Comments on immigrant benefits

MayBee70

GrannyGravy13

I think the main parties really have to look at all the reasons people are turning to Reform, it’s not as simplistic as implying all their supporters are racist.

There are people who feel let down by consecutive governments, and willing to give someone else ^a go^

But they’re turning to a party that has no intention of helping them. Why can’t people see that?

I can only guess that as the main parties have promised them this that and the other in their manifesto’s and never delivered, they think they have nothing to lose by voting Reform 🤷‍♀️

I guess it's desperation MayBee70.
But for that community, they did lose economic support after BREXIT.

Maremia

I guess it's desperation MayBee70.
But for that community, they did lose economic support after BREXIT.

I think Cornwall are having problems, too, because they’ve lost the EU funding for The Eden Project?

Oh no. That was going so well.

The EU funding was a capital grant for start up, not ongoing financial support.

Eden has suffered from a massive drop in visitor numbers since Covid, increased running costs and a structure that has aged and needs costly maintenance and repairs.

It’s all there on their web site. You can’t blame that one on Brexit😬

GrannyGravy13

MayBee70

sixandahalf

He spoke to a retired nurse who had lived there all her life and said it used to be a lovely community where everybody took great pride in their properties and the streets

I can tell you from first hand, lived experience the poverty there has always been sad to see.

Didn’t it all start with the mine closures when there was no new employment created for people? A legacy of the Thatcher years? I think the EU ploughed money into such areas but they voted to leave the EU.

Margaret Thatcher closed between 115-160 pits Conservative

Harold Wilson closed between 253-290 pits Labour

Source - Google

I can play that game. too.

The pits closed during the Wilson administration were small, poor quality. and of low productivity, The aim was to make the then nationalised coal industry more efficient and more cost effective.

The ones that remained were the large, highly productive pits.

Thatcher's objective was to destroy the mining industry because of her ideological objection to nationalised industry and, I think, because miners' industrial action over the years had caused so much trouble for tory administrations.

Of course, now that we are so conscious of the environmental damage caused by fossil fuels we could, in a weird way, be glad that the pits were closed, but as their output was replaced with imported coal and lots of opencast mining went on for decades after I don't think she had the environment in mind at the time.

“ A programme designed to inspire people to connect to nature has been awarded more than £2m of funding from the National Lottery.
The Eden Project scheme - called Nature: Connection and Recovery - aimed to make nature central to boosting health and wellbeing while giving communities tools to take action on climate change, programme leaders said.
They said Dundee, Morecambe, Liverpool, Belfast, Newport and Cornwall would benefit from nature-based activities, including nature recovery work, food-growing and art.
Sam Alford, from the Cornwall-based Eden Project, said the three-year scheme would "highlight the role of nature in helping to solve the climate emergency".
"By the end of the three years, more people in communities across the UK will have had the opportunity to help shape and participate in nature connections and recovery activities, helping to restore and regenerate natural spaces near to where they live," he said.
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The programme also involves the Gwent, Ulster, Lancashire and Scottish wildlife trusts, health company Intelligent Health and the Ashken Family Foundation.
It aimed to "reach people and communities experiencing poverty, disadvantage and discrimination and will support them with the skills needed to help mitigate the climate crisis", said the Eden Project.
Liz Watchorn, from the the National Lottery Community Fund, said: "Helping people to reconnect with nature is vital for our planet and our wellbeing and, thanks to National Lottery players, this project will have a lasting impact on communities across the UK."
The Eden Project said the programme would begin in 2026 in St Austell, Morecambe and Liverpool, with further areas to be announced later in 2026.”
Sounds as though it’s ok. I really must buy lottery tickets more often…keep saying I will but then don’t!

Actually Cornwall is relevant to what I was saying.

It is in fnancual trouble as a county. There are 22,000 residents on its housing lists many of whom have been there for years.

It has bought 46 houses solely for homeless migrants and accommodates many more in private rented accommodation which is then unavailable for Cornish residents.

It makes for resentment. No money available to buy houses for my family who contribute to our economy but money available for others. We have to pay rent and Council tax whilst others get the same for free.

It’s not racism but a deep sense of unfairness and injustice. It’s that feeling that will propel Reform into power.

I agree with you Lathyrus3...I said something similar on another thread.

Hasn’t there always been a housing problem in Cornwall? And isn’t a lot of it caused by second home owners?

Well, not always , no.

Second home owners cause a lot of resentment too.

But whataboutery doesn’t change what people experience. Homes for new arrivals, people have been told it isn’t possible to provide homes for people who live there.

That basic injustice.

Isn’t it equally unjust that those who can afford it can have two homes when many people don’t have one? That’s not whataboutery - it’s disputing the idea that 46 homes for immigrants has anything like the impact of countless second homes that lie empty most of the time.

Doodledog

Isn’t it equally unjust that those who can afford it can have two homes when many people don’t have one? That’s not whataboutery - it’s disputing the idea that 46 homes for immigrants has anything like the impact of countless second homes that lie empty most of the time.

People should be allowed to buy what they wish to buy, otherwise its the politics of envy.

Well it just adds to decision to vote to for a different party from the ones who are in power.

What I’m trying to point out is the feelings that will lead to a Reform victory unless the Party in power realises what is happening and takes action to counter people’s feelings if injustice and always bring at the bottom of the pile.

It’s inevitable that people will turn to someone who acknowledges their problems and promises them a better life

However mistaken the reality might turn out to be. That’s why Labour are in power at the moment. Because of that hope if something better.

Meandrogrog

Doodledog

Isn’t it equally unjust that those who can afford it can have two homes when many people don’t have one? That’s not whataboutery - it’s disputing the idea that 46 homes for immigrants has anything like the impact of countless second homes that lie empty most of the time.

People should be allowed to buy what they wish to buy, otherwise its the politics of envy.

Second homes are a problem but the fact is that not enough social housing is being provided.

Only 11% of housing stock in Cornwall is social housing, compared to an average of 18% across England
cornwallcommunityfoundation.com/our-impact-strategy/cornwall-housing-crisis/

Doodledog

Isn’t it equally unjust that those who can afford it can have two homes when many people don’t have one? That’s not whataboutery - it’s disputing the idea that 46 homes for immigrants has anything like the impact of countless second homes that lie empty most of the time.

As long as people pay the appropriate amount of tax, should they not be allowed rpto spend their money as thry wish?

One other problem with second home owners, so I was told by Cornish residents, is that they may arrive with a boot loaded with supplies for their stay and do not shop locally.

On second homes in Cornwall, (I own one), there is a 2nd home owners scheme where we can make a direct, voluntary contribution to support those locals with housing needs in Cornwall. I believe several millions have been collected, in addition to the higher second home tax now charged.

I recognise that I am very lucky to own a second home in Cornwall, when for others daily life in the county can be a challenge. However, my understanding is that locals feel resentment on both counts, but they feel that at least 2nd home owners are providing them with some support, beyond the welcome drawing in of tourists, unlike the homeless migrants who bring nothing to the community.

I agree that more homes need to be built, and that people should be ‘allowed’ to buy what they like - who is disallowing anyone?

What I am saying is that blaming immigrants for a housing shortage when existing citizens can have more than one home seems to me to be missing a very important contributing factor. I am not saying that from a position of envy - why would that be the conclusion anyone would jump to??

MartavTaurus

On second homes in Cornwall, (I own one), there is a 2nd home owners scheme where we can make a direct, voluntary contribution to support those locals with housing needs in Cornwall. I believe several millions have been collected, in addition to the higher second home tax now charged.

I recognise that I am very lucky to own a second home in Cornwall, when for others daily life in the county can be a challenge. However, my understanding is that locals feel resentment on both counts, but they feel that at least 2nd home owners are providing them with some support, beyond the welcome drawing in of tourists, unlike the homeless migrants who bring nothing to the community.

We have a small second property which we have owned for about 18 years. We rent it out to locals who stand no chance on council housing lists. Between tenants we did holiday lets for 3 years.

There is no way on this earth I would rent it to immigrants even though I could get much more money from the council. The neighbours are all lovely and would not be happy.

Back to the original post.

The OP and a number if those who followed was concerned by anti immigration rhetoric and the possibility of Reform being the next government.

I share her concern.

She made reference to Hitler and the scapegoating of sections of the community.

He was able to do that because the ordinary people of his country were struggling with the necessities of their everyday lives and perceived a basic unfairness in the way they were treated.

If we don’t want something similar to happen, that basic injustice that people are feeling has to be tackled.

People mostly operate in a personal level. 46 new homes for migrants doesn’t sound like much, but it feels unfair when you have been waiting for five years and have been told there is no money to build a home for you, but there is for someone who has just arrived.

Must people vote on the basis of the quality of their own life.

I don’t think it’s blaming immigrants for the housing shortage. The question is why when there is a shortage should newly arrived immigrants be given priority over residents who have waited for years.

I couldn’t justify that to anyone so I like to hear why anyone thinks that should be so.

I guess the bottom line is that they are more in need than local residents.
The 46 houses in Cornwall will be handed back for social housing when no longer needed, (whenever that might be?!). Surely that makes the locals feel even more overlooked and like the lowest priority in their own community?

I do see what you’re saying Lathyrus. I just think it’s part of a bigger picture, but I also understand that I am seeing it from the perspective of someone who is comfortably housed.

It shouldn’t come down to either/or - there should be housing for all who need it, but that can only happen if people can only have one each. I’m not really talking about residential rentals ;although I think that market should be strictly regulated), but houses that stay empty a lot of the time, and Air B&Bs.

Immigration is not the issue for them said someone of the article discussed - but it is obviously an additional problem as the Nigerian families who moved in have been pelted with eggs and so on.

Horden remains one of the least ethnically diverse areas in the UK, 98.1% White (predominantly White British).

There's actually a lot more than 46 houses in Cornwall lying empty and boarded up on new building estates. They could be made readily available for locals as a priority instead of buying up other properties in which to house migrants.

These new estates have been left in limbo due mainly to spiralling costs and rows over planning. Surely the best thing would be to step in and finance their completion in order to use them as social housing for local people? If the money is available to buy 46 houses, then be creative and use it to help deal with the needs of the community first and foremost.

Put simply the needs of local people should be prioritised in order to reduce poverty in the area. This would then have a knock on effect in other ways, whereas 46 x however many migrants per house won't create activity and growth within the community.