulances, social workers, teachers, schools and so on it takes to serve the needs of Hackney?”
Sounds like a whole lot of jobs to me. Jobs are good, right?
“Lets look at cost and contribution. To be a ‘net contributor’ (to pay in more than you take out) to the state, you now need to be in the 40% tax bracket. That’s right, anyone who earns less than £40K a year is a net receiver.”
Explain that to me. Let’s say I earn £25,000 a year. I receive no state benefits of any kind. I have no children. I’m not in hospital. Where is the state spending more than £25,000 on me, and how is that the fault of immigrants?
I actually almost prefer honest out-and-out racists to the sort of people who say we have to stop immigration because of the economy. No. We need to fix the damn economy. Why are immigrants worse than white people having too many babies, say? Why do people who work full-time need benefits? Why are millions of people not paid a living wage while billionaires get wealthier and wealthier?
These problems are not insoluble. Minimum wages can be increased. (The CBI will bleat, but ignore them. They bleated about the minimum wage existing at all, yet Armageddon did not manifest.) Housing costs can be controlled, in all sorts of ways. Money can be redistributed to people who will spend it, rather than hoard it in offshore accounts. Tax evasion can be pursued with at least as much vigour as that expended on the far smaller problem of benefit fraud.
These things require political will. But so long as the poor can be persuaded to turn against each other and look for darker-skinned scapegoats instead, they’ll never be done. Fuck anyone who goes along with that.
This is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. Scotland loves immigrants? Scotland is lily bloody white. South of the border our population is close to a fifth minority and our capital is majority minority. Sod off in to a separatist fools paradise by all means, but don’t delude yourself that you’re immigrant friendly – facts are facts.
Dr Jim,
They don’t like anyone who isn’t them, let’s be honest; they’re racists but we’re not allowed to point that out otherwise we’ll be racist (!). Scots generally aren’t like that but I’m sure after a year or two of the MSM spouting constant anti-foreign vitriol that might change. I don’t really mind other than I hope I can get all the taxes I’ve paid over the years back, since I’m so unwelcome and apparently I add nothing to the UK. Is Auld A about? I have a French grandmother – is that enough to get to French citizenship? Apparently, I’m too foreign for the UK! They’re scared of me.
Stu-absolutely spot on. Fixing the economy is essential
@ Kirsty
Not so much as you think. People have been conditioned to think immigrants bad English good. Its all I’ve heard for 62 years. BBC is WM mouthpiece & all WM MP’s are wanting to line up well paying jobs for themselves when they leave office. They do that by breaking us all up into smaller & thus easier groups to control & set people against each other instead of all the people being against the politicians.
They couldn’t handle that & they know it. WM was running scared because they thought Scotland would win referendum. Too many educated & politicised people to control although they did in the end with the VOW.
Britain (all four countries) has always had immigrants but its only this government that has demonised them along with the sick, disabled, unemployed, Scots, Welsh etc.
Even the queen is from german family. Most of us are immigrants in one way or another.
Stuart,
I agree completely.
Increasing minimum wage and rent controls would slash ‘benefits’.
It is not the poor who actually receive these monies they go to landlords and employers.
Minimum wage should be the minimum needed to pay for a home, clothes, food etc.
What an utterly ridiculous poll format. I take it ‘not renewing the Trident weapons system’ didn’t qualify for the finals?
And who won the third-place play-off? Jeeeezzzz 🙂
For me the immigration argument is less to do with the immigrants and more to do with our politicians who are inept. They fail to address the difficulties, them try to distract us by shouting immigrant. If we sort out our politicians at westminster the rest will come.
Rev,
The figure you quote as the current UK deficit is old and actually works against your argument, it’s also for only 8 months of that year.
Recent figures for 2012-13 show the deficit was £114bn
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/04/23/uk-britain-borrowing-idUKBRE93M09020130423
Figures for 2013-14 show the deficit as £107bn
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/apr/23/uk-deficit-lowest-financial-crisis-osborne-budget
So since 2011, the deficit has stuck around the £100bn – £120bn mark. It was meant to be at £60bn now and Osbourne still plans to have the deficit at £0 in two years time.
The clear message is this, austerity has not worked. All those cuts to benefits and budgets have made not one bit of difference to the UK’s finances.
Thats why every time you turn on the news the blame for our economic mess is blamed on immigrants, the EU, the world, RBS, Jocks etc etc – anyone apart from Westminster.
We are stuffed.
Bull Crap: don’t delude yourself that you’re immigrant friendly
Well, we might make you the exception.
Hello.