Only the BBC would ask that...

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clivex

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The BBC reporter turned to Sir Andrew Green and asked quizzically"does immigration matter?"

Sir Andrew replied "only the BBC would ask that question"
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Heard it myself and the (correct) contempt in the in his voice was wonderful to behold

Now im no UKIP or migrationwatch supporter but isnt it about time that the BBC addressed concerns of voters rather than air their usual prejudices?

No wonder the BNP are flying high...
 
Green, respected in the Middle East for his desire to see a peaceful outcome for Palestinians, is also quite vehemently anti-immigration viz the UK, having founded MigrationWatch to specifically vent his spleen about what he sees as unacceptably high levels of immigration to the UK. Thus the question - asked in various forms by many others from the communications media - is quite ordinary, if rather irrelevant to someone they know feels it matters a great deal! So, no, the Beeb isn't the only communicator asking Green about his views on the subject, but if anyone Googles his name, they'll soon enough find out all about them - and him.
 
clivex said:
Now im no UKIP or migrationwatch supporter but isnt it about time that the BBC addressed concerns of voters rather than air their usual prejudices?

No wonder the BNP are flying high...
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The BNP are flying high because their supporters are thick inadequate losers who haven't the skills to get themselves a proper job.
 
I'm not sure what 'flying high' implies. The party's hardly taken over Parliament, let alone brought down the government. I'm not sure its membership is unemployed, either, but it's certainly the party of choice for the committed xenophobe.
 
Unfortunately, due to the ineptitude of the current Government, coupled with the failure of any other mainstream party to sound convincing on the subject of immigration, the BNP is becoming increasingly attractive to voters who have jobs, who are not xenophobic, but who are genuinely worried about the level of migration in the UK.

I don't include myself amongst their number, but if a given voter's number-one concern is the level of migration (and the consequent potential impact on jobs, welfare and the NHS) in the UK, then even 'oridinary' people may be tempted to vote BNP.

The party remains as cross-eyed, narrow-minded, idiotic and vulgar as it always has. The problem is not the BNP - it is the lack of a coherent policy to address the immigration issue from any of the mainstream parties that is the problem. IMHO.
 
Then UKIP would seem to be the party of choice for anyone 'genuinely worried' about the level of immigration to the UK. The BNP is fascism, plain and simple. I'm not sure that with houses being repossessed, jobs being lost because British companies are outsourcing, hospitals killing off their patients and schools still failing, that immigration to the UK will be that high on most people's agenda come May 6.

The judicial system has made it very difficult to just chuck out unlovely people from expressing unsavoury views. We hold dear the right to expression in all forms - the arts, the Press, online, in protest, and through a variety of organisations. Thus, if Nick Griffin can say whatever he likes, then so can other radicals, like them or not. Countering one extremist view with another isn't helpful, but it is the right of persons residing in the country to say what they like. If you want to quash the right to demonstrate one viewpoint, you have to quash them all. And that leads to despotism, of which we've had quite enough through the rule of royalty, thank you.
 
Then UKIP would seem to be the party of choice for anyone 'genuinely worried' about the level of immigration to the UK. The BNP is fascism, plain and simple. I'm not sure that with houses being repossessed, jobs being lost because British companies are outsourcing, hospitals killing off their patients and schools still failing, that immigration to the UK will be that high on most people's agenda come May 6.

The judicial system has made it very difficult to just chuck out unlovely people from expressing unsavoury views. We hold dear the right to expression in all forms - the arts, the Press, online, in protest, and through a variety of organisations. Thus, if Nick Griffin can say whatever he likes, then so can other radicals, like them or not. Countering one extremist view with another isn't helpful, but it is the right of persons residing in the country to say what they like. If you want to quash the right to demonstrate one viewpoint, you have to quash them all. And that leads to despotism, of which we've had quite enough through the rule of royalty, thank you.
 
Grasshopper said:
Unfortunately, due to the ineptitude of the current Government, coupled with the failure of any other mainstream party to sound convincing on the subject of immigration, the BNP is becoming increasingly attractive to voters who have jobs, who are not xenophobic, but who are genuinely worried about the level of migration in the UK.
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You say ineptitude, but my understanding was that Labour positively encouraged mass immigration because the migrants and their descendants are statistically more likely to vote Labour. The BNP are hardly a credible threat to them in terms of power so what is the downside? Screwing the country doesn't seem to bother them based on 99% of their other policies. It strikes me as one of their very few masterstrokes.
 
The vast majority of immigration is short term workers from the EU , which because of the freedom of movement we cannot prevent. The problem that appears to have caused is only evident in recession when UK workers start competing for the shitty appallingly badly paid jobs these workers did before and which UK workers turned their noses up at .

As for the Tory cap , it is absurd , are we going to refuse for example to allow in a highly skilled scientist from outside the EU to do a job for which he or she is much the best qualified for the benefit of our economy simply because a cap has been reached . A properly enforced and rational points system is a much better idea.

Immigration can undoubtedly cause problems and tensions when large communities arrive in and appear to change the character of an area . One major issue is the lack of new social housing , the fact that many of the indigenous population only put themselves on a waiting list and never present as homeless ( which in London is the only way to get rehoused ) . Nobody will admit that the right to buy was an absolute disaster as in the 1980s and 1990s the Tories sold masses of houses at an enormous discount and refused to allow councils to spend the receipts to build new homes.

One of the problems is , for all the denials , much of the real issue that far too many people have with immigration is indeed racism and prejudice . The highest number of visa overstayers in this country are from Australia and New Zealand . I don't see too many of those complaining about immigration manning the barricades to demand that they are sent home.
 
But a visa overstayer isn't an immigrant. They're migrants - short-timers with a finite length to their visa, who have overstayed that length. There's such a misunderstanding of what emigration, immigration, migrant workers/seasonal workers, illegal entries and asylum seekers mean. They're all separate issues, but we seem incapable in this country of being able to discern these differences, hence a blanket reaction to 'immigration'.

Yes, there is a huge amount of prejudice, although I wouldn't say it's always aimed at non-white persons - there were as many Polish jibes and jokes as there were about the Irish previously. Well, I say previously, although I continue to be e-mailed tiresome 'Paddy' jokes which are as stereotypically outdated as the Black and White Minstrel Show (all white, blacked up).
 
Overstayers are illegal immigrants K - they stay on and hope nobody catches up with them and sends them back !
 
You can't have an 'immigrant visa', though, can you? If you've officially applied to the Immigration Office and have emigrated from your home country, you have the right to live in the UK and take up, eventually, full residency and nationality. Not sure after how many years, though - is it five? You can have a work visa, a student's visa, a tourist's visa, and any amount of legal extensions after successful application, and then you are an overstayer once you've gone past those finite dates.

For example, my South-African born cousin came to the UK in the early 1980s, applying for immigration status to the Home Office. She married a Welshman in SA and I suppose it was largely due to his residential status that she was granted the right to live in the UK. I also had a South African dentist and his family renting a house from me in Staffordshire - they were buying a house in the area, but had to be in the UK for a year at that time before they could do so, if memory serves me (mid-1990s). But he was immediately accepted for immigration because he had a wanted skill.
 
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One of the problems is , for all the denials , much of the real issue that far too many people have with immigration is indeed racism and prejudice . The highest number of visa overstayers in this country are from Australia and New Zealand . I don't see too many of those complaining about immigration manning the barricades to demand that they are sent home
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The usual tired left wing jibe that any concern about immigration is down to "prejudice"

The reason taht there are more "visa overstayers" from the antipodes than eastern europe is because eastern europeans dont need visas perhaps?
 
there were as many Polish jibes and jokes as there
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Never heard either myself. I have no doubt in my mind that the Poles are hugely respected as workers in this country.

Which reminds us how tragic it was that that country was invaded and dominated by evil idealogies for so long. Without the disgusting history of nazi slaughter and communist oppression, the obvious talent and work ethic that eminates fro that country could have developed Poland into a genuinely properous state (although it is doing very well indeed at this present time I recall)
 
The Poles are indeed very well-respected wherever they've worked. They have the sort of work ethic we had until the unions got overwhelmed by their own sense of importance. But 'Polish' jokes are commonplace, with them often replacing the tired old format of the Irishman, the Scotsman, and the Englishman. You only have to have read a few articles in newspapers to find out that they have been verbally abused as 'job thieves' - usually from previously well-off so-called working class areas where most of the population's enjoyed living courtesy of the State for two generations.
 
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