Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
According to today's Telegraph, there are more than 370,000 migrants who were admitted to Britain to work, study or go on holiday and are now claiming out-of-work benefits, according to official figures compiled for the first time.
The migrants, who can claim unemployment, housing and incapacity benefit, are costing taxpayers billions of pounds a year.
In other countries, many would have had to return home after their visas expired or their employment ended.
The figures are likely to reopen the debate over the generosity of the welfare system amid growing concerns that the country has become a destination for "benefit tourists".
In an article for today's Daily Telegraph, Chris Grayling, the employment minister, and Damian Green, the immigration minister, say that the large number of migrants now claiming benefits has been increased by the "organisational chaos" of Britain's immigration system.
"It should never have been allowed to happen and Labour should be embarrassed by what it left behind," they add.
The analysis found there were 371,000 foreign-born claimants for out-of-work benefits, out of a total 5.5 million recipients. Of these, 258,000 were from outside the European Economic Area.
Scary stuff eh ? We're all worse off and all these people from overseas, many from outside the EU area, are coming here to be better off.
Roger
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
thats right blame gorden brown and the labour party again.if the tory party was affective opperstion then it might have started,but that said the tory party is now in power of sorts should be able to reduce the number to the full.by doing that there could be a large rush to the human rights court.
Guest 664- Registered: 23 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,039
So we have to endure the coalition pruning away various every aspects of our lives to pay for this.
You have lost your local Post Office, or seen your VAT go up, or had your pay frozen, or your benefit increase pared down, to fund freeloading foreigners.
Anyone not genuinely angry about this is either effecting an attitude of fake insouciance or has something wrong with them.
Of all those damned immigrants, only 2% are not entitled to claim, the others meet the criteria, which will include some contributions. And there are over 5 million people claiming support, so it is a small percentage. OK, the system is unfair, and my Old Man and I become incandescent because in theory, if we needed it, we would have to wait weeks/months before becoming eligible despite having worked for decades and never claiming! But they system being unfair isn't a good enough reason to whip up dislike of a small group of people doing exactly what they are entitled to do!!!
In addition, what is the alternative if some one from an other country who works here loses their job? A park bench? My Dad came here from Ireland many many years ago and worked his arse off never claimed a penny. But if he had needed it I would like to think this country would have supported him while he found a b better way to support himself.
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Bravo Bern............some people jump on the bandwagon on this issue without the facts or ignore them.
Guest 664- Registered: 23 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,039
They shouldn't be entitled to do it and they wouldn't be in a lot of other countries. My reasoning comes from a place of wanting the UK - our country - to be a better country, not dislike of any person or group. And I think the vast majority will agree, including fence setters and lurkers.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
rather predictably ther immigration minister brings up the last government.
what will he ac tually do to stem the tide?
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
Time was when cartoonists would depict Governments and and individuals who had the hands upon the reins of the Nation in outlandish satirical fashion.
Now such Institutions and the people who have mastery over them seek themselves to emulate characters from the cartoon world. "I didn't do it!" Is a famous quote from Bart Simpson.
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
The point is that is the doors were not left open then most of the 98% valid claimants (and the 2% invalid) from the non-EEA countries would not be here living on our deficit. How many indigenous people would have jobs as well and not be on the dole because of those non-EEA citizens who are in work? This is what 13 years of Labour rule left us with and Brian and other Labour apologists cannot get away from that fact.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
Another point is that other EU countries wouldn't allow it and those who lose their job, would just have to go back home - like Brits who work abroad then lose their jobs.
I agree with Andrew - and Barry.
Roger
Nice to see how many people are grasping the global society. I guess that supports the view that it is ok to be starving and without clean water if we are in a hot country with a corrupt government and the rest of us don't have to see it. Unless it is in telly of course.
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
Barry, I thought the bug-bear over Labour's open door policy concerned more the new/transitional joiners-in countries and that while certain member states imposed restrictions the UK did not.
That you and your party are now bemoaning the (incessant) influx of cheap labour and blaming this, even in part, for the size of the dole queue will give me all the chuckle time I shall need to get through the day.
and
That we do not 'enjoy' a Conservative Government at the moment is all that the Lib-Dems have going for them.
Rather like a cruise liner company and it's captain, there is, fortuitously, always somebody to blame.
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
That is another bug-bear Tom but not relevant to the specific issue discuss of non-EEA immigrants. Labour also dropped three separate laws when they came to power that had an immediate impact on non-EEA immigration. You can see that impact on immigration graphs, I did put one up on my blog some years ago, cant find it now.
If we did not have an influx of cheap foreign labour the law of supply and demand would increase the unskilled wages - we can see that the real reason for Labour's counter productive minimum wage was because of their open door policy that would otherwise have forced low-end wages down.
Bern - An open door policy to our small islands does not help conditions in the third world, we cannot take all the world's oppressed. At the end of the day they will have to sort out their own problems and, yes, if we get our economy right we can help in that, but we need to look after ourselves first in order to be able to do so.
None of your solutions there Barry are either simple enough or complex enough to work.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
What solutions Bern? - I did not offer a solution, as such, in this case, I merely criticised what happened since 1997.
"An open door policy to our small islands does not help conditions in the third world, we cannot take all the world's oppressed. At the end of the day they will have to sort out their own problems and, yes, if we get our economy right we can help in that, but we need to look after ourselves first in order to be able to do so."
Exactly. A bunch of what we can't do followed by a plea to look after ourselves.
Surely we just simply cannot afford to keep letting immigrants in. Maybe if there were fewer immigrants to do the less well paid jobs it might just force some of our lazy citizens back to work. Also let's not forget that many immigrants of all nationalities are sending quite substantial amounts of money back home, thus out of our economy.
I am not presuming to offer any solutions just an opinion.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Not a plea Bern or a solution, merely a fact. We cannot help others if we beggar ourselves and it certainly will not help tolerance and good relations in this country by letting in all and sundry.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
barryw,no apologies given not evan for being a labour supporter.but it does seem that your tory gramaphone needle has stuck in a blame labour for every thing groove,but saying that one could say about labour doing the same thing.and barry your constant whinging about labour and the lib/dems dosent cut the musterd for me.
Does it have to be a choice between beggaring ourselves and helping others so much worse off? it isn't a choice between "letting in all and sundry" and repelling everyone indiscriminately. We don't have to impoverish ourselves, or become a pushover, in order to support other human being who are in desperate straits. We do not have to make that straight choice, implied in Barrys posts, between us and them.