QFT. Xenophobia is an undercurrent in our society at all times but is especially apparent at times of national crisis as a convenient scapegoat for our problems. With most media outlets adding day by day to the consensus that we live in a kleptocracy rather than a democracy it's hardly surprising that people are looking for others to turn to. The fact is that regardless of the zeitgeist the large majority of people (myself included) aren't well informed enough or qualified to know the correct course of action within government. I'm not saying by any stretch of the imagination that the actions of the current coalition are correct, I'm just making the point that there aren't simple answers to complex problems.
... Because no UK citizen would ever be a leech on society or commit petty theft, right? I'm one of those dirty foreigners you mention, so I know what you're talking about. I sometimes use socially funded services, I've claimed unemployment benefits, too. I have no pride, y'see, being a foreigner. Watch out, I might even come pillaging your shops in the night if you're not careful. If you strip out the swathes of xenophobia, your argument seems more in favour of benefits reform than anything to do with immigration. EDIT: And in the time taken for me to write up a more, shall we say, colourful reply to your post, then delete and reword it, it seems to have been summed up pretty well by longweight.
As I said it's my opinion and I am not trying to discriminate or dictate to anyone. But gathering from how the feedback is given as per usual it might be to my benefit to keep everything to myself. Just to add two of my hardest workers are Polish and would steal them to whichever company I move to.
I kinda wish the UK would set up a immigration policy similar to America or Australia, where I think (seem to remember but not 100% sure) you have to have a job lined up or a year's worth of salary in savings to support yourself whilst finding work. But lets not confuse or muddy the waters between immigration and asylum seekers as they are totally two separate issues, and yet the vast amount of foreigners on the benefit system are in fact asylum seekers. This is something the media and party politics fails to point out, as they seem to classify both under one title. UKIP would in fact ruin this economy if it's allowed to cut ties with Europe. With have a symbiotic relationship with Europe, if the bond is cut we die as our very important GDP drops. Lets put it this way, in order to have wonderful things like social aid and a free health system the private sector has to be bigger than the public sector. If the private sector shrinks then the public sector has to shrink, or you end up with imbalance and a rise in debt.
thing is - what Kovoet has said IS the mood and opinion of a lot of people in this country! why do you think a further to the right party , who the tory`s only last week said ` were a bunch of clowns` has gained 172 council seats? fear. fear of what little money we have being swept away. they see david baboon dancing to his paymasters tune , whilst paying sod all tax himself , where as everyone else is being bled dry. 50% of the tax paid in the uk is paid by just 10% of people. a joke isn't it. even the romanians I know are sick of the reputation their own countrymen and women have - but they understand it , the first ones over can and do work very very hard and either save a lot of money or send it home , but the ones following soon, they are not sure about. burnout - you sound like a tory. UK Plc wouldn't `die` from leaving Europe , we would go back to border controls and set our own tarrifs, which would be similar to now (eg no tarrifs)
I'd vote for a party which promised free ice cream for all every Sunday, but it doesn't mean that it's good for the country. (But I can't vote, as being a foreigner, I don't matter, despite paying more in tax than ~99% of the rest of the country) I'm not sure what you're getting at here, but 50% of the wealth is held by 10% of the country - so doesn't that generally make sense? That's capitalism, nothing to do with immigration.
You couldn't be any further from the mark. How do I sound "right wing"? Might point out that I've never voted Tory in my life, and I am arguing against a right wing party such as UKIP, so how, just how does that make me sound like a Tory? Social reform and benefits mean nothing without a strong GDP. The only reason our foreign aid goes out is because we've got deals on right to natural resource or trade. Our foreign aid isn't by any means a charitable donation, but a well played game of chess.
I think that right there is why UKIP are gaining ground, the big three (fairly or not) are seen increasingly as the same thing. A group of career minded Oxford old boys out to further themselves and their friends business interests. Whether that's true or even fair has become irrelevant, that's how they've come to be known and people who don't fall into the category of 'right wing nut job' are voting for UKIP because they're something, anything different.
Conservatives are playing the working against the disabled and the British against the foreigner, in the confusion are changing laws to benefit themselves to make them selves richer. Liberal democrats are helping and nodding when needed and are amazed they have some power for a change even if it is an illusion of power and not the actual thing. UKIP are gaining the votes from people who normally vote from the 2 above but can see what's going on and don't like it Labour might as well be on the dole for all the good they are under Ed (they picked the wrong brother) in short they are all useless not even worth arguing about
Ed was the correct pick when you've got a shadow cabinet, getting David out of there was the right thing to do. Hopefully they'll bring him back in the future, but my concern is people see him too much as another Tony.. Labour needs to literially shake off it's years of Tony and Gordon, much like the Tories needed to get Thatcher out of mind. But this is the PR aspect, not party policy. Thing is I am all for change, I would like to see the "elite" shaken up with the "good old boys club" being thrown from parliament with fresh blood put in their place, but I just don't see UKIP as the party to actually do it, and do it well. EDIT - Re Harlequin I am not totally pro euro, I am pro Stability and cutting treaties that help keep stability when our economy is on a knife edge could cause serious problems.
I don't think the tory`s are doing the `right thing` for the UK - for their friends , yes - but not for the UK.
I also voted Lib dem, because even though I didn't really like them their campaign policies aligned with my views. I'm so grateful to them for coming through on all of their promises that I will never vote for them again. There needs to be more severe consequences for parties who run on a platform to not to X then do X as soon as they get elected. In ten years most people won't remember that they lied to everyone who voted for them. They already have, and I know immigrants with higher education degrees from world leading universities who have not been allowed to stay in the UK despite paying fees and tax. It is ridiculous to turn away talented people who will strengthen our economy because "they're stealing our jobs." It's a lie perpetrated by fear mongering tabloids in order to sell their newspapers because fear sells. UKIP have and will remain strongly nationalist, and nationalism is extremely dangerous. Politics in the UK is rather uninspiring. Milliband is a wet flannel, Clegg is a spineless *****, Cameron is out of touch, Osbourne has some sawdust where his brain should be, May does everything the US tells her to do, and none of them have any integrity.
This times 100. I won't ever vote for anyone based on the fact they can promise you whatever they feel like and implement none of it. Hell they do the opposite sometimes. If they can't guarantee they can actually do it then they shouldn't be having it as a party policy. I really really can't understand how people vote and why...
Poor Clegg is along for the ride, since the the lib dems don't have a majority vote. It's a case of agree to disagree but for christ sake don't argue in public or the whole house to tumble down around us. He could have a backbone of steel, but when it comes to party decisions its the majority vote that makes him spineless as he has no power. 57 lib dem seats to vote against 303 Conservative seats. Every lib dem vote will have 5 against. I can't put a man down when facing those odds.
He could still disagree. It would not make any difference, but his voters would know where he stands. Right now the message is muddled at best and one of obsequious spinelessness at worst.
