Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Abandoning Housing targets – Sunak’s election losing mistake? – politicalbetting.com

123578

Comments

  • Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    Question. If it as you say in Europe, why do they take so many more refugees than we do?

    Our whining about refugees would be relevant if we didn't take a much smaller number and percentage than France or Germany or Greece or...
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 12,502
    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Yes. In this racist hellhole of the UK 29% of babies are born to mothers who were not born in the UK.

    BTW remarkably Scotland has not especially shared in the population rise from 1993-2023. Greater effort needed there.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,667
    Junior doctors have been accused of putting “politics above patient safety” as figures showed excess deaths almost tripled after their strikes to 11% above the 5yr average - Daily Telegraph

    What they haven’t reported was that in Wales, where no strike action took place, mortality rate was 14% above the 5 year average.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342
    Some more facts for our dimmer tartan brethren


    Net migration Spain in 2022: 258,000


    Net migration France in 2022: 161,000


    Net migration Italy in 2021 (latest figures available): 171,000


    Net migration UK in 2022: 504,000


    And remember, all these countries are bigger - they literally have more space - than the UK
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,559

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    We probably take in more illegal asylum seekers than most countries.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    Question. If it as you say in Europe, why do they take so many more refugees than we do?

    Our whining about refugees would be relevant if we didn't take a much smaller number and percentage than France or Germany or Greece or...
    We take vastly more legal migrants than almost anyone. As I have just shown you. Educate yourself
  • algarkirkalgarkirk Posts: 12,502

    Foxy said:

    glw said:

    I'll go for that option.

    If the plan is to build enough houses to significantly reduce house prices in the Home Counties, then the policy is to transfer a massive amount of wealth from existing homeowners to housing developers. It's not surprising it arouses opposition.

    It's completely bonkers that a non-productive asset is seen as a great investment by so many people, and we even celebrate the prices going up! I'd vote for almost anyone who could bring house prices crashing down and get people off of the "my house is my pension" mindset. It's an insane way to run an economy.
    The problem is that the building cost of a property is roughly what it sells for, plus a few percent.

    Crash house prices, and it won't be profitable to build. Not unless construction costs collapse alongside.
    Why should new builds be affordable?

    We should focus instead on making them nice, because they will be around a lot longer than the people who live in them.

    When there is enough overall supply, the affordable end of the market will take care of itself.
    Linguistic distortion is common here. Few housebuilders have interest in building unaffordable houses.

  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 5,005
    darkage said:

    I deal with housing in a professional context.
    The thing with this 'tory members going mad about housing targets' is that it is not a trivial concern of 0.8% of the population, there is mass disillusionment with the system of planning the Conservatives introduced in 2012.
    In very simple terms, the government directed that Council's have to plan for, approve and deliver X houses or else developers can build anywhere as long as there is no significant harm.
    The actual system of making a plan is a byzantine, adversarial process that is picked apart at every stage by warring land speculators/private interests and their KCs. It takes about 5 years, costs millions and many never happen at all.
    While you are making a plan, the government keep changing the rules, the 'mutant algorhythm' thing that you sometimes hear about, ie doubling the amount of housing you have to provide, with a flick of a pen, etc.
    Then of course the government also defund the local authorities that have to make these plans through 'austerity', just to make it even more impossible.
    It was really just a cynical ploy on the part of government to get housing delivered without taking any responsibility for the difficult decisions: a dysfunctional bureaucracy to make seemingly absurd decisions in the hope that people would blame Council's or planning Inspectors for it.
    The current thing that you hear about 'saving the housing targets' is best interpreted as a campaign by the development industry and their professional advisors to keep the current system going because they have built an entire industry around how to profit from the existing structural uncertainty.
    The actual solution is to resolve the structural uncertainty by government taking and owning difficult political decisions about where new housing and associated development goes.

    Fully agree with all of this.

    After all, with the current system being changed, before we lament it, we need to ask: "So how well has that been working so far, then?"

    Every year we've been falling further and further behind. House prices getting worse. Yet people everywhere getting more and more up in arms about development thrown up near them without associated infrastructure, with minimal influence on where it goes.

    It seems optimised to merely push people towards resentment and opposition whilst not actually doing much at all to alleviate the problem for which it's intended.

    Around here, our number of houses has increased by 20% in a decade. We're top three for LAs in England (out of 370) with house stock improvement rates over that time.
    And haven't had the associated infrastructure. Trying to tell residents, "No, you're being NIMBYs" when they complain that their village has seen a 30% increase in population but a decrease in schools provision, or that, "sorry, you're just going to have to get used to clogged up roads," or "GP surgeries? Good luck with that!" is always a tough ask.

    Plus we have developers legitimately taking the piss, ignoring Local Plans and Neighbourhood Plans, and trying to force things through on appeal. Or, when we grant permission to big sites, saying they'll build out over 25 years, because if they go faster, house prices might stop rising as fast.

    As a country, we haven’t been building enough, and shifting power away from councils and towards the biggest developers didn’t provide a solution. They don’t want their profits to fall, so ideally they’d like to continually build not quite enough houses. Maximum profits on supply and demand (150,000 houses at a 50k profit each gives better than 300,000 houses at 20k profit each, especially when bearing in mind potential external price shocks (the latter has far less scope for unexpected profit drops than the former). It's totally rational behaviour.

    So what we’ve ended up with is Councils unable to control where houses go to that much of an extent, minimal enforcement powers over failure to provide what has been promised, infrastructure always lagging housing if coming about at all, and residents seeing lots of development in places they thought wouldn’t see it after having been told that if they nominated sufficient places, they could control what went where.

    And house prices continuing to worsen.

    At this point, complaining about NIMBYism is like complaining that things get hot when you’ve detonated a nuke.

    (1/2)
  • Andy_CookeAndy_Cooke Posts: 5,005

    darkage said:

    I deal with housing in a professional context.
    The thing with this 'tory members going mad about housing targets' is that it is not a trivial concern of 0.8% of the population, there is mass disillusionment with the system of planning the Conservatives introduced in 2012.
    In very simple terms, the government directed that Council's have to plan for, approve and deliver X houses or else developers can build anywhere as long as there is no significant harm.
    The actual system of making a plan is a byzantine, adversarial process that is picked apart at every stage by warring land speculators/private interests and their KCs. It takes about 5 years, costs millions and many never happen at all.
    While you are making a plan, the government keep changing the rules, the 'mutant algorhythm' thing that you sometimes hear about, ie doubling the amount of housing you have to provide, with a flick of a pen, etc.
    Then of course the government also defund the local authorities that have to make these plans through 'austerity', just to make it even more impossible.
    It was really just a cynical ploy on the part of government to get housing delivered without taking any responsibility for the difficult decisions: a dysfunctional bureaucracy to make seemingly absurd decisions in the hope that people would blame Council's or planning Inspectors for it.
    The current thing that you hear about 'saving the housing targets' is best interpreted as a campaign by the development industry and their professional advisors to keep the current system going because they have built an entire industry around how to profit from the existing structural uncertainty.
    The actual solution is to resolve the structural uncertainty by government taking and owning difficult political decisions about where new housing and associated development goes.

    Fully agree with all of this.

    After all, with the current system being changed, before we lament it, we need to ask: "So how well has that been working so far, then?"

    Every year we've been falling further and further behind. House prices getting worse. Yet people everywhere getting more and more up in arms about development thrown up near them without associated infrastructure, with minimal influence on where it goes.

    It seems optimised to merely push people towards resentment and opposition whilst not actually doing much at all to alleviate the problem for which it's intended.

    Around here, our number of houses has increased by 20% in a decade. We're top three for LAs in England (out of 370) with house stock improvement rates over that time.
    And haven't had the associated infrastructure. Trying to tell residents, "No, you're being NIMBYs" when they complain that their village has seen a 30% increase in population but a decrease in schools provision, or that, "sorry, you're just going to have to get used to clogged up roads," or "GP surgeries? Good luck with that!" is always a tough ask.

    Plus we have developers legitimately taking the piss, ignoring Local Plans and Neighbourhood Plans, and trying to force things through on appeal. Or, when we grant permission to big sites, saying they'll build out over 25 years, because if they go faster, house prices might stop rising as fast.

    As a country, we haven’t been building enough, and shifting power away from councils and towards the biggest developers didn’t provide a solution. They don’t want their profits to fall, so ideally they’d like to continually build not quite enough houses. Maximum profits on supply and demand (150,000 houses at a 50k profit each gives better than 300,000 houses at 20k profit each, especially when bearing in mind potential external price shocks (the latter has far less scope for unexpected profit drops than the former). It's totally rational behaviour.

    So what we’ve ended up with is Councils unable to control where houses go to that much of an extent, minimal enforcement powers over failure to provide what has been promised, infrastructure always lagging housing if coming about at all, and residents seeing lots of development in places they thought wouldn’t see it after having been told that if they nominated sufficient places, they could control what went where.

    And house prices continuing to worsen.

    At this point, complaining about NIMBYism is like complaining that things get hot when you’ve detonated a nuke.

    (1/2)
    I am a big supporter of free markets. But they need to be understood, and every market is subject to distortive forces. Externalities and perverse incentives. This is one, in my opinion.

    My solution is fairly simple, if expensive (but not doing it is even more expensive, again, in my opinion).
    The same way it worked before: Build metric shit-tonnes of council housing.

    - Empower and fund LAs to build over 100,000 dwellings per year directly, leaning towards the most expensive areas.

    - Simplify planning law but not in the ways suggested - give power and incentive for councils to nominate and create LDO areas where most of the planning hurdles (archeology, water/SUDS, environmental, infrastructure reqts) are pre-done, and open these out to small developers and self-build.

    - When expected housing targets are made, provide infrastructure up front.

    - Charge a Land Value Tax on the value of land plus permissions, starting from when a meaningful start is made.

    NIMBYs will dwindle to the genuine NIMBYs, who are, in my local experience, a lot fewer.

    Yes, the above will cost. But not doing it will, I believe, cost a lot more, and not just in money.
    (2/2)
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342
    algarkirk said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Yes. In this racist hellhole of the UK 29% of babies are born to mothers who were not born in the UK.

    BTW remarkably Scotland has not especially shared in the population rise from 1993-2023. Greater effort needed there.
    The stupid is heavy on PB today. This is what happens when lefties rely on Gary Lineker's Twitter stream for their "facts"
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,978
    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    Question. If it as you say in Europe, why do they take so many more refugees than we do?

    Our whining about refugees would be relevant if we didn't take a much smaller number and percentage than France or Germany or Greece or...
    We take vastly more legal migrants than almost anyone. As I have just shown you. Educate yourself
    Perhaps you can help educate us by showing the source of your numbers?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    Question. If it as you say in Europe, why do they take so many more refugees than we do?

    Our whining about refugees would be relevant if we didn't take a much smaller number and percentage than France or Germany or Greece or...
    We take vastly more legal migrants than almost anyone. As I have just shown you. Educate yourself
    Perhaps you can help educate us by showing the source of your numbers?
    Are you seriously disputing population stats? It's this thing called Google. Try it
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 41,978
    Leon said:


    We take vastly more legal migrants than almost anyone.

    Andy_JS said:


    We probably take in more illegal asylum seekers than most countries.

    Poor, old self-pitying UK, lose-lose.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,465
    Cookie said:

    Cookie said:

    Sean_F said:

    Foxy said:

    Sean_F said:

    Mr. Brooke, Germany ending its nuclear power plants after the Japanese tsunami/earthquake was obviously nuts at the time.

    Mr. F, blimey, I was only vaguely aware of Sporus, didn't realise he suffered at the hands of Otho and Vitellius as well.

    For all its achievements, the Roman Empire was a place of appalling cruelty, and definitely not the kind of liberal paradise that Gibbon envisaged. Gibbon, however, was completely uninterested in women, the lower classes, slaves, and simply saw himself reflected in the elite.
    I've always thought life in the Roman Empire would have been pretty shit unless you were part of the elite or landed gentry. But, that and the legions are all we ever hear about.
    That was why when the Legions left England the people abandoned the towns and industry, and went back to subsistence farming. Once the state violence stopped, people could live as they wanted.
    That said, 5th/6th century Britain sounds like the world of Mad Max, with bands of thugs roaming a depopulated hellhole.
    I've read about that time and it sounds fucking horrible: mass starvation, no law, murder, desolation, terrible disease, mass migration, conflict, awful storms and weather affecting mass failures of crops. It was utterly utterly shit. The population was decimated and endured horror after horror.

    The worst time in history- by far - to live in Britain was after the fall of the Roman Empire during those two centuries.

    An abject lesson for those who want to pull down all institutions and governance all around us.
    Possibly.
    The thing about the Dark Ages is that the sources we have are very sketchy.
    It was certainly an awful time for the history-writing people.
    Evidence of how life was for the masses of peasants before and after the fall of the Roman Empire is less clear cut.

    We have something of an idealised version of the Roman Empire. But for most people, life was shit. Many sources suggest that for the masses, life was certainly no worse after the fall of Rome and in many cases better. (Apart from the plague. That sucked.)

    The point was made earlier about the organised extortion of Rome vs the disorganised extortion of Irish, Saxon and Viking raiders. But it's worth remembering that at least towards the end of the empire a lot of the disorganised extortion was going on AS WELL AS the organised extortion.

    I've read about it. Got a book - forget the name will look - and it's the end of days.

    Modern archaeology, carbon dating and DNA analysis has all helped to shed light on it.
    So have I. Several. Max Adams - the First Kingdom - being the most recent. Interested in your book - tag me when you find it.

    I'd have thought Dark Ages history quite a niche interest. But I find it interesting that we have so many on here with an interest in that period.
    Have you seen that new thing on Amazon?

    Of course, a bit of a hustle because the free 7 day trial hooks you in and then they want £5.99 a month. Think it's called The Great Courses Signature Collection.

    But, there are 20-30 episodes of lectures on historical topics (and others) in depth. English history. Black depth etc. Like a full on exhaustive TV Wikipedia of it all.

    One I'm watching at the moment is England: from the fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest.

    Very interesting.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,577
    sarissa said:

    Leon said:

    Another prominent MSP who does not mention the SNP in her Twitter bio, despite being Cabinet Sec for blah de blah

    https://twitter.com/ShonaRobison

    It could be - probably is - sheer coincidence and/or nothing at all. But how delightful to speculate that the SNP is so fucked that they are going to disband and change their name


    And another

    https://twitter.com/AConstance23

    And another

    https://twitter.com/MathesonMichael

    There are SNP proposals for a logo change to a more female- friendly image being discussed - maybe preparing for the big publicity(!) of a re-brand launch?
    A vulva. Surrounded by thistles. That should do it.
  • DougSealDougSeal Posts: 12,541
    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    Question. If it as you say in Europe, why do they take so many more refugees than we do?

    Our whining about refugees would be relevant if we didn't take a much smaller number and percentage than France or Germany or Greece or...
    We take vastly more legal migrants than almost anyone. As I have just shown you. Educate yourself
    Refugees (qualified with “genuine” if you prefer) are legal migrants.
  • Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 60,465

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    Question. If it as you say in Europe, why do they take so many more refugees than we do?

    Our whining about refugees would be relevant if we didn't take a much smaller number and percentage than France or Germany or Greece or...
    No-one gives a fuck about the relative numbers compared to France, Germany or Greece mate.

    They care about the fact we've totally lost control of the Channel and can't determine who lands here.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,559
    dixiedean said:

    Sorry to hear about the rain.
    Lovely day up here. I'm about to walk to the beach.
    At last some actual levelling up!

    Warwickshire v Kent at Edgbaston has been rained off.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099
    Andy_JS said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    We probably take in more illegal asylum seekers than most countries.
    We take fewer genuine asylum seekers than many countries. If there are people applying for asylum who do not warrant it, we can deport them under current laws, yet are failing to do so because of underinvestment in the system.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,794
    Mr. Cookie, the UK aspect is covered partly by Marc Morris' previously mentioned book on the Anglo-Saxons. Have you read Chris Wickham's Inheritance of Rome? It's a very good book.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342
    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,992
    Take Back Control

    Ministers will be able to turn disused military bases and other crown properties into mass migrant camps without any say from local residents, communities and councils under changes to planning permission laws.

    The overhaul of planning rules will make it significantly easier and quicker for the Home Office to repurpose government land to accommodate asylum seekers.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/home-office-ministers-migrant-camps-planning-permission-laws-hfzghcv27
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,794
    edited April 2023
    General Roman economy video, with a comment on Britannia/living standards between 13-14 minutes in:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NboXuLjnjxE

    Edited extra bit: and 18 minutes in for tech breakthroughs, or not.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,559
    James Marriott in The Times.

    "A couple of years ago the National Bureau of Economic Research, a think tank in the US, identified a cohort of educated, able-bodied young men who were becoming economically inactive because they were choosing to play video games instead of working. Since 2004, the authors estimate, video games have reduced the amount of time the average American man spends at work by 15 to 30 hours a week. The virtual world is eating away at the edges of the real one.

    A friend recently mentioned to me that she knows a small-time wellness influencer who spends most of her waking life posting pictures of herself looking beautiful and slender on the internet. In reality she is dumpy and unexceptional, working in an office. Her online appearance is almost entirely the creation of Photoshop and filters." (£)

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/it-doesnt-take-much-to-lure-us-to-a-virtual-world-f966x3dmw
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,559
    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    The population of the UK was almost stuck at around 56-57 million for a long time, between about 1975 and 1990. Almost no growth. That's probably why house prices were affordable during that period of time.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    Scott_xP said:

    Take Back Control

    Ministers will be able to turn disused military bases and other crown properties into mass migrant camps without any say from local residents, communities and councils under changes to planning permission laws.

    The overhaul of planning rules will make it significantly easier and quicker for the Home Office to repurpose government land to accommodate asylum seekers.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/home-office-ministers-migrant-camps-planning-permission-laws-hfzghcv27

    Sensible approach to enact the policy, even if our policy is not good.

  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342
    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,559
    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    IIRC Labour after 1997 loosened the restrictions on family members joining someone already in the UK.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,848
    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    13 years of Tory misrule!
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,992
    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,373

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Is this true?

    “Something is afoot! Prominent SNP members excepting Yousaf have removed all references to the SNP from their twitter bio’s. Now why would that be???”

    https://twitter.com/macnahgalla/status/1646768014426091522?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    No mention of SNP on Sturgeon’s bio. But maybe there never was?


    A 30 second check of eg Flynn, Robertson and Cherry’s twitter accounts suggest no, it is not true. How prominent is prominent?
    Hmm

    Kate Forbes' Twitter bio does not mention the SNP, either

    https://twitter.com/_KateForbes
    Not alone:




    When do they start airbrushing Nippy out of photographs, Soviet style?
  • CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 60,216
    There goes the camper van tour:

    The Foreign Secretary has launched a new crackdown on the SNP promoting independence abroad.

    James Cleverly has ordered the UK’s Ambassadors to tell foreign governments to go through them to arrange SNP meetings, to feed back to ministers on proposals, and to sit in on talks.


    https://twitter.com/Mike_Blackley/status/1646771256300126208?s=20
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,667
    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,848

    sarissa said:

    Leon said:

    Another prominent MSP who does not mention the SNP in her Twitter bio, despite being Cabinet Sec for blah de blah

    https://twitter.com/ShonaRobison

    It could be - probably is - sheer coincidence and/or nothing at all. But how delightful to speculate that the SNP is so fucked that they are going to disband and change their name


    And another

    https://twitter.com/AConstance23

    And another

    https://twitter.com/MathesonMichael

    There are SNP proposals for a logo change to a more female- friendly image being discussed - maybe preparing for the big publicity(!) of a re-brand launch?
    A vulva. Surrounded by thistles. That should do it.
    Vulvahampton wondering? :lol:
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,373
    edited April 2023

    DougSeal said:

    Stocky said:

    Reading this mornings comments, is the SNP about to embark on a rebrand? Drop the Nationalist to become just the Scottish Party?

    Maybe the Special Nice Party. Or the Supremely Nonthreatening Party.
    Continuity SNP
    Real SNP
    Really Real SNP
    Keeping’ It Real SNP
    A complete name change. Scotland First, Scottish Defence League. Nationalist Front?
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,372
    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 51,662
    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It would be interesting to contrast the figures for the UK as a whole over than period with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    The Eurostat numbers have Scotland at 5.117 million in 1993 and 5.454 million in 2019.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,408
    edited April 2023

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    Interesting.
    Have yet to hear a convincing explanation exactly why though?
    That is. SKS not inspiring, Sunak not obviously deranged, etc.
    That has been the case for some time.
    But why now exactly?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342
    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
    And, given that we have one of the most liberal migration regimes in Europe, which has resulted in the UK population growing much faster than almost every other country in Europe, surely the voters are allowed, at some point, to say: Hey, we've taken enough people now, please Stop

    That's not racist, that's a natural reaction. Our rivers are full of shit because our infrastructure can't cope, our young people can't buy houses because the pressure on housing is so intense, the idea that none of this is related to the fastest growing population in our recorded history is for the birds. Of course it is a factor. Not the ONLY factor, but a major factor
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 28,373

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    Crossover in six weeks time!

    Doesn't it work like that?
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099
    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 6,055

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Is this true?

    “Something is afoot! Prominent SNP members excepting Yousaf have removed all references to the SNP from their twitter bio’s. Now why would that be???”

    https://twitter.com/macnahgalla/status/1646768014426091522?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    No mention of SNP on Sturgeon’s bio. But maybe there never was?


    A 30 second check of eg Flynn, Robertson and Cherry’s twitter accounts suggest no, it is not true. How prominent is prominent?
    Hmm

    Kate Forbes' Twitter bio does not mention the SNP, either

    https://twitter.com/_KateForbes
    Not alone:




    When do they start airbrushing Nippy out of photographs, Soviet style?
    Didn’t we have this rubbish yonks ago about the Tory Party? Something about the account either being a Parliamentary or Government funded (depending on if you’re a minister) thing so it shouldn’t link to your party?
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    edited April 2023
    Andy_JS said:

    James Marriott in The Times.

    "A couple of years ago the National Bureau of Economic Research, a think tank in the US, identified a cohort of educated, able-bodied young men who were becoming economically inactive because they were choosing to play video games instead of working. Since 2004, the authors estimate, video games have reduced the amount of time the average American man spends at work by 15 to 30 hours a week. The virtual world is eating away at the edges of the real one.

    A friend recently mentioned to me that she knows a small-time wellness influencer who spends most of her waking life posting pictures of herself looking beautiful and slender on the internet. In reality she is dumpy and unexceptional, working in an office. Her online appearance is almost entirely the creation of Photoshop and filters." (£)

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/it-doesnt-take-much-to-lure-us-to-a-virtual-world-f966x3dmw

    Sounds like a load of nonsense. For video games put reading novels or playing tennis or any other hobby - surely the hours of work are set by the employer so if they are not required to work those 15-30 hours how is the time 'lost' to the scary thing of the moment?

    Time I've 'lost' to video games this week? About 3.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,372
    kle4 said:

    Foxy said:

    Sean_F said:

    Mr. Brooke, Germany ending its nuclear power plants after the Japanese tsunami/earthquake was obviously nuts at the time.

    Mr. F, blimey, I was only vaguely aware of Sporus, didn't realise he suffered at the hands of Otho and Vitellius as well.

    For all its achievements, the Roman Empire was a place of appalling cruelty, and definitely not the kind of liberal paradise that Gibbon envisaged. Gibbon, however, was completely uninterested in women, the lower classes, slaves, and simply saw himself reflected in the elite.
    I've always thought life in the Roman Empire would have been pretty shit unless you were part of the elite or landed gentry. But, that and the legions are all we ever hear about.
    That was why when the Legions left England the people abandoned the towns and industry, and went back to subsistence farming. Once the state violence stopped, people could live as they wanted.
    They didn't "go back to subsistence farming" so much as the the ones who weren't subsistence farming under the Romans (quite a few), found that the support base for non-subsistence farming contracted massively. And had to do substance farming or starve to death.

    No one *choses* subsistence farming. Even when the alternatives are quite horrible.
    It does seem like a rather rosy view of what 'subsistence' means in practice. There's a bit of a trend of romanticising the idea.
    The advantage of the trading networks in the Western Empire is that a region such as Bordeaux could focus (then as now) upon the production of wine, in return for importing other products. A region like Cornwall could focus on tin mining, producing enough cash to buy, for example, wine from Bordeaux. Once those networks broke down, life would have become worse in both Bordeaux and Cornwall as a result.

    Subsistence farming replaced specialisation.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,848

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It would be interesting to contrast the figures for the UK as a whole over than period with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    The Eurostat numbers have Scotland at 5.117 million in 1993 and 5.454 million in 2019.
    Immigration into Scotland has certainly been slower than immigration into England, indeed it is arguable that (unlike crowded southern England) Scotland could do with MORE people

    I have sympathy for Scot Nats who want independence for this reason: so they can have the power to boost their population. However they would still have the problem of attracting people to live in Wick, and if they rejoined the EU and got FoM they might find that everyone simply flees to Portugal. Or Sweden
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099
    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ figure 2 then has UK immigration since 1991. The net migration graph steadily rises from 1991 to 2003, so over a period of both Conservative and Labour governments. It jumps up in 2004 and then bounces around a bit, but is on a slight decline through to 2010, and then a slight incline from 2010.

    You can toggle to just look at immigration: this rises until about 2005, is then fairly flat until 2013, then starts rising again.

    Figure 3 shows the EU/non-EU split. Non-EU immigration dominates until 2013.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    biggles said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Is this true?

    “Something is afoot! Prominent SNP members excepting Yousaf have removed all references to the SNP from their twitter bio’s. Now why would that be???”

    https://twitter.com/macnahgalla/status/1646768014426091522?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    No mention of SNP on Sturgeon’s bio. But maybe there never was?


    A 30 second check of eg Flynn, Robertson and Cherry’s twitter accounts suggest no, it is not true. How prominent is prominent?
    Hmm

    Kate Forbes' Twitter bio does not mention the SNP, either

    https://twitter.com/_KateForbes
    Not alone:




    When do they start airbrushing Nippy out of photographs, Soviet style?
    Didn’t we have this rubbish yonks ago about the Tory Party? Something about the account either being a Parliamentary or Government funded (depending on if you’re a minister) thing so it shouldn’t link to your party?
    There was a thing very recently with people gloating about, I think, Boris not listing as a Tory.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 6,055
    edited April 2023

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    40/30/10 Lab/Con/Lib in the Local elections as national equivalent share seems quite feasible. Compared to the 2019 elections, that might not “feel” like the Tory drubbing that has been priced in. Add in Coronation/Bank Holiday “feel good” vibes and the media’s longed for “come back kid” might be on for Rishi.

    Chuck in the first signs of supermarket price cuts and Tory high command may go into the summer in good spirits.
  • bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 22,667

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    Crossover in six weeks time!

    Doesn't it work like that?
    Doesnt work like that but the trend is not your friend if you are SKS

    I suspect the 41/30 is an outlier making the movement 1% bigger than would otherwise be the case

    I also suspect the Nurse/Drs strikes will be a drag on the Tories in the next set of polling

    Cant see Lab getting more than 40% in a GE myself though
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    What's the right amount?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,303
    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103
    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
    And, given that we have one of the most liberal migration regimes in Europe, which has resulted in the UK population growing much faster than almost every other country in Europe, surely the voters are allowed, at some point, to say: Hey, we've taken enough people now, please Stop

    That's not racist, that's a natural reaction. Our rivers are full of shit because our infrastructure can't cope, our young people can't buy houses because the pressure on housing is so intense, the idea that none of this is related to the fastest growing population in our recorded history is for the birds. Of course it is a factor. Not the ONLY factor, but a major factor
    It's not racist to want a stricter border policy. Some people might get racist in doing so, but the principle is not. Thats been a common error from some supportive of liberal migration policies, of which I am one. Countries can reasonably say no to people coming in.

    Genuine refugees get caught in the middle of such a debate, the poor buggers.
  • Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 8,384

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    Looks like your vitriolic campaign against Starmer is having some impact - well done.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 6,055

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    Crossover in six weeks time!

    Doesn't it work like that?
    Doesnt work like that but the trend is not your friend if you are SKS

    I suspect the 41/30 is an outlier making the movement 1% bigger than would otherwise be the case

    I also suspect the Nurse/Drs strikes will be a drag on the Tories in the next set of polling

    Cant see Lab getting more than 40% in a GE myself though
    You also have to dial back the reform score, and add to the Tories, when thinking of a campaign. Even if the starting gun fired tomorrow, NOM feels like a good bet.

    Might even be a chance of 2015 style food profits on a Tory majority no one sees coming and stays at 10-1 well into the night.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,196
    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
    That's exactly right. Fortress Britain is a genuine aspiration for some people. Aspirations don't have to be uplifting and liberal. They just have to be challenging to achieve.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 51,848

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    Crossover in six weeks time!

    Doesn't it work like that?
    Doesnt work like that but the trend is not your friend if you are SKS

    I suspect the 41/30 is an outlier making the movement 1% bigger than would otherwise be the case

    I also suspect the Nurse/Drs strikes will be a drag on the Tories in the next set of polling

    Cant see Lab getting more than 40% in a GE myself though
    That's because you're ToryJohnOwls! Yours truly did vote Labour at the Locals in Redbridge last year, in case you're wondering.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 96,103

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    I had a colleague who came over at 1 month, and all their younger siblings were born here. They called the elder the immigrant.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    There are many different sorts of immigration and of immigrants. Lots of great and wonderful people were born in another country but are not usually thought of as immigrants because they are so British, like Cliff Richard, Joanna Lumley, Prince Philip, Freddie Mercury and... er... Boris Johnson. But when producing figures, foreign-born is easy to count, so I thought I would post some facts.
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,883

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,408
    biggles said:

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    40/30/10 Lab/Con/Lib in the Local elections as national equivalent share seems quite feasible. Compared to the 2019 elections, that might not “feel” like the Tory drubbing that has been priced in. Add in Coronation/Bank Holiday “feel good” vibes and the media’s longed for “come back kid” might be on for Rishi.

    Chuck in the first signs of supermarket price cuts and Tory high command may go into the summer in good spirits.
    Is anyone predicting imminent price cuts?
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,408

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    There are many different sorts of immigration and of immigrants. Lots of great and wonderful people were born in another country but are not usually thought of as immigrants because they are so British, like Cliff Richard, Joanna Lumley, Prince Philip, Freddie Mercury and... er... Boris Johnson. But when producing figures, foreign-born is easy to count, so I thought I would post some facts.
    Emma Watson is the one I'm grateful for. I welcome her with open arms.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
    Yes, because a sane debate about migration, with people adducing facts and evidence, is exactly like a racist pub with symbolically lynched golliwogs

    This is why we can't have nice things. Lefties are so afraid of factual debate on migration - because some of the facts are awkward for them - they would rather shut down ANY debate as "racist" - and on we go. It's really rather sad
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099
    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
    And, given that we have one of the most liberal migration regimes in Europe, which has resulted in the UK population growing much faster than almost every other country in Europe, surely the voters are allowed, at some point, to say: Hey, we've taken enough people now, please Stop

    That's not racist, that's a natural reaction. Our rivers are full of shit because our infrastructure can't cope, our young people can't buy houses because the pressure on housing is so intense, the idea that none of this is related to the fastest growing population in our recorded history is for the birds. Of course it is a factor. Not the ONLY factor, but a major factor
    It's not racist to want a stricter border policy. Some people might get racist in doing so, but the principle is not. Thats been a common error from some supportive of liberal migration policies, of which I am one. Countries can reasonably say no to people coming in.

    Genuine refugees get caught in the middle of such a debate, the poor buggers.
    And genuine refugees constitute a pretty small proportion of immigration to the UK.

    From https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/

    "Asylum seekers made up around 6% of immigrants to the UK in 2019."

    Although...

    "In the year ending June 2022, the latest period for which we have estimates, asylum seekers and refugees made up approximately 18% of immigrants to the UK. This includes arrivals under the Ukraine schemes, the Afghan relocation and resettlement schemes, arrivals in small boats, other resettled persons and arrivals on family reunion visas (around 190,000 individuals in total). If including the British National (Overseas) scheme in the category of humanitarian routes, up to 25% of immigration in that year would fall into that category."

    Also note:

    "In 2021, there were around 9 asylum applications for every 10,000 people living in the UK. Across the EU27 there were 14 asylum applications for every 10,000 people. The UK was therefore below the average among EU countries for asylum applications per head of population, ranking 16th among EU27 countries plus the UK on this measure."
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 42,852

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
    You shoulld have seen the confabulation over the effect of Parliamentary expenses policy on party identification in Twitter accounts. Like something from an Oliver Sacks book.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 6,055
    dixiedean said:

    biggles said:

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    40/30/10 Lab/Con/Lib in the Local elections as national equivalent share seems quite feasible. Compared to the 2019 elections, that might not “feel” like the Tory drubbing that has been priced in. Add in Coronation/Bank Holiday “feel good” vibes and the media’s longed for “come back kid” might be on for Rishi.

    Chuck in the first signs of supermarket price cuts and Tory high command may go into the summer in good spirits.
    Is anyone predicting imminent price cuts?
    Look at the price of milk (literally). There’s the stirrings of supermarket movement. I presume some food prices (like milk) are linked to commodities like fuel that have actually dropped and so there’s space for real cuts. But the last bit is a guess - the price moves are observed fact.
  • bigglesbiggles Posts: 6,055
    dixiedean said:

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    There are many different sorts of immigration and of immigrants. Lots of great and wonderful people were born in another country but are not usually thought of as immigrants because they are so British, like Cliff Richard, Joanna Lumley, Prince Philip, Freddie Mercury and... er... Boris Johnson. But when producing figures, foreign-born is easy to count, so I thought I would post some facts.
    Emma Watson is the one I'm grateful for. I welcome her with open arms.
    Lamb. Pieterson. Morgan. Butler. Stokes. Archer. It’s an amazing recruitment tool.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,303
    Carnyx said:

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
    You shoulld have seen the confabulation over the effect of Parliamentary expenses policy on party identification in Twitter accounts. Like something from an Oliver Sacks book.
    The debate over the state of the Scottish Ferries was pure Pol Pot level genocide enabling….
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 3,883
    Leon said:

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
    Yes, because a sane debate about migration, with people adducing facts and evidence, is exactly like a racist pub with symbolically lynched golliwogs

    This is why we can't have nice things. Lefties are so afraid of factual debate on migration - because some of the facts are awkward for them - they would rather shut down ANY debate as "racist" - and on we go. It's really rather sad
    Sane???? Sane????

    I think you may have missed off 2 little letters in front of that word.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 71,087

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    And so it begins.

    A long-awaited spate of dealmaking broke out last night with a flurry of private equity-backed takeover approaches for mid-cap London companies worth more than £6 billion.

    Dechra Pharmaceuticals said after the market had closed that it was in talks over a possible £4.6 billion cash bid from EQT, a Swedish private equity firm, in a deal backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

    The approach for Dechra came after Network International had confirmed earlier that it had received a “preliminary and conditional” proposal from CVC Capital Partners and Francisco Partners, the private equity firms. Shares in the emerging markets-focused payments company closed up 23.1 per cent, or 56½p, at 300p, valuing the company at £1.6 billion, still below its float price of four years ago.

    A wave of bids for London-listed companies from overseas buyers had been expected after the pound weakened last year against the dollar. A poll by Numis, the investment bank, found that 88 per cent of FTSE directors regarded British companies as vulnerable to takeovers, with private equity groups tipped to target medium-sized firms with strong cashflow generation trading at depressed valuations.


    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dechra-pharmaceuticals-in-talks-over-possible-4-6bn-bid-from-swedens-eqt-h9rs6lpmv

    Brexit has made Britain deeply undervalued.
    BP trades at half the p/e valuation of Exxon.

    Sadly this will increase the trade deficit even further. Britain is becoming a branch economy, owned overseas.
    It merely an acceleration of overseas owners buying cash generative UK based businesses, a process that's been going on for a long time.

    That's one of the downsides of Thatcherite free market dogma in a world which certainly does not reciprocate.
    Jesus, the usual bollocks about Brexit being at the root of everything
    Who mentioned Brexit, you pillock ?
    Gardenwalker did upthread. "Brexit has made Britain deeply undervalued"

    This is the argument - our self-harm Brexit deal has devalued our economy and made investing here a niche activity. Which then devalues companies and leaves them prone to being picked up by non-UK companies.

    Don't worry though - we know that UK jobs are perfectly safe when we sell everything off abroad. Those off-shore boards where the UK is a small part of their overall business always do right by us.
    Well there's certainly an argument that Brexit accelerated the process.

    But my point was that the process has been going on for a number of decades, rather than just the last five years.
  • Andy_JS said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    The population of the UK was almost stuck at around 56-57 million for a long time, between about 1975 and 1990. Almost no growth. That's probably why house prices were affordable during that period of time.
    It's not just population, the more important factor was household formation growth.

    Sky and the BBC both used to say that
    divorce was great for their business models because it meant one household became two which meant two subscriptions / two licence fees.

    What happened in the UK was that population growth was rather tepid as you say but household formation growth was rising much quicker due to divorces, fewer multigenerational families living on one house etc
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099
    dixiedean said:

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    There are many different sorts of immigration and of immigrants. Lots of great and wonderful people were born in another country but are not usually thought of as immigrants because they are so British, like Cliff Richard, Joanna Lumley, Prince Philip, Freddie Mercury and... er... Boris Johnson. But when producing figures, foreign-born is easy to count, so I thought I would post some facts.
    Emma Watson is the one I'm grateful for. I welcome her with open arms.
    Bradley Wiggins, Paddy Ashdown, Richard E Grant, Spike Milligan, Zoë Wanamaker...
  • eekeek Posts: 28,377
    edited April 2023
    biggles said:

    dixiedean said:

    biggles said:

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    40/30/10 Lab/Con/Lib in the Local elections as national equivalent share seems quite feasible. Compared to the 2019 elections, that might not “feel” like the Tory drubbing that has been priced in. Add in Coronation/Bank Holiday “feel good” vibes and the media’s longed for “come back kid” might be on for Rishi.

    Chuck in the first signs of supermarket price cuts and Tory high command may go into the summer in good spirits.
    Is anyone predicting imminent price cuts?
    Look at the price of milk (literally). There’s the stirrings of supermarket movement. I presume some food prices (like milk) are linked to commodities like fuel that have actually dropped and so there’s space for real cuts. But the last bit is a guess - the price moves are observed fact.
    Milk won't be reducing in price - until very recently the farmgate price of milk wasn't much below production cost.

    Even now it's only 50p per litre see https://ahdb.org.uk/dairy/uk-farmgate-milk-prices for prices - which means that there at £1.75 for 2 litres (which is what I paid yesterday) there is only 75p to cover all the transportation and packaging costs.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,303

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
    And, given that we have one of the most liberal migration regimes in Europe, which has resulted in the UK population growing much faster than almost every other country in Europe, surely the voters are allowed, at some point, to say: Hey, we've taken enough people now, please Stop

    That's not racist, that's a natural reaction. Our rivers are full of shit because our infrastructure can't cope, our young people can't buy houses because the pressure on housing is so intense, the idea that none of this is related to the fastest growing population in our recorded history is for the birds. Of course it is a factor. Not the ONLY factor, but a major factor
    It's not racist to want a stricter border policy. Some people might get racist in doing so, but the principle is not. Thats been a common error from some supportive of liberal migration policies, of which I am one. Countries can reasonably say no to people coming in.

    Genuine refugees get caught in the middle of such a debate, the poor buggers.
    And genuine refugees constitute a pretty small proportion of immigration to the UK.

    From https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/

    "Asylum seekers made up around 6% of immigrants to the UK in 2019."

    Although...

    "In the year ending June 2022, the latest period for which we have estimates, asylum seekers and refugees made up approximately 18% of immigrants to the UK. This includes arrivals under the Ukraine schemes, the Afghan relocation and resettlement schemes, arrivals in small boats, other resettled persons and arrivals on family reunion visas (around 190,000 individuals in total). If including the British National (Overseas) scheme in the category of humanitarian routes, up to 25% of immigration in that year would fall into that category."

    Also note:

    "In 2021, there were around 9 asylum applications for every 10,000 people living in the UK. Across the EU27 there were 14 asylum applications for every 10,000 people. The UK was therefore below the average among EU countries for asylum applications per head of population, ranking 16th among EU27 countries plus the UK on this measure."
    Yup - quite a lot of people come here to live each year.

    The number of actual asylum seekers is a small portion of that.

    From personal experience, people use the asylum route for gaining legal status last, and only if they can’t use another mechanism/legal route. If nothing alse the asylum route is, I believe, the most complex, lengthy and expensive way.
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 32,559
    Leon said:

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
    Yes, because a sane debate about migration, with people adducing facts and evidence, is exactly like a racist pub with symbolically lynched golliwogs

    This is why we can't have nice things. Lefties are so afraid of factual debate on migration - because some of the facts are awkward for them - they would rather shut down ANY debate as "racist" - and on we go. It's really rather sad
    The fact we've managed to take in an extra 10 million people over the last 30 years without society collapsing is actually quite impressive in a way.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,303
    In comic space news

    https://europeanspaceflight.com/europe-will-introduce-a-reusable-launch-vehicle-in-the-2030s-says-arianespace-ceo/

    Stéphane Israël thinks that Europe moving to a reusable launcher (maybe) in 2035 is a vision for the future.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342
    Andy_JS said:

    Leon said:

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
    Yes, because a sane debate about migration, with people adducing facts and evidence, is exactly like a racist pub with symbolically lynched golliwogs

    This is why we can't have nice things. Lefties are so afraid of factual debate on migration - because some of the facts are awkward for them - they would rather shut down ANY debate as "racist" - and on we go. It's really rather sad
    The fact we've managed to take in an extra 10 million people over the last 30 years without society collapsing is actually quite impressive in a way.
    Indeed. And we haven't even flirted with a "far right" government, like France, or elected one, like Sweden and Italy

    The only thing we did was Brexit

    The British people are notably tolerant, kind, peaceable and non-racist - when you objectively compare them to others, rather than making hysterical judgements based on your own opinions. This is why it can be really quite irritating when lefties label us all as racist. Demonstrably, we are not, in the wider scheme of humanity
  • dixiedean said:

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    There are many different sorts of immigration and of immigrants. Lots of great and wonderful people were born in another country but are not usually thought of as immigrants because they are so British, like Cliff Richard, Joanna Lumley, Prince Philip, Freddie Mercury and... er... Boris Johnson. But when producing figures, foreign-born is easy to count, so I thought I would post some facts.
    Emma Watson is the one I'm grateful for. I welcome her with open arms.
    Bradley Wiggins, Paddy Ashdown, Richard E Grant, Spike Milligan, Zoë Wanamaker...
    Most important of all Ben Stokes.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,303
    Andy_JS said:

    Leon said:

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
    Yes, because a sane debate about migration, with people adducing facts and evidence, is exactly like a racist pub with symbolically lynched golliwogs

    This is why we can't have nice things. Lefties are so afraid of factual debate on migration - because some of the facts are awkward for them - they would rather shut down ANY debate as "racist" - and on we go. It's really rather sad
    The fact we've managed to take in an extra 10 million people over the last 30 years without society collapsing is actually quite impressive in a way.
    Particularly in light of the denialism over the increased infrastructure required to support an increasing population.
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 8,675
    edited April 2023
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It would be interesting to contrast the figures for the UK as a whole over than period with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    The Eurostat numbers have Scotland at 5.117 million in 1993 and 5.454 million in 2019.
    Immigration into Scotland has certainly been slower than immigration into England, indeed it is arguable that (unlike crowded southern England) Scotland could do with MORE people

    I have sympathy for Scot Nats who want independence for this reason: so they can have the power to boost their population. However they would still have the problem of attracting people to live in Wick, and if they rejoined the EU and got FoM they might find that everyone simply flees to Portugal. Or Sweden
    I think this drives the emotional need for independence too - we are literally becoming less important as our population share declines.

    In 1707 Scotland: England was 1:5. Now's it's 1:10.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,286

    6 opinion Polls with fieldwork entirely in April

    LAB 44,46.41.45,44 Ave 44.17

    Con 27,30.30,26.30 Ave 28.83

    Lead 15.34

    Average of Polls in last week of March

    Lab 46.63 Con 26.25 Lead 20.38

    Lab 48,47,45,45,44,46,46,50,49 vs

    Con 27,27,29,22,26,26,27,26

    Reduction in lead in 2 weeks 5.04

    SKS fans please explain this? :D
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,303
    Leon said:

    Andy_JS said:

    Leon said:

    Sean_F said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It begs the question why do so many people wish to live here, if life here is so bad?
    Simple really.

    Anyone who wants to live here is ignoring the fact that Britain is a NaziFacistRacistHellHole.

    Critical Race theory tells us that people of colour who deny such stuff are Effectively White.

    So all the immigrants to the U.K. are actually white Nazis. Just like Rishi Sunak.
    Just arrived and read this conversation...wow

    It must be like a group of drinkers in that golly pub in essex. I hope you all feel well at home!
    Yes, because a sane debate about migration, with people adducing facts and evidence, is exactly like a racist pub with symbolically lynched golliwogs

    This is why we can't have nice things. Lefties are so afraid of factual debate on migration - because some of the facts are awkward for them - they would rather shut down ANY debate as "racist" - and on we go. It's really rather sad
    The fact we've managed to take in an extra 10 million people over the last 30 years without society collapsing is actually quite impressive in a way.
    Indeed. And we haven't even flirted with a "far right" government, like France, or elected one, like Sweden and Italy

    The only thing we did was Brexit

    The British people are notably tolerant, kind, peaceable and non-racist - when you objectively compare them to others, rather than making hysterical judgements based on your own opinions. This is why it can be really quite irritating when lefties label us all as racist. Demonstrably, we are not, in the wider scheme of humanity
    The fiends at the Home Office are ordering pineapple topped Domino’s pizza for the small boat arrivals, though. Before putting them in indifferent hotels with small swimming pools - the kind of places that claim that 4 cross trainers next to the pool is a gym.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099
    Nigelb said:
    But will anything happen? He can be impeached, but the Republicans in the Senate won't vote to kick him out while Biden is around to appoint his successor.
  • Scott_xPScott_xP Posts: 35,992
    Eabhal said:

    I think this drives the emotional need for independence too - we are literally becoming less important as our population share declines.

    Ironic that at least part of the decline is due to the separatists in government...
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,440

    dixiedean said:

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    There are many different sorts of immigration and of immigrants. Lots of great and wonderful people were born in another country but are not usually thought of as immigrants because they are so British, like Cliff Richard, Joanna Lumley, Prince Philip, Freddie Mercury and... er... Boris Johnson. But when producing figures, foreign-born is easy to count, so I thought I would post some facts.
    Emma Watson is the one I'm grateful for. I welcome her with open arms.
    Bradley Wiggins, Paddy Ashdown, Richard E Grant, Spike Milligan, Zoë Wanamaker...
    Wasn't there is some debate over the entitlement of someone to stand as president of the USA because he was born to a military family in the Panama Canal zone?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 50,303

    Nigelb said:
    But will anything happen? He can be impeached, but the Republicans in the Senate won't vote to kick him out while Biden is around to appoint his successor.
    Yes.

    And there is nothing that he could do to get enough Republicans to vote to convict.

    Getting rid of a Supreme Court Justice is close to impossible. Which is one of many reasons why it was such a terrible idea to turn the court into a legislative body.
  • dixiedean said:

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    There are many different sorts of immigration and of immigrants. Lots of great and wonderful people were born in another country but are not usually thought of as immigrants because they are so British, like Cliff Richard, Joanna Lumley, Prince Philip, Freddie Mercury and... er... Boris Johnson. But when producing figures, foreign-born is easy to count, so I thought I would post some facts.
    Emma Watson is the one I'm grateful for. I welcome her with open arms.
    Bradley Wiggins, Paddy Ashdown, Richard E Grant, Spike Milligan, Zoë Wanamaker...
    Wasn't there is some debate over the entitlement of someone to stand as president of the USA because he was born to a military family in the Panama Canal zone?
    John McCain.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099

    dixiedean said:

    https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/ may be of interest to people. I quote:

    "By the beginning of the 2020s, the UK’s foreign-born population was approximately 14%. This share is similar to high-income countries such as the United States and Spain (Figure 1). The UK has a smaller foreign-born population than Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The foreign-born population in Australia, for example, is roughly double that of the UK as a share of the population. By contrast, the UK has a higher share of foreign-born people in the population compared to Italy, Portugal, and most Eastern European countries."

    Figure 1 at the website has the UK around the middle of the OECD pack:

    Luxembourg 47%
    Australia 30%
    Switzerland 30%
    New Zealand 27%
    Israel 21%
    Canada 21%
    Sweden 20%
    Austria 19%
    Iceland 18%
    Ireland 18%
    Belgium 17%
    Germany 16%
    Norway 16%
    Estonia 15%
    Spain 14%
    UK 14%
    US 14%
    Netherlands 13%
    France 13%
    Slovenia 13%
    Latvia 13%
    Greece 13%
    Portugal 11%
    Denmark 11%
    Italy 10%
    Czechia 9%
    Finland 7%
    Hungary 6%
    Lithuania 5%
    Chile 4%
    Slovakia 4%
    Turkey 3%
    Poland 2%
    Mexico 1%

    "Foreign-born" is misleading. For example, yours truly was born in India, but I've been living in Blighty since I was 4 months old.
    There are many different sorts of immigration and of immigrants. Lots of great and wonderful people were born in another country but are not usually thought of as immigrants because they are so British, like Cliff Richard, Joanna Lumley, Prince Philip, Freddie Mercury and... er... Boris Johnson. But when producing figures, foreign-born is easy to count, so I thought I would post some facts.
    Emma Watson is the one I'm grateful for. I welcome her with open arms.
    Bradley Wiggins, Paddy Ashdown, Richard E Grant, Spike Milligan, Zoë Wanamaker...
    Wasn't there is some debate over the entitlement of someone to stand as president of the USA because he was born to a military family in the Panama Canal zone?
    Yeah, John McCain.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342
    Eabhal said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It would be interesting to contrast the figures for the UK as a whole over than period with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    The Eurostat numbers have Scotland at 5.117 million in 1993 and 5.454 million in 2019.
    Immigration into Scotland has certainly been slower than immigration into England, indeed it is arguable that (unlike crowded southern England) Scotland could do with MORE people

    I have sympathy for Scot Nats who want independence for this reason: so they can have the power to boost their population. However they would still have the problem of attracting people to live in Wick, and if they rejoined the EU and got FoM they might find that everyone simply flees to Portugal. Or Sweden
    I think this drives the emotional need for independence too - we are literally becoming less important as our population share declines.

    In 1707 Scotland: England was 1:5. Now's it's 1:10.
    Yes, and - as I say - I understand this emotional argument. It is probably the single BEST argument for indy, given that the economic arguments are so shaky. Scotland could then control and boost its population, if that is desired. Tho recent events in Ireland suggest that "Celtic" nations with relatively large amounts of space per head do not, in fact, take kindly to large scale immigration, when it finally happens
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,440

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
    And, given that we have one of the most liberal migration regimes in Europe, which has resulted in the UK population growing much faster than almost every other country in Europe, surely the voters are allowed, at some point, to say: Hey, we've taken enough people now, please Stop

    That's not racist, that's a natural reaction. Our rivers are full of shit because our infrastructure can't cope, our young people can't buy houses because the pressure on housing is so intense, the idea that none of this is related to the fastest growing population in our recorded history is for the birds. Of course it is a factor. Not the ONLY factor, but a major factor
    It's not racist to want a stricter border policy. Some people might get racist in doing so, but the principle is not. Thats been a common error from some supportive of liberal migration policies, of which I am one. Countries can reasonably say no to people coming in.

    Genuine refugees get caught in the middle of such a debate, the poor buggers.
    And genuine refugees constitute a pretty small proportion of immigration to the UK.

    From https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/

    "Asylum seekers made up around 6% of immigrants to the UK in 2019."

    Although...

    "In the year ending June 2022, the latest period for which we have estimates, asylum seekers and refugees made up approximately 18% of immigrants to the UK. This includes arrivals under the Ukraine schemes, the Afghan relocation and resettlement schemes, arrivals in small boats, other resettled persons and arrivals on family reunion visas (around 190,000 individuals in total). If including the British National (Overseas) scheme in the category of humanitarian routes, up to 25% of immigration in that year would fall into that category."

    Also note:

    "In 2021, there were around 9 asylum applications for every 10,000 people living in the UK. Across the EU27 there were 14 asylum applications for every 10,000 people. The UK was therefore below the average among EU countries for asylum applications per head of population, ranking 16th among EU27 countries plus the UK on this measure."
    Yup - quite a lot of people come here to live each year.

    The number of actual asylum seekers is a small portion of that.

    From personal experience, people use the asylum route for gaining legal status last, and only if they can’t use another mechanism/legal route. If nothing alse the asylum route is, I believe, the most complex, lengthy and expensive way.
    How many people leave?
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,440

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
    And, given that we have one of the most liberal migration regimes in Europe, which has resulted in the UK population growing much faster than almost every other country in Europe, surely the voters are allowed, at some point, to say: Hey, we've taken enough people now, please Stop

    That's not racist, that's a natural reaction. Our rivers are full of shit because our infrastructure can't cope, our young people can't buy houses because the pressure on housing is so intense, the idea that none of this is related to the fastest growing population in our recorded history is for the birds. Of course it is a factor. Not the ONLY factor, but a major factor
    It's not racist to want a stricter border policy. Some people might get racist in doing so, but the principle is not. Thats been a common error from some supportive of liberal migration policies, of which I am one. Countries can reasonably say no to people coming in.

    Genuine refugees get caught in the middle of such a debate, the poor buggers.
    And genuine refugees constitute a pretty small proportion of immigration to the UK.

    From https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/

    "Asylum seekers made up around 6% of immigrants to the UK in 2019."

    Although...

    "In the year ending June 2022, the latest period for which we have estimates, asylum seekers and refugees made up approximately 18% of immigrants to the UK. This includes arrivals under the Ukraine schemes, the Afghan relocation and resettlement schemes, arrivals in small boats, other resettled persons and arrivals on family reunion visas (around 190,000 individuals in total). If including the British National (Overseas) scheme in the category of humanitarian routes, up to 25% of immigration in that year would fall into that category."

    Also note:

    "In 2021, there were around 9 asylum applications for every 10,000 people living in the UK. Across the EU27 there were 14 asylum applications for every 10,000 people. The UK was therefore below the average among EU countries for asylum applications per head of population, ranking 16th among EU27 countries plus the UK on this measure."
    Yup - quite a lot of people come here to live each year.

    The number of actual asylum seekers is a small portion of that.

    From personal experience, people use the asylum route for gaining legal status last, and only if they can’t use another mechanism/legal route. If nothing alse the asylum route is, I believe, the most complex, lengthy and expensive way.
    Duplicated, deleted
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 33,440
    Vanilla is playing tricks
  • LeonLeon Posts: 55,342
    Scott_xP said:

    Eabhal said:

    I think this drives the emotional need for independence too - we are literally becoming less important as our population share declines.

    Ironic that at least part of the decline is due to the separatists in government...
    Yes, if Sindy ever happened - or looked like happening - one of the first big consequences would be large finance/legal firms (and so on) removing themselves from Edinburgh and Glasgow to London. So the first effect would be net emigration. And this would continue if the iScottish economy really wobbled
  • EabhalEabhal Posts: 8,675
    Scott_xP said:

    Eabhal said:

    I think this drives the emotional need for independence too - we are literally becoming less important as our population share declines.

    Ironic that at least part of the decline is due to the separatists in government...
    I just don't think we have the established immigrant communities that grow exponentially over time in the same way England does. That's a long term issue.

    The fertility rate (TFR) here is really problematic. Only 1.4. Needs 2.1 for replacement. A 50% increase in birth rates is going to require some huge policy intervention.

    I'm really interested in MaxPB's ideas round this. Copy the French on tax. More tax devolution please (we can't make that kind of reform at the moment).
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 18,369
    Eabhal said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Does anywhere else in the world offer an instant hotel room for anyone who rocks up on their shores ?

    A good third of the population here (and they are the ones in key positions of power) want to roll out the red carpet for anyone who arrives here and claims the right to asylum because, again, that's how you show how Anti-Racist you are to your peer group. America has the same problem.

    Europe, by and large, and Australia does not. And New Zealand is too far away to be a problem.
    In that case why does the UK take in proportionally fewer asylum seekers, refugees and migrants than much of Europe?
    Because it doesn't

    in the last 20-30 years the UK has taken in many more migrants than most European countries. This is the main reason our population has expanded much faster than our peers


    Italy population 1993: 56.83m

    Italy population 2023:60.3m


    Germany population 1993: 81.16m

    Germany population 2023: 84.5m


    UK population 1993: 57.7m

    UK population 2023: 68.9m


    If you compare us with central and eastern Europe the comparison is much more stark. So you're talking total shite
    Are those numbers right? At this rate we'll be the largest behind Turkey before too long.
    Those numbers are absolutely right. You're not dumb, how can you not be aware of this? The UK population has grown extremely fast in recent decades, almost entirely from immigration ("native" birth rates are below replacement level)

    Here's a list of countries by population. It's not as accurate as individual national stats but it gives a good sense

    It also gives population growth rate:


    https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/


    Britain is the fastest growing large nation in Europe
    I knew we had grown a lot, I just did not know it was apparently proportionately so much more than others
    Because we have an extremely liberal migration policy, which really kicked off under New Labour in 1997 (with Eastern Europe) and which has been continued under the Tories (even after Brexit)

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks, and in direct opposition to the truth. It's just insane lefties who refuse to accept this because they like to hate racist Brexit Britain

    I'm not arguing the pros and cons of migration (they are complex and many and go both ways) but this debate is best done in possession of actual facts, rather than Gary Lineker's opinions
    It would be interesting to contrast the figures for the UK as a whole over than period with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    The Eurostat numbers have Scotland at 5.117 million in 1993 and 5.454 million in 2019.
    Immigration into Scotland has certainly been slower than immigration into England, indeed it is arguable that (unlike crowded southern England) Scotland could do with MORE people

    I have sympathy for Scot Nats who want independence for this reason: so they can have the power to boost their population. However they would still have the problem of attracting people to live in Wick, and if they rejoined the EU and got FoM they might find that everyone simply flees to Portugal. Or Sweden
    I think this drives the emotional need for independence too - we are literally becoming less important as our population share declines.

    In 1707 Scotland: England was 1:5. Now's it's 1:10.
    It's notable that Ireland has in recent years not had much trouble in attracting immigrants and that's despite being wetter than Scotland.

    It took nearly a century to reach that state, though.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 11,099

    kle4 said:

    Leon said:

    Scott_xP said:

    Leon said:

    The idea we are this racist insular place refusing to take incomers is utter bollocks

    We just have a Government that is trying to appease voters who want us to be...
    And, given that we have one of the most liberal migration regimes in Europe, which has resulted in the UK population growing much faster than almost every other country in Europe, surely the voters are allowed, at some point, to say: Hey, we've taken enough people now, please Stop

    That's not racist, that's a natural reaction. Our rivers are full of shit because our infrastructure can't cope, our young people can't buy houses because the pressure on housing is so intense, the idea that none of this is related to the fastest growing population in our recorded history is for the birds. Of course it is a factor. Not the ONLY factor, but a major factor
    It's not racist to want a stricter border policy. Some people might get racist in doing so, but the principle is not. Thats been a common error from some supportive of liberal migration policies, of which I am one. Countries can reasonably say no to people coming in.

    Genuine refugees get caught in the middle of such a debate, the poor buggers.
    And genuine refugees constitute a pretty small proportion of immigration to the UK.

    From https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/

    "Asylum seekers made up around 6% of immigrants to the UK in 2019."

    Although...

    "In the year ending June 2022, the latest period for which we have estimates, asylum seekers and refugees made up approximately 18% of immigrants to the UK. This includes arrivals under the Ukraine schemes, the Afghan relocation and resettlement schemes, arrivals in small boats, other resettled persons and arrivals on family reunion visas (around 190,000 individuals in total). If including the British National (Overseas) scheme in the category of humanitarian routes, up to 25% of immigration in that year would fall into that category."

    Also note:

    "In 2021, there were around 9 asylum applications for every 10,000 people living in the UK. Across the EU27 there were 14 asylum applications for every 10,000 people. The UK was therefore below the average among EU countries for asylum applications per head of population, ranking 16th among EU27 countries plus the UK on this measure."
    Yup - quite a lot of people come here to live each year.

    The number of actual asylum seekers is a small portion of that.

    From personal experience, people use the asylum route for gaining legal status last, and only if they can’t use another mechanism/legal route. If nothing alse the asylum route is, I believe, the most complex, lengthy and expensive way.
    How many people leave?
    Lots. I couldn't find simple stats on this, but you could start with section 3 of https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2021/how-many-people-do-we-grant-asylum-or-protection-to#outcomes-of-asylum-applications
This discussion has been closed.