iamthecreaturefromuranus

Finally something we can agree on.

DaveLovesDee

But what's the agenda of the person saying that the Labour Party did this?

Even if they did, would it be the first time (or last) that any political party (or politician) did something solely for political gain.

Back in the 60's or 70's, Britain actively encouraged people to immigrate to do the jobs Brit's didn't want to do.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

You would need to ask him that, but he isn't saying it in such a way that he thought it wrong to socially engineer on a huge scale for political reasons, he's actually defending it as a policy !

It certainly won't be the last, but to set out to change the ethnic make-up of a nation for political ends is staggering.

I've never been convinced by the argument that its to do jobs that "Brit's don't want to do". More they don't want to do them at the shite wages on offer. An influx of largely unskilled migrants means cheap labour... no cheap labour and wages rise to attract staff. Mass migration is just a way of keep wages down.

MartinLuther

I'm actually equating Elfman's rebuttal of Vash's statement about Australia welcoming immigrants as an actual rebuttal of that idea. Anything else is a misunderstanding (or back peddling).

You seem to be Elfman's minder which I find a little perverse.

kaungchiau

Immigrants are always blamed for all the wrong reasons, a convenient scapegoat. A high proportion of people who blame immigrants are probably red top and tabloid readers.

As one poster above mention, they are less than 10% of the total population, or probably less than that. One of the reason why the banking crisis becomes so collossal lies with the buy-to-let landlords (who are greedy), BoE keeping interest artificially low and banks pushing loans and mortgages to customers, using the Olympics as a selling point. In 2005, I was offered a mortgage I flatly I declined. The bank manager said if I don't buy a property, I will loose out, prices will go through the roof in the years leading to 2012. We all now what happened next.

A lot of immigrants cannot even afford they own property, let alone building a buy-to-let empire. In reality, the UK depends on City bonuses, surging house prices and consumer spending for GDP growth. Oh dear!

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Doesn't that cover the bulk of the population, particularly in the UK?

kaungchiau

There are also well educated people who shunned the tabloid and read broadsheets. You don't see The Independent and The Guardian blaming immigrants who Uk woes.

moneypenny20

I'd say so. Chicken and egg situation. Are those people holding those beliefs because of the reports written in those papers or are they reading those papers because the reports are in line with their beliefs? Bit of both I'd imagine.

framac67

What is the difference between ethnic and social which was what Thatcher tried by bribing ordinary families into buying homes in the hope that they'd change their voting habits.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Bit condescending to assume that anybody who reads a tabloid isn't well educated....

As for The Independent and Guardian... The Independent is on its last legs and may well go under and the Guardian puts a left wing spin on everything.... but even The Guardian can be concerned about the issues at times.

"Let us be clear. This is not just a "tabloid issue". Eighty-four per cent of the public are worried about our population reaching 70 million including, incidentally, two-thirds of the ethnic minority community. Seventy-one per cent want to see net immigration reduced to 50,000 or less. None of the three main parties allowed the word "immigration" to appear on the agenda of their recent party conferences. If they continue to duck the issue, they will leave the field wide open to extremists and have only themselves to blame."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...on-uk-politics

kporte

I love when people blame the tabloid readers. Let's just say the majority of the population then shall we?

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Talk about comparing apples with oranges !!

kaungchiau

I am not really sure if the population will reach 70 million as projected. Bubbles are fun, but when it imploded, it sucked the life out of the entire country. I hope I am wrong but what lies ahead could be a "lost decade" like Japan.

Cape Blue

No, I didn't.

You suggested
This article does not support your argument for more Labour voters, but says that Labour wanted to make the UK more multi-cultural - and is said by one guy who seems to have an axe to grind.

Tell me where the logic of more voters for Labour comes from when the vast majority of immigrants coming into the UK cannot vote in UK general elections.

Damson

Feel as if I'm going off-topic here as I'm not going into the population/immigration subject. In answer to the question I would say that my brother has just been made redundant, I've just had coffee with a pal who said that her job is on the line (she like me has worked for the last 25+ years and has never been in this position), we've are having the quietest period in our own company since we set it up 11 years ago and we have laid off a member of our staff (he wasn't brilliant anyway, but we would probably have limped him along had we got enough work for us all). These are unprecedented times, and I can't see any light on the horizon; if anyone can cheer me up and give me hope, please feel free!

Despite us wanting to emigrate I still love this country for many reasons, but it is soooo gloomy at the moment with bad news (mainly economic) coming from all quarters. I do feel that many people in Oz who haven't been here for a while would just blame the media for hyping it up, but truly it really is pretty depressing here just now.