Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
#1
Just to give a counter narrative to the rubbish we are told that 'we have always been a country of immigration' and that we have 'always welcomed refugees' here's a few pieces from a report on Government Policy on the management of refugee crises written for the Home Office mid WW2 by Arthur Eagleston Assistant Secretary (Grade 5) "to give some account of the various measures for the control of aliens in this country which were adopted by the Home Office (or in some cases forced on it) in the course of the events which led up to the outbreak of war and of the vicissitudes of the war itself."
"The congested state of the labour market in the United Kingdom makes it impracticable
to admit persons seeking employment. The unemployment problem is probably more active
here than in most European countries, and so long as great numbers of our own people are
unable to find work there is no capacity to absorb refugees."
"In these circumstances no Government could allow the entry of immigrants in such numbers
as to run any risks of taking away employment from British subjects, lowering wage standards,
or increasing the burden on state or municipal funds; and the immigrants’ reasons for wishing
to enter the country are from this point of view quite irrelevant. Even in the case of immigrants
who possess the means of starting a business, a class which used to be regarded as unobjectionable
and frequently useful entrants, the element of competition has come in."
"It follows from these facts that Great Britain, in its modern conditions, cannot be a country of
settlement – that is it cannot provide a permanent home for any large mass of refugees. The most
it can do is to receive a small number, and they must be carefully selected from among people who,
by reason of their possession of means or the nature of their business or occupation, can be absorbed
without harm to the interests of the native population."
Population 1946 = 48,939,000
"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#2
Some immigration has proved to be beneficial to the country such as the great range of eating places we have and many English people like to dabble in cooking exotic dishes because the ingredients are readily available. The health service would grind to a halt without them mainly because we don't invest in people and find it cheaper to import the skills. My G.P surgery has 4 Indian Doctors and one English but of Somali descent - all excellent I have to say and my Dentist is Bangla Deshi and his colleagues all qualified abroad. Had various hospital procedures over the last year or so and can only think of receptionists being English.
The other side of the coin is mass inward movement of cheap labour which is always placed in poorer communities putting pressure on services and unsettling the locals. This has happened with the "Windrush" scheme then later with the open doors to all from the new Europe.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
#3
I thought the " windrush "project originated from the west indies howard,brought in to do work that us wouldn't do.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#4
Very nearly right Brian they did bring people in from the Carribean to do low wage jobs because there was a surplus of jobs over people so naturally the locals chose the best paid ones leaving public transport out in the cold.
Brian Dixon likes this
Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,397
#5
In all seriousness the first woman bus driver only entered service with London Transport in 1974!
In spite of any racial prejudices, presumably the passengers in London in the sixties, were less worried about being driven by a person of colour than a female?
"The world is still a weird place, despite my efforts to make clear and perfect sense of it".
Dr. Hunter S Thompson
Paul M- Registered: 1 Feb 2016
- Posts: 393
#6
Not strictly true Captain. My Grandmother drove a London bus during the War years. She wasn't best pleased when she was sacked in 1945, said it was the best years of her life!
Button
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 22 Jul 2016
- Posts: 3,109
#7
Post 5 - presumably so; bit like American voters really. I mean, women in politics, it'll never catch on. Nevah, nevah, nevah!
(Not my real name.)
