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

It is complicated indeed, Galaxy. Campaigning for labour on the doorstep and being greeted by most who have decided to vote Reform is a lesson in Not Knowing. so now I'm talking about those who are willing to talk...

I tell people the % who are actually here as in the "Boat" irregular immigrants and thats the first shock, as I've found the assumption is much, much higher - like 80% ish? so having explained that, and the new changes to reduce regular legal immigration and what many do that we really need..

...I then ask politely, what will Reform do? And many times it's "he'll send the boats back".

And explaining why he cant simply do that, I say well.... imagine if we in the UK suddenly had people we dumped back on our shores or at airports illegally, how would we feel? And what is being done but how its a problem all over Europe...

and no, I haven't had doors shut in my face because its quite hard to do to a much older person with white hair who also asks about their needs and so on,

but I doubt there are many who change their minds. They want a magic solution to this oh so intractable problem.
And no, I don't start going into the do we want what is happening in the USA as if they aren't hearing "what Farage promises about the boats is not possible" there is no point.

foxie48

Oreo

Too much immigration is a very real problem there’s no point in trying to hide that.
Even the government is trying to get numbers down.

Of course "too much immigration" is a problem but what is "too much"? The vast majority of immigration is to those areas of our economy or services where we cannot recruit nationally or related to student visas that help to reduce the cost of educating our own students. Net migration has fallen drastically since Labour came into power, yet people still seem to think that immigration is a huge problem. It's not. It is nowhere near as problematic as it was in 2022, our net migration figures are reducing not increasing.

The government wouldn’t continue cracking down on numbers if there weren’t too many.
Illegal immigration is a real problem too, less in numbers but more problematic.We know nothing about them, many lies are told by them, as to true age, true nationality and true past criminal history.

😄

I am not sure 'what do suggest we do about the mess we have created' is a vote winner.

"According to the 2021 Census, England and Wales are
81.7% White (74.4% White British), with a growing ethnic minority population. The largest minority groups are Asian (9.3%), Black (4.0%), Mixed (2.9%), and Other (2.1%). London is the most diverse region, while the percentage of white British decreased from 80.5% in 2011 to 74.4% in 2021. "

"Based on 2021 Census data, approximately
90.3% (53.8 million) of usual residents in England and Wales identified with at least one UK national identity. Conversely, around 9.7% (5.8 million) of the population in England and Wales held a non-UK national identity, an increase from 8.0% in 2011. "

"Less than 1% of of the UK's total population is a refugee or seeking asylum."
In the UK, approximately 47% to 48% of asylum seekers are granted refugee status or other forms of protection at the initial decision stage as of mid-2025, down from a peak of 77% in 2022. When including appeals, which often overturn initial refusals, the final grant rate is generally higher than the initial decision rate. "

All the above AI generated.

So basically those of you who have a big problem with immigration, what is your solution? Most people in the UK are either perfectly legal UK citizens or here legally with a visa. The current government has actually been successful in reducing the levels of immigration and has also speeded up the time it takes to get asylum seekers processed. I guess we don't want to emulate what's happening in the US with ICE rounding up people on the streets at gunpoint, so what is your actual issue with immigration and what is your solution?

Primrose53

theworriedwell

Primrose53

I agree with what he said. It was just a few sentences and it seems to me it was just one word that offended SOME people. It wasn’t a foul mouthed rant, but a very brief and quietly spoken opinion.

We all know the NHS is full of people who came here many years ago but they came here LEGALLY and are greatly valued and respected. We have first hand experience of surgeons, nurses, doctors, cleaners etc as my son had major surgery last Oct at Addenbrooke’s and is now having chemo elsewhere.

Jim Ratcliffe paid £110 million in tax here in 2017/2018 before he decided to spend half his time in Monaco. To be honest I would probably do the same just as many other very wealthy Brits have done!

They didn't all come years ago. I was in hospital and my named nurse was from the Philippines and she'd been here a few months.

So he's just an immigrant where he is, don't know why he feels able to comment.

You are right. Qualified staff are still coming here legally from other countries and rightly so. No problem with that.

There is a problem with that. The Philippines government have paid for that medical training.
That came into effect in 2018 because the government realised the country needed more doctors.
My own nephew did the same with his law degree which the tax payer had funded. Within months of getting his degree he moved to America.

Long story short - and check with ChatGPT later.

"Fish and chips" as a concept did originate in England. The fried fish idea was taken from Sephardic Jewish/Iberian origins. The fried chips idea was taken from Belgium. The combination dish is ours though.

theworriedwell

GrannyGravy13

Can anyone point to where I have posted that the High Street in question is unrecognisable due to immigrants please?

What did it have to do with the topic being discussed then?

I was replying to a post by petra regarding her High Street, which I happen to know well.

Furret

There was no excuse for these dangerously racist comments. The present climate of hatred directed at both asylum seekers abd refugees, is a disgrace.

Hardline Islam just needs enough useful idiots…….

Furret

There was no excuse for these dangerously racist comments. The present climate of hatred directed at both asylum seekers abd refugees, is a disgrace.

I wasnt sure whether to pick up on this comment or not.

I cant speak for everyone is my first point.

I think, many people did not start off with hate[could be wrong.
I myself do not hate. Far from it.
I am a Christian. Love your neighbour as yourself.

For others, and again , could be wrong, as someone said upthread, they did not vote for people coming here, was it illegally.in such large numbers
No, they do not believe that everyone is fleeing from persection. Far from it.
No, they do not believe that the government is trying it's best in the situation,. Far from it.
No, they do not believe the situation will be stopped anytime soon.

So it is all being done "in their faces" so to speak.

...and yep...re the halal meat dispute going on = I hadnt even realised our meat wasnt being prepared our way and would be shocked to find I'd inadvertently been eating that.

Thank goodness I haven't eaten meat for decades - so I won't have been conned into having that accidentally.

Basgetti

Maremia

When Italians first came to our shores, they opened cafes, and introduced us to fish and chips, now part of our national cuisine.

Could be wrong, but I think it was Jewish immigrants who introduced fish and chips?

I feel a google coming on to check - I always thought "fish and chips" was our cuisine. Along with roast beef/yorkshire pudding and "cream teas"......

There was no excuse for these dangerously racist comments. The present climate of hatred directed at both asylum seekers abd refugees, is a disgrace.

Basgetti

Maremia

When Italians first came to our shores, they opened cafes, and introduced us to fish and chips, now part of our national cuisine.

Could be wrong, but I think it was Jewish immigrants who introduced fish and chips?

You are correct, Basgetti. It was Jewish refugees who introduced battered fried fish to the UK.

foxie48

I stayed with my daughter for a couple of nights this week. Her local area is busy and thriving with a multi-racial community and it is a pleasure to visit. She's able to buy all her grocery locally including fish and meat together with a vast variety of foods from across the world. I love going out to eat there, this time we had good tapas pre-theatre and an amazing Moroccan brunch. I've eaten Indian street food, Thai, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese etc etc on visits in cafes and restaurants almost always with locals from that community. My DD works with a big range of Nationalities and has friends who would be classed as "immigrants". She and I celebrate the diversity we have in the UK, perhaps because we were both born in a big city with a diverse population so we saw people with different ethnicities as neighbours rather than a threat.

Halal meat? Very cruel imo.

Maremia

When Italians first came to our shores, they opened cafes, and introduced us to fish and chips, now part of our national cuisine.

Could be wrong, but I think it was Jewish immigrants who introduced fish and chips?

When Italians first came to our shores, they opened cafes, and introduced us to fish and chips, now part of our national cuisine.

Posters saying that many shops are now run by 'immigrants', would you prefer empty premises and the vandalism that follows?

PamelaJ1

It is very natural to want to live with and among those who are similar to oneself. Colonies are formed. Nothing wrong with that as long of those who have formed those colonies have come to this country with every intention of embracing our attitudes and becoming truly British.
They can keep their religion as long as their beliefs don’t clash with ours. For example if they want to eat Halal meat then so be it. I don’t and don’t expect to have to Google to see if my local supermarket is selling it. Just try it, it’s very confusing!

Many races have come here and settled very happily and just got on with it, it’s only relatively recently that we have had the sort of immigration that has caused us the problems and instilled the uneasy feelings that seem to abound now.
I don’t understand why we don’t just give contracts to those we need to come and work here. We were an expat family and when dad’s contract ended we left, persona non grata immediately.
When a couple of women went shopping on their way home from tennis, in their tennis gear, and had forgotten for a moment they were in a Muslim country they were arrested and, I believe, were deported. They didn’t obey the rules.

I think that the problem here is that we seem to bend over backwards to accommodate our immigrants and avoid upsetting them. I wonder if this was what Mr. Ratcliffe was trying to say?
At the moment I am staying in an area of Sydney that could be Hong Kong. You can hear Cantonese all over the place, it doesn’t seem to be a no go area. They are getting ready for Chinese New year. Kung Hei Fat Choy everyone.

I don't think the stories of immigrants is always very happy. My husband will talk about being spat on as a child with no idea what had done wrong, that was the 50s. He can talk about the prejudice he faced as the first black officer in his police force in the 60s. Even when numbers were low the white British weren't always tolerant.

theworriedwell

Primrose53

I agree with what he said. It was just a few sentences and it seems to me it was just one word that offended SOME people. It wasn’t a foul mouthed rant, but a very brief and quietly spoken opinion.

We all know the NHS is full of people who came here many years ago but they came here LEGALLY and are greatly valued and respected. We have first hand experience of surgeons, nurses, doctors, cleaners etc as my son had major surgery last Oct at Addenbrooke’s and is now having chemo elsewhere.

Jim Ratcliffe paid £110 million in tax here in 2017/2018 before he decided to spend half his time in Monaco. To be honest I would probably do the same just as many other very wealthy Brits have done!

They didn't all come years ago. I was in hospital and my named nurse was from the Philippines and she'd been here a few months.

So he's just an immigrant where he is, don't know why he feels able to comment.

You are right. Qualified staff are still coming here legally from other countries and rightly so. No problem with that.

GrannyGravy13

Can anyone point to where I have posted that the High Street in question is unrecognisable due to immigrants please?

What did it have to do with the topic being discussed then?

Primrose53

I agree with what he said. It was just a few sentences and it seems to me it was just one word that offended SOME people. It wasn’t a foul mouthed rant, but a very brief and quietly spoken opinion.

We all know the NHS is full of people who came here many years ago but they came here LEGALLY and are greatly valued and respected. We have first hand experience of surgeons, nurses, doctors, cleaners etc as my son had major surgery last Oct at Addenbrooke’s and is now having chemo elsewhere.

Jim Ratcliffe paid £110 million in tax here in 2017/2018 before he decided to spend half his time in Monaco. To be honest I would probably do the same just as many other very wealthy Brits have done!

They didn't all come years ago. I was in hospital and my named nurse was from the Philippines and she'd been here a few months.

So he's just an immigrant where he is, don't know why he feels able to comment.

dalrymple23

I agree with Opal as well. However you view his comments, why is it not now allowable to voice what you think and believe without being ostracised and cancelled? Even the PM said that we are strangers in our own country. I am certainly beginning to feel one.

We get a lot of people retiring up here from towns and cities where they feel like strangers. We hear it all the time. Until last year we rented out a property for holidays and the comments in the guest book usually said how good it was to enjoy a holiday in a part of the country which reminded them of their childhood. They also liked our local shops and cafes where they were welcomed.

It is allowable to voice your opinions, and it is allowable for others to voices theirs if they disagree with you. Sometimes more people disagree with you than agree.

I agree with Opal as well. However you view his comments, why is it not now allowable to voice what you think and believe without being ostracised and cancelled? Even the PM said that we are strangers in our own country. I am certainly beginning to feel one.