
Originally Posted by
ragingpup
Ok, so your claiming that 1 million asylum seekers have entered the UK in the last 2 years but really you are referring to legal migrants who have arrived to take up vacancies in the UK? So just to be clear, France by some way outnumbers the UK in terms of numbers of asylum seekers it processes, but it is correct to raise, whether you meant to or not, that France takes in far less legal migrants than the UK, or at least has done in recent years, and I can see why this concerns so many people.
But why has this happened?
1) International students make up roughly a third of these. Partly due to the UK gov agreeing that international students could live and work in the UK for 2 years following graduation as well as aggressive recruitment from UK universities who had their funding cut successively by the government through the austerity years. In short, without international students, many if not most universities would close. Some would think that a good thing, I think not
2) Post Brexit, the government lowered it's visa requirements to allow a greater number of health and social care workers to work in Britain. Our poor pay and conditions along with the often complex nature of care work meant we were left with thousands of vacancies to fill, hence the government granting these lower skills visa requirements. Similar in food processing and hospitality. All essential jobs that needed filling.
So huge drivers behind all of this is long term political decisions and it is interesting to note the difference between France and the UK. France on the whole offers better pay and protections to such lower skilled professions and therefore you could say that they successfully recruit into these sectors themselves. I can't say if they culturally value these jobs more, but hard to imagine them being valued less than in the UK. So you would be right: we are creating skills gaps due to what seems to be lowering of pay, conditions and status to some essential services and relying on immigrant labour to plug those gaps. I don't have a problem with that concern.
But what are the alternatives going forward? As I've already said we can invest masiively, and I mean massively, to train and skill up our domestic workforce. I think many of us if not most that this would be a desirable solution rather than importing the workforce. As long as there is a substantial workforce to train up and service all of of these and other jobs that need doing, but with the declining birthrate, it's not clear how long that can be sustained. I'm at the place of, 'Ok, I can buy into this idea - but the cost is going to be huge - how are we going to pay for it?'. I keep asking that on here but no one seems able to answer it?
Further, if part of the solution is to raise wages of both public and private sector jobs, have you, Farage or anyone done an impact assessment on that with those industries? What would the impact on an employer be if suddenly asked to add 20% to their workforce salaries? Would employers be able to afford that? What would you do if they refuse? If the NHS and public sector are going to have to add 20% onto their worksforce's salaries, how is that going to be paid for as well as all of the retraining and skilling up programmes w're all goingt o have to pay for.
I'd llove to hear answers about how all of these ambitions will be paid for. I would have expected that Farage, having led with a commitment to force some of my staff out of the country if he comes to power might have done some assessment on what the costs and impact on all of us this is going to have, but unless I missed it he hasn't said anything on this yet? Why do you think that might be?
I hear your observations on public services being stretched - but I just can't agree that this is all just due to immigration. It is due to chronic underfunding in the last 20 years. Most of the 'Boriswave' migrants arrive already trained and ready to do their jobs, are at an age where they aren't a drain on doctors and hospitals when set against the amount they are bringing in in taxes, spending etc. In short, we could indulge the fantasy and banish all of the post 2020 migrants and in my opinion there would be minimal difference to the vast machine of the NHS and public services - we would still be waiting for appointments and suffering poor public services - because we don't fund them enough. Not blaming anyone but us for this - we only vote for politicians that convince us that we can have great public services without us having to increase our tax contributions. We've made our own bed there, so don't see why we should blame migrants for it. All just my opinion of course.
And some personal stuff at the end:
You say "I think that you are blinkered by your good fortune. Your education, your job": Just for info, I failed badly at school and only got into HE through an adult access course. I was raised in a very working class pit village, both parents were alcoholics, I was homeless for 2 years as young adult, on the dole until i did the access course. My post school years living in piss smelling DHSS accomodation with drugs parties above me all night didn't kill me, but I'm not sure it was the shine of fortune upon me that you make out here.
"your outlook on Britain as a colonising nation that should somehow be punished". When have I ever said that? Why suddenly throwing that at me??
"Your willingness to give money for wars and to let the next generation pay for it." Again, WTF? When would I ever say that? I joined the protest against the Iraq war, pressured my MPs against repeating further idiotic policies in Afghanistan and doing likewise with current Labour MP over Labours role in providing arms to Israel to use in Gaza. Where TF did you get the idea that I'm a warlord??
"There are many like me that think that you are wrong" - can't disagree with this, especially on Millersmad. But we're all entitled to an opinion. We all have free speech arter all...
" and that your liberal ideals are inhibiting your need to see it from other peoples position." Please see stuff on my background. I come from a Brexit town and have friends who express the same opinions on here, including my closest pal. I understand why they are saying it, in some cases am quite frightened by why they are saying it, but I understand why. But the thing that frightens me more, and the thing that we have never really encountered in post war tech world, is the willingness to share and swallow so much information that is clearly not true, and - astonishingly - the willingness that many people have to continue to believe in a presented fact, even when it is demonstrated as untrue to them. This is a terrifying development.
If anyone is still awake after this, well done.