O/T:- Who needs Parliament?

[Elite_Pie]

How about asking them if they have ever paid into the system.

I would hope my first question would be "Hello, how are you?".

[JoePass]

I would hope my first question would be "Hello, how are you?".

Dont dodge my answer, I am sick and fed up of this country b ailing out scrounges.

[Elite_Pie]

Dont dodge my answer, I am sick and fed up of this country b ailing out scrounges.

How do you dodge an answer? I assume you meant question, so for the avoidance of doubt then no, as a greeting I wouldn't ask them if they had paid into the system. I would however broadly agree with you on opposing the country bailing out scroungers. If someone has no intention to work even if they are able to, then I don't think they should be subsidised by the state. That goes for both immigrants and Brits.

[pingu_pie]

Have you ever considered that nurses today are under extreme pressure because of the influx of millions of immigrants, makes you wonder why there is a housing shortage as well. Thanks Blair.

Yeah, I considered that. But I guessed that, mathematically, that likely wasn't going to be an adequate solution. Guessing isn't really enough, so I looked up net migration figures. The ONS suggests this was 283,000 people net in 2018 which was roughly the same as the previous couple of years. While this sounds like a big number, I looked up the UK population, somewhere in the 66 million range. So that means the increase is roughly 0.42%. Given that a lot of immigration is people "coming over here to steal our jobs", that suggests to me that a lot of immigrants are fairly young, ergo likely to be relatively healthy. Bit of a sweeping generalisation, but would concur with my personal experience. Either way, those figures would not explain the extreme pressure I was talking about. I would suggest that my friend working on a full ward for a 12 hour shift with sometimes only one or two other nurses is a more likely explanation, wouldn't you? I won't ask you to guess where a significant number of her colleagues are from.

However, that still might not be enough to convince me, so, I asked my girlfriend who moved here from Portugal 8 years ago. She reminded me that when we met she was working in a private medical practice, where the majority of patients were Portuguese or Spanish speakers. All of whom were happy to pay to see a GP, because they could then be able to talk about their health in their first language. Not an uncommon phenomenon. So, again - what major burden is being added to the NHS?

I would also suggest to you that part of us having a housing shortage could be down to a former leader selling off huge quantities of social housing in order to grasp more votes. Worked well for her, but now we have councils paying stupid amounts to house families in need in B&Bs, huge waiting lists for people with disabilities to be assigned suitable properties, young people unable to get on the housing ladder and who are essentially prey for the folk who snapped up properties and can charge extortionate rents. I'd mention how much my monthly rent here in London is, if I could see through my tears when I think about it. And every time you have to move rental property down here, would you like to guess how often the places you see advertised are former council properties? Let me give you a clue - it ain't 0%. Maybe you need to look to a different ex-PM to stick the blame on for that one.

[bridpie78]

I think i am fairly well qualified to speak about migrant workers from EU countries because i live in a small town in north yorkshire that has been pretty much colonised by workers from poland, romania and hungary, it is an area known for food production and has an abundance of what we consider low skill, low pay jobs so it is natural that a large number of these workers settled here, i live and work with many of these people.

My first inclination is much like Elite says to get to know them and possibly learn something new from people i have never met before from countries where i have spent little or no time, i have met some lovely people and i have met some absolute a*holes, but i guess that is pretty standard in 21st century Britain migrants or not.

What many don't see is that these people are taking advantage of an opportunity they have been presented with its hard to argue that if i could go abroad and earn 4 times the going rate for doing a job that is way below my skill level then i may be tempted to go over and take advantage of that opportunity,i have respect for anyone who will get off their arse and go out of their comfort zone to grasp an opportunity to set themselves and thier families up for later in life.

I think it is very much the fault of the system not of most of the people that took advantage of the system.I am not inclined to hate a whole group of people and in some ways i admire them for taking their chance.

This broken system though has an big affect on the town and the area and services, as i said these migrant workers have now almost entirely colonised the local area, many many of them do not wish to be British or embrace the local culture,they are opportunists here making money and will leave when they have taken everything they can, some will learn to speak english but the majority do not and will not,employers love them,if some leave they bus another lot in from the jobcentre,there is a never ending conveyor belt of willing minimum wage workers.
there is an element particularly of young romanian men who have abandoned the low paid work they originally came for and now rely solely on our very generous benefits system, criminal enterprises and the do-gooder PC culture we have adopted in the last 20 odd years is assisting them to live off the sweat of the rest of the workforce.
These people have formed groups and gangs,many locals have abandoned the town,there are areas where young women are advised not go out alone at night(remember i live in a sleepy little town surrounded by quaint old english villages)

They are organised, will often rent a house with maybe 10-12 people to 4 rooms,working on opposite shifts they will split rent and car share, again a bit of respect for the organisation and trust involved with these groups of people, sharing this way gives them a much higher disposable income than a minimum wage worker would usually have,but other than seeing them driving every Audi and Mercedes on the yorkshire used car market that are often untaxed with no MOTs(i've checked a few) they arent flashy and do not spend lots of money here, in conversations i have had with people they generally choose to save their money for the time when they return to their homelands as relatively rich people where they can buy property or study without the worry of debt or they send money directly home each month to support families.

Some are very happy here have formed relationships and are grateful for all of the things they have received in their time here, many have no gratitude and are becoming more and more like the generation of benefit scrounging NHS abusing wasters we already had before they arrived.

To cut my rambling short,i don't blame them for coming over but i can't help thinking that things were not quite so bad before they did and for every one that is a waste of space criminal or scrounger it takes 20 of the good ones to subsidise that lifestyle, minimum wage workers do not pay a huge amount of tax earning 17500 a year they will pay tax on approx 5 grand which is about 1000 per annum and they do make sure they get their moneys worth in using local NHS services alone.

[tarquinbeech]

You have to look at the bigger picture to get an idea of numbers in the good / bad camps. If you go on the white supremacist websites that the likes of Tricky frequent you'll find that they're all bad. Likewise, if you go on far left websites I'm sure you'll find reports saying that they're all good. The truth is somewhere in between, so you have to find info from sources that you find credible.

Cannot disagree with that......the truth is somewhere in the middle, which is why I try to chew the fat with all and sundry.

ps the Guardian is as much left of centre as Breitbart is right of centre...is there any genuine middle-orientated news source?

[tarquinbeech]

Did you give a fcuk about the Cubans who wouldn't get paid.....yes or no ?

ps. How many times now have you used that time of the month line on me?

Actually it isn't just the Cuban government that he "legally robbed" because of a hurricane that devastated millions......he recently bragged about getting a handsome payout for his daughter because their Mexican flight was delayed for a whole 4 hours 30 seconds to Puerto Vallarta, a year later.....our Elite, just like so many Socialists, loves a freebie (apparently the daughter didn't spot the EU regulation, but Elite spotted it).....and he's proud of it and comes bragging on here!......meanwhile, as I've posted before, myself and the ultra-Right (chuckles to himself) took parcels of clothes out there and distributed them on the docks (just off the Malecon) because it was a failed communist philosophy and the people needed help

[tarquinbeech]

I think i am fairly well qualified to speak about migrant workers from EU countries because i live in a small town in north yorkshire that has been pretty much colonised by workers from poland, romania and hungary, it is an area known for food production and has an abundance of what we consider low skill, low pay jobs so it is natural that a large number of these workers settled here, i live and work with many of these people.

My first inclination is much like Elite says to get to know them and possibly learn something new from people i have never met before from countries where i have spent little or no time, i have met some lovely people and i have met some absolute a*holes, but i guess that is pretty standard in 21st century Britain migrants or not.

What many don't see is that these people are taking advantage of an opportunity they have been presented with its hard to argue that if i could go abroad and earn 4 times the going rate for doing a job that is way below my skill level then i may be tempted to go over and take advantage of that opportunity,i have respect for anyone who will get off their arse and go out of their comfort zone to grasp an opportunity to set themselves and thier families up for later in life.

I think it is very much the fault of the system not of most of the people that took advantage of the system.I am not inclined to hate a whole group of people and in some ways i admire them for taking their chance.

This broken system though has an big affect on the town and the area and services, as i said these migrant workers have now almost entirely colonised the local area, many many of them do not wish to be British or embrace the local culture,they are opportunists here making money and will leave when they have taken everything they can, some will learn to speak english but the majority do not and will not,employers love them,if some leave they bus another lot in from the jobcentre,there is a never ending conveyor belt of willing minimum wage workers.
there is an element particularly of young romanian men who have abandoned the low paid work they originally came for and now rely solely on our very generous benefits system, criminal enterprises and the do-gooder PC culture we have adopted in the last 20 odd years is assisting them to live off the sweat of the rest of the workforce.
These people have formed groups and gangs,many locals have abandoned the town,there are areas where young women are advised not go out alone at night(remember i live in a sleepy little town surrounded by quaint old english villages)

They are organised, will often rent a house with maybe 10-12 people to 4 rooms,working on opposite shifts they will split rent and car share, again a bit of respect for the organisation and trust involved with these groups of people, sharing this way gives them a much higher disposable income than a minimum wage worker would usually have,but other than seeing them driving every Audi and Mercedes on the yorkshire used car market that are often untaxed with no MOTs(i've checked a few) they arent flashy and do not spend lots of money here, in conversations i have had with people they generally choose to save their money for the time when they return to their homelands as relatively rich people where they can buy property or study without the worry of debt or they send money directly home each month to support families.

Some are very happy here have formed relationships and are grateful for all of the things they have received in their time here, many have no gratitude and are becoming more and more like the generation of benefit scrounging NHS abusing wasters we already had before they arrived.

To cut my rambling short,i don't blame them for coming over but i can't help thinking that things were not quite so bad before they did and for every one that is a waste of space criminal or scrounger it takes 20 of the good ones to subsidise that lifestyle, minimum wage workers do not pay a huge amount of tax earning 17500 a year they will pay tax on approx 5 grand which is about 1000 per annum and they do make sure they get their moneys worth in using local NHS services alone.

Decent post mate, from someone on the ground who sees it every day. It reminds of a post, a few years back now, when a regular on here (possibly Feeb?) was talking about immigrants pushing and shoving past him at a bus stop in Nottingham and swearing at him because he complained.
England now isn't the England that I grew up in, and love.....it is a mish-mash world of violence, political mayhem and multi-cultural expediency where parties on the left whore themselves out for your vote....then, shock horror, the majority say "**** you" and go for the unthinkable, Brexit, but 3 years later are still in limbo.....it's a joke, it isn't democracy at all.
I planned to end my days on a canal-boat in Castle Marina, taking day trips up to The Lane....but looking from afar, I cannot see me making the jump back anytime soon....it's a lot safer watching the shenanigans from a far-off country paying me decent interest on my savings....coward or smart goat-herder?.....you can be the judge.

[bridpie78]

Decent post mate, from someone on the ground who sees it every day. It reminds of a post, a few years back now, when a regular on here (possibly Feeb?) was talking about immigrants pushing and shoving past him at a bus stop in Nottingham and swearing at him because he complained.
England now isn't the England that I grew up in, and love.....it is a mish-mash world of violence, political mayhem and multi-cultural expediency where parties on the left whore themselves out for your vote....then, shock horror, the majority say "**** you" and go for the unthinkable, Brexit, but 3 years later are still in limbo.....it's a joke, it isn't democracy at all.
I planned to end my days on a canal-boat in Castle Marina, taking day trips up to The Lane....but looking from afar, I cannot see me making the jump back anytime soon....it's a lot safer watching the shenanigans from a far-off country paying me decent interest on my savings....coward or smart goat-herder?.....you can be the judge.

I'm heading to live and work in Japan, i love their work hard play hard culture, i will go there with a financial safety net that means i can survive any disaster and i will do my best to embrace the culture,starting with the language, that is the minimum i expect of people coming here, it really doesnt seem to be asking too much does it? our once great nation is far too soft on oxygen thieves who think the world owes them a living these days.
I feel like i'm deserting a sinking ship,i doubt i shall return

[tarquinbeech]

I'm heading to live and work in Japan, i love their work hard play hard culture, i will go there with a financial safety net that means i can survive any disaster and i will do my best to embrace the culture,starting with the language, that is the minimum i expect of people coming here, it really doesnt seem to be asking too much does it? our once great nation is far too soft on oxygen thieves who think the world owes them a living these days.
I feel like i'm deserting a sinking ship,i doubt i shall return

There seems to be an ever-growing number of ex-pats on here.....I wonder why?

Currently looking at Ecuador, temperate climate in the highlands (25 degree days, 18 nights, no need for heating or air-con), virtually zero crime compared to Mexico, £50k government bond at 8.5% interest buys you a visa (yes please, can I buy a million quids-worth?), tourism is just kicking off and an economy-currency pegged to the USD....direct flights to Madrid and Amsterdam for 600 squid return....I keep looking for the down-side on the ex-pat forums but I cannot find one