I deplore Jim Ratcliffe's words. (owner of Man U)

I simply don’t understand what you’re saying Foxie48 unless it’s that the villagers where you live won’t attend a dental practice run by Hindu dentists or won’t attend appointments by an non white GP.
I have no idea what your fellow villagers want, and tbh neither do you unless you’ve asked every one of them.

Fwiw our NHS dental practice is owned by two Hindu dentists and the GP practice also employs some GPs who are from ethnic minorities. When I had my last A&E admission at the nearest city, most of the staff there were from ethnic minorities, I've no idea how many are also UK citizens but some will be working on visas. One nurse who looked after me saw my address and mentioned he also worked at the nursing home which is very near to my home. People of whatever nationality or ethnicity have to be housed and have health care, they can't be expected to live in tents and go home if they are taken ill. Or is that what people want? I'd really like to understand what drives racism and why some feel it's OK to see others who are different in some way to them as inferior or in some way an enemy.

We need to get the millions not working here back into jobs.

GrannyGravy13

Basgetti

There’s only one reason anyone moves to Monaco, god awful place.

Have visited Monaco frequently, and going back again this year, it is definitely not a god awful place

One of the other reasons (not just tax) it attracts the rich and famous is its illegal to photograph anyone without their permission, so no paparazzi snaps

It looks a very attractive place to me, there’s a lot of envy around.

I read an interesting article from The Guardian that shows net migration is falling and is actually going to be quite a problem.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/14/uk-migration-negative-economy
The fall has been caused by the tougher thresholds the government has put in place for visas, the increased fees and conditions imposed on students etc.
Yes. It is net migration, but before anyone says that is because so many British people are leaving, the huge numbers leaving are mostly made up of those who have been caught by these rules and are now having to leave. It also gives the numbers of asylum seekers arriving by boat, much lower figure than the hysteria of some would have us believe.
In fact, the article is disturbing by highlighting some of the problems this almost negative migration figures is going to cause us in our economy and many of our services.

Each to their own. I think it’s horrible. Enjoy your trip 😃

Oh I know why immigrants go to London or other cities and towns Foxie48
If your expanding village is just about 100% white then it isn’t racism, it’s simply that they don’t like their village getting larger without the accompanying infrastructure such as dentists and good shops.

Basgetti

There’s only one reason anyone moves to Monaco, god awful place.

Have visited Monaco frequently, and going back again this year, it is definitely not a god awful place

One of the other reasons (not just tax) it attracts the rich and famous is its illegal to photograph anyone without their permission, so no paparazzi snaps

sites not sights, I wish my iPad didn’t think it knew better than me 🤦‍♀️

There’s only one reason anyone moves to Monaco, god awful place.

Basgetti

Fair enough. I feel though that any one who moves elsewhere to avoid paying their share forfeits the right to comment publicly about the country they’ve deserted.

But remember that Ratcliffe has paid a fantastic amount of tax in the UK for many years.If he chooses to live elsewhere now he’s older that’s up to him.

Basgetti

Fair enough. I feel though that any one who moves elsewhere to avoid paying their share forfeits the right to comment publicly about the country they’ve deserted.

INEOS the company owned by Mr.Ratcliffe currently employs approximately 4,000 people across seven sights in the U.K.

I imagine he is extremely interested in what goes on here.

Immigrants go where the work is Oreo, most services in London find it difficult to fill vacancies so it's bound to be a magnet for people who want to work.
" London accounts for approximately 22% to 25% of the UK’s total economic output (GDP/GVA), despite having only about 13-15% of the population. In 2023, London's economic output was £618 billion, contributing to nearly a quarter of the national total. "
The village that I live near to has changed over the last 20 years. Locals complain about the number of new houses, fields being sold for development, the fact that the town is full of charity shops, the local schools are full and it's difficult to get doctors and dentist appointments etc. It's a 99.99% white population but there's still racism!

Many of us, if not most of us on this forum have friends of different colour or religion, this has nothing to do with the over immigration problem.

Fair enough. I feel though that any one who moves elsewhere to avoid paying their share forfeits the right to comment publicly about the country they’ve deserted.

It isn’t irrational fear that towns will change, they really have done.
I think few people would worry about the GP moving in next door but they do worry about the area being full of houses of multiple occupancy and Turkish barbers, vape shops, foreign food shops,nail bars and so on.
I think it’s arrogant to dismiss people’s worries .

No but the statement from Wyllow asked why he had the right to pontificate simply because he was rich and powerful, my response was to that.

Galaxy

I assume he thinks he has the same right as every other famous person who shares their views with us. Gary Lineker, Russel Davies, Terry Christian, and so on.

Do they live in tax havens?

Hostile attitudes to immigrants is driven by fear.
People don't like change. They fear that immigrants will change their towns and villages. They will happily be treated by a foreign doctor from Africa for instance but would feel uneasy if he moved in next door.

It's heartening to know that many younger people don't feel this way. My GCs have close friends of different colour or religion than they are.

As a family we moved out of London, our area was no longer recognisable.Today just about half of the population of London is foreign born.
It’s diverse where we live now in the South East but nowhere like London.It’s fine.
Some cities and towns have changed completely and that fact needs to be understood.
There’s been almost unlimited immigration with no thought at all given to UK citizens already here, including the many black people who came over in the 50’s and 60’s and also to the Asian families who settled here at the same time.They aren’t happy either.
Where the asylum seekers who come here on small boats are concerned it’s a huge problem that the Conservatives never got to grips with but Labour must!

I assume he thinks he has the same right as every other famous person who shares their views with us. Gary Lineker, Russel Davies, Terry Christian, and so on.

Is.

I am sure you don't foxie, but many people do, and they have been saying that via the ballot box for over a decade. Perhaps that us the problem.

And, btw, Ratcliffe plays greatly on the sympathy side as he has set up charitable foundations to encourage more into sport/young people and so on.
But all is not as its seems. I'm not saying he has done nothing, and glad for that, but he has also been investigated by the charity commission. (2023)

"The Charity Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case into the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation, a grant-giving charity named after and founded by a man reported to be the wealthiest in the UK.

Yesterday, the Guardian reported that the regulator was investigating the foundation after it helped to fund a multi-million pound luxury skiing clubhouse in France, open only to paying members.

The newspaper raised questions over the charity’s public benefit after reporting that prospective members had to be approved by two current members, pay a £25,000 joining fee followed by annual membership fees of £6,000.

The super rich creates a charity that benefits the rich or well off? Further in the article, it reveals that the charity claimed £7.4 million in gift aid in 2021.

www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/commission-opens-case-into-charity-founded-by-uks-richest-person.html#:~:text=£22m%20donation%20from%20founder,public%2C”%20the%20accounts%20added.

I really question why he thinks he has the right - ^simply because he is rich and powerful^- to pontificate in the manner he does and get the publicity.
We don't live in a plutocracy like the USA.

Galaxy I don't see having a diverse population as a "mess" nor do I see an issue with issuing work and student visas to people from abroad if it fills jobs we need filling and helps our educational institutions to operate more economically.
I've lived in a big city, worked with people from different communities and now I live rurally. It's a very "white" population and the racism is palpable despite locals never having had any real contact with anyone outside this area except at the excellent Indian restaurant in the town. Fortunately we also have many people who have moved from other areas and commute to the city who, in the main, have very different attitudes.
So what is it that drives these hostile attitudes to immigrants, most of whom are British citizens or here legally on visas, who are paying taxes and contributing to our society?