Topic: Rule Britannia

[Silverleaf]

I firmly believe that immigration is a good thing which has a net benefit for the country (they certainly put in more than they get back). Unfortunately many people get caught up in "there's too many foreigners" rhetoric.

Unless your family has lived in East Africa forever, you're a descendant of immigrants. Without immigration, these islands would never have been populated in the first place.

[galina]

There is a very clear differentiation that people make when talking about the bl..dy immigrants - the second I point out that I am one of them, they say, but we don't mean YOU!  Well who do they mean?  Where is the collective hatred coming from and why? 

This country where I spent all my adult life, work, marriage, children and so on does not feel comfortable, fair or welcoming any more.  There is no assurance to be had regarding my (and so many other's) status, future pension, continued NHS access and many more.  Guess ex-pats must feel the same.   I actually cried when the Scottish First Minister welcomed immigrants to Scotland!

Who has shifted the blame and hatred, that should go towards the government, towards immigrants?  We all suffer from insufficient housing, not enough school places, potholes, shortages, public service cuts and so on, but it is the fault of the government not to make adequate provision.  Were it not for the tax taken from immigrants, there would be even less money for public needs.  Just think about the big birthrate bubble, the 'baby boomers' who are now at pension age.  There is a necessity for a corresponding increase in tax taken from those working now.  Either there are more working people (immigrants help a lot here) or the tax taken from British workers would need to increase quite a bit. 

There is always enough money for wars, vanity projects, large industry tax cuts etc but not for ordinary people and their boring, ordinary needs. We could insist on fairer shares of the nation's wealth - what we have are some earning daily fortunes and others left behind in poverty and squalor.  Other comparable countries do have far less differential in earnings between the lowest and highest earners and more social cohesion. 

But that just doesn't seem to matter in Britain, because there is a scapegoat - immigrants.  The government is off the hook!   

Rule Britannia - good luck!   

[Paulines7]

Galina, I am pleased you mentioned the "baby boomers" in your post.  I can remember the Government, about 20 years ago, saying that when the "baby boomers" retired, there would be one worker supporting three pensioners.  Not a situation that I looked forward to as it would have meant a severe reduction in pension when I retired. 

Fortunately, since then, the population has risen as immigrants have come into our country to do jobs that couldn't be filled by those already here, especially too as the "baby boomers" were retiring from work.  I cannot understand why so many people, especially the older population, are against immigration.   They are the ones who would have had the most to lose had we not taken in people from Europe and the rest of the world.

Take comfort that only just over a third of the population voted to leave the EU with the majority voting to remain or not to vote. Those who voted Brexit were not all racists, many being taken in by the proposal of putting the money that was being paid to the EU, into the NHS. 

A lot of people were turned against the EU by the way the press reported everything.  People read these newspapers and take in information as if it was the gospel.  In fact many thought working conditions would improve if we left the EU and they had no idea about the part the "Social Chapter" plays in the workforce.  Hatred of immigrants as well as those people on benefits has also been fuelled by the press.  The government has a lot to answer too in the way they have picked on certain members of our society. 

Please be consoled, Galina, that although the figures look bad on the surface, there are not that many people that are racist and those that are are normally ignorant and uneducated.  I hope you will stay in our country as it is a better place for your being here.  xx.   

[galina]

Thank you Pauline, very kind words from you.  Guess we are all in the same boat and nobody quite knows what is going to happen in the near and slightly more distant future.  Bless you  x

[peanuts]

Galina, Our daughter-in-law, like you, has adopted the UK as her home and, like you, no longer feels welcome.  They happened to be in Berlin when the result was announced and they simply didn't want to go back home. Now with us for a holiday, they couldn't wait to come away again.  It is almost impossible, I think, for the average UK  citizen to stand in the shoes of an "immigrant" and imagine how they might feel.

Three years ago, we set in train our application for French nationality,  just in case, but never really imagining that the UK might really leave the EU.  We are so very very sad, and ashamed, and so angry for  the changed future of the young.   Our many French friends keep asking us how  the UK could have done this.  And they are very afraid for what this might do for the future of the EU

[galina]

Thank you Peanuts, yes there are many others in the same boat and similarly expats by extension.  I have not heard about any moves being made by any EU countries against expats in the wake of this.  My daughter mentioned that her Danish work colleague is applying for proper UK residency.  Seems there are things that can be done to achieve something like a 'permanent right to stay' status, but I don't know what the criteria are yet.  She is going to send me the urls  and I will pm to you for your DIL if this is of interest. 

Thank you to everybody for your very kind messages and PMs. 

Galina, Our daughter-in-law, like you, has adopted the UK as her home and, like you, no longer feels welcome.  They happened to be in Berlin when the result was announced and they simply didn't want to go back home. Now with us for a holiday, they couldn't wait to come away again.  It is almost impossible, I think, for the average UK  citizen to stand in the shoes of an "immigrant" and imagine how they might feel.

Three years ago, we set in train our application for French nationality,  just in case, but never really imagining that the UK might really leave the EU.  We are so very very sad, and ashamed, and so angry for  the changed future of the young.   Our many French friends keep asking us how  the UK could have done this.  And they are very afraid for what this might do for the future of the EU

[Duke Ellington]

We all know that the decision to leave the EU was fuelled by the fear of immigrants taking over Great Britain.Like galina my family were immigrants to this country when the British government were asking them to join the UK work force in the fifties. My family never claimed any benefits, my parents worked full time all their lives. They paid for their house. I now work in a hospital for the NHS and its apparent when you look around the hospital that it would collaspe without the many immigrants that work there. All my life I have considered myself British born of Jamaican parents. My parents considered themselves British when they lived in Jamaica and came to work in the UK. MY parents faced the same disgusting predjudice that many Polish etc immigrants are facing again today. it breaks my heart! I work along side many people who make political statements in *jest* thinking that it shouldnt affect me. It's true that THE SHED is the place for off topics and as Tee Gee has every right to use this as his soap box I have been as a result of his post done the same.