Hubcaps

It is a real problem in the North West (which is where I live), simply because the huge influx put a massive strain on local resources. I don't think anyone (at least no-one I know) cares that these people are "foreigners" just that as an area no-one was prepared for the impact the migration would have on services like schools, hospitals etc. As they're economic migrants most of immigrants have secured themselves full time jobs, most of those at minimum wage so are paying in but they and their dependents are entitled to claim all our benefits. Economically and resource wise we just weren't prepared and can't afford to sustain it.
Unfortunately in the UK at the moment any discussion of immigration will land you with a the "racist" or "bigoted" tag which I suspect is to stop people examining too closely just how badly we are coping with the open borders forced on to the UK because of the EU.

Lazzza

Well, in some areas of the UK we actually need these migrant workers where our population is in decline. The population of the UK is getting old and there are not enough of us young uns to pay for the state pension/care costs and so on for all the oldies!

I am no fan of Labour or Gordon but I actually sympathised with him.

And has this woman forgotten about free movement of workers? We MUST let these people in, or the UK would be in breach of European Law.

Isn't it terrible that there are pockets of 'Eastern Europeans' in the UK? Tut tut. What about all the Brits who have invaded Southern Spain? Is that any different?

What annoyed me about Gordon is that he apologised and then said she was not a bigot. What he should have said is that he was sorry she had to hear his opinion of her.

anotherlimey

I'm watching the debate with audience-reaction on screen and I must say Labour is in trouble - their line never moves up.

Octang Frye

I need to switch over from 5 Live to Radio 4.

Leslie

So, what exactly did the old racist bigot say that was soooooo bad?

zargof

You can read a transcript here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/p...10/8649448.stm

Leslie

Shocking. I say bring back the death penalty.

orangemirror

She did a pretty good job of summing up the issue with benefits here I thought:

GD: But there's too many people now who aren't vulnerable but they can claim and people who are vulnerable can't get claim, can't get it.

I love the whole thing to be honest. I just love watching politicians squirm.

Jerseygirl

Hehe.

She refused to go to the front door with him after his visit...good for her. He had to squirm alone in front of the cameras.

Lothianlad

Eastern Europe......Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece...blah blah blah....they are the same as us and the rest of Western Europe now...all united into one big family group and we can now all come and go as we please into each country....I really don't know how we can do without many of them now - here in Edinburgh many restaurants, cafes an other establishments and small businesses including transport facilities and even taxi services would collapse if they were all sent back to whence they came, and I tell you now that on average they work harder and more assiduously than many of their British counterparts, at least those of the British willing to get off their backsides and away from the Jeremy Kyle Show to do a wee bit of grafting in the first place.

That woman Gillian Duffy, the inveterate Labour party voter ever since Adam was a bairn) only popped out of that front door of hers (the one now more familiar to TV viewers than that of No 10 Downing Street) to buy a loaf of bread and a pint of milk as she said she had none of either in her house...can you credit that? ...poor housekeeping or what?....but no matter...she wanted to pop down to her nearest convenience store but ended up being slagged off as a bigot by a one eyed Labour Party Prime Minister with a hideous Cheshire cat grin who she had bumped into by chance as he strutted around her neighbourhood in the highly marginal constituency of Rochdale, in the north of England somewhere, hoping to garner enough votes to overturn a Liberal Democrat majority of just 442 votes there....now likely to be a lot bigger come the early morning of the 7 May.

She did, in her own way, whinge about the large number of Eastern European immigrants in the Rochdale area - if you listened carefully to her exact words her sentiment sounded quite negative and critical - she even asked Brown "where do they come from?" By that she didn't really refer to a geographical location - what she really meant was "why are they here as we do not really want them here". I believe she represents quite a large number of people here in this crowded island nation of ours who believe they should not be here "taking our jobs, taking our social welfare benefits and filling up the doctors' waitingrooms and maternity wards etc".

Of course Brown was silly to say what he did, silly for putting the blame on others - the hapless Sue for instance, his aide presumably - poor lass - and even more stupid for not thinking about that bloody microphone attached to his lapel. He came across as quite hypocritical and two faced - nice to the woman face to face, then slagging her off big time in the "not to private" confines of his ministerial car...but all in all, I think he had a point, to give him some credit here, when he used the word "bigot" in reference to Mrs Duffy who will now go down in history as the voter who quite possibly had a greater effect on the final outcome of the 2010 British General Election than any other political issue affecting the UK....all because she ran out of bread and a bottle of milk.

Still, it was a bloody good laugh and lightened up the day and made a change from the everlasting, never ending election claptrap emanating from our radio and TV sets day in, day out here in Brown's Broken Britannia.

Steerpike

I feel very, very sorry for the residents of Southern Spain who have to put up with Fish-n-Chips seeking, Watneys-Red-Barrel drinking, handkerchief-on-head wearing Brits.

I'm all for migration / immigration / whatever, but I also believe in integration and absorption.

Regarding "Isn't it terrible that there are pockets of 'Eastern Europeans' in the UK? Tut tut. " - it really is a bit of a bummer if it happens in your town, and you can't afford to move elsewhere. My home town, in the North West and not unlike the town in the clip, has been overrun by economic migrants and these people have no intention of integrating into the local community. I have friends who live in the 'south' (Somerset) and they are oblivious to the way the industrial towns in the North West have been changed beyond recognition by this immigration.

Steerpike

John Stewart did a great section on this incident tonight (Daily Show)! Very Funny. I think his shows are available online after airing (show is still on right now).

Cape Blue

Can I ask what UK benefits they are allowed to claim whilst living back in their home country?

Cape Blue

But integration/absorption never occurs over the short timescales of the recent EU migration - in the US there are still strong enclaves of Irish-Americans or Italian-Americans (cuban, hispanic and so-on), just as there are Algerians in France and Indian/Pakistanis in the UK - it often takes generations for the integration to occur.

srefre

Yes, you can ask, do I have to answer?

Certainly you can claim jobseekers, not sure if any others are possible as I am not an expert. Obviously this works both ways though and a Brit can do the same in other countries.
This would be pretty pointless however, as the UKs benefits are certainly higher than most Eastern European EU countries benefits. Not sure how they stack up against all the other EU countries.