Comments on immigrant benefits

Dorisdodar

I don't know what will happen under a Reform government...all political parties change what they pledged when they are elected so it's impossible to predict what will happen if Reform are elected.
This government promised growth which would be a good start but we haven't grown really since the 2008 financial crisis.

I don't know what will happen under a Reform government

Could we amend that to: I don't know what would happen under a Reform government!

Primrose53

I see the green eyed monster has reared its head again! 🤣

If we can afford it, we can spend our hard earned money as we choose. If that means buying a second property to rent to local people then I think that’s a very positive move. They get a pristine property at a very reasonable rent in a nice, quiet area after long waits on the council list. Any problem in the property is dealt with in 24 hours and they get their own parking and a lovely walled garden for privacy. One couple stayed 13 years and in all that time we only put the rent up once by a few £. They were great tenants and we are great landlords. People like us are providing a valuable service to local people.

I think what many posters are discussing, Primrose53, are the many empty homes and Airbnbs rather than your situation which is providing housing for a local family.

Dorisdodar

foxie 48....your post at 9.05 raises some good points....I don't agree with them all but this didn't all happen under a Reform government did it...

If you read my post Dorisdodar I haven't said it did. We haven't had a Reform government and I sincerely hope we never will, my post is about identifying the causes of the current housing crisis which have absolutely nothing to do with immigration.

This government promised growth which would be a good start but we haven't grown really since the 2008 financial crisis.

This is the problem with viewing a national economy as being the same as a household economy. We were actually recovering, albeit slowly, until 2010 when the tories regained power and George Osborne implemented his economically illiterate austerity policy on the back of an entirely mendacious claim that Labour had 'bankrupted the country' and we needed to tighten our belts in order to recover.

It is an indisputable fact that growth calls for money circulating in the economy; all that austerity did was remove money from the economy. The same belief, that the national budget needs to be run like a household budget, still persists in governments since then and is supported by voters who don't seem to understand how different a national economy is.

We will not achieve any meaningful 'growth' (or even growth remaining at a standstill) until governments radically change their approach.

Labour cannot achieve any growth because they don't know how to do it.

Much as most posters on here dislike the Green party leader and think his ideas are nonsense, he does actually have the right approach with regard to the economy. None of the other parties do, they'll just continue to destroy the UK economy..

MaizieD

foxie48

Blaming the housing of a relatively small number of immigrants in a county like Cornwall is a good example of what Reform does extremely well. It finds a convenient and visable scapegoat which then takes the spotlight off what really lies at the heart of the housing problem. We have had decades of under investment in our housing stock, sold off council houses, failed to provide suitable employment in areas of deprivation and allowed the cost of housing people to spiral out of control because basically it suits the better off in society. With many people having most of their wealth invested in the home they live in, it suits them for house prices to stay high and inheritance tax to enable them to pass on most if not all of the value to their children, so let's blame immigrants instead!

Excellent post. Thanks, foxie 👏👏👏

Dare I say that instead of taking on board what people think and feel they actually manipulate what they think and feel and then feed it back to them? I mean, would people assume that they can’t get a house because of immigrants if social media didn’t throw around false figures which, once heard are never forgotten even when discredited?

Doodledog

Primrose53

I see the green eyed monster has reared its head again! 🤣

If we can afford it, we can spend our hard earned money as we choose. If that means buying a second property to rent to local people then I think that’s a very positive move. They get a pristine property at a very reasonable rent in a nice, quiet area after long waits on the council list. Any problem in the property is dealt with in 24 hours and they get their own parking and a lovely walled garden for privacy. One couple stayed 13 years and in all that time we only put the rent up once by a few £. They were great tenants and we are great landlords. People like us are providing a valuable service to local people.

Two questions?

Who is not 'allowing' anything? Of course people are 'allowed' to buy what they like. We are not in primary school with someone making rules about how we spend our pocket money.

Why do people assume that opinions that are not theirs are fuelled by envy? Is that the only motive they understand? It is perfectly possible to be able to have options based on a sense of justice, with envy having absolutely nothing to do with it.

Oh, and a third question if I may? Why the 🤣 (rolling on the floor laughing)? What is so hilarious about someone else having point of view from yours?

The emoji is because every time anyone raises the question of second homes it comes round to the unfairness of some on here having more than one property.

It is just laughable that people can spend their savings on what they like, cruises, luxury holidays, flash cars, booze and fags etc but it is wrong to spend it on a second property according to some.

There are several on here who have a second property.

From Action on Empty Homes

Over 1 million empty homes in England.

Over 325,000 people in need of homes.

Numbers of long-term empty homes rose yet again by 38,082 to 303,143. Long-term empties are now at their highest level since 2011 (exceeding even pandemic-related data).

More homes in England are now long-term empty than during the Covid-19 pandemic when the housing market was closed.

Second Homes out of residential use total 268,153.

Total vacancy in England is now 1,022,433 homes.

Data from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government November 2025

static1.squarespace.com/static/6553693f7d629a133b6a4ece/t/6930a237c226f15c8bcdc151/1764794935462/data+overview+THIS+ONE.pdf

Wonder what the myriad reasons are for the empty houses?
Wonder how many could be made fit for habitation again?

My point is Foxie48 the country's not in great shape but Reform is posted about above all other parties yet the state of the country is down to the Conservatives and Labour.

Well Maybee people know they can’t get a house and are living in B and B.

And they know that their council has housed immigrant families in their area.

So I suppose they think if there were houses available why did that family get it rather than mine.

What answer would you give them?

I agree with 16 year olds being given the vote, but I also feel there should be an upper age limit.
I am 86 and keen on politics, but would give up my vote on the basis that we have made quite a mess of things, and are not voting for our future!

Lathyrus3

Well Maybee people know they can’t get a house and are living in B and B.

And they know that their council has housed immigrant families in their area.

So I suppose they think if there were houses available why did that family get it rather than mine.

What answer would you give them?

Have you failed to notice that putting immigrant families in hotels, which is essentially 'bed and breakfast' was the cause of demonstrations and near riots over the past year or two?

Put them in disused military camps and there's a huge protest about hundreds of young brown men at large planning to violate our women.

Put them in houses and they're taking accommodation which rightfully should go to people who've been on housing lists for years.

What is your answer?

"identifying the causes of the current housing crisis which have absolutely nothing to do with immigration."

Of course thousands of people arriving month on month must contribute to the housing crisis. Where do you think they are going to live?? - they don't bring their housing with them

Immigration hasn't caused the crisis sundowngirl but asylum seekers along with British citizens are a victim of it. In a civilised developed country we should at least be able to house people, regardless of why they are in need, in warm clean and adequate accommodation and we can't.

MaizieD

Lathyrus3

Well Maybee people know they can’t get a house and are living in B and B.

And they know that their council has housed immigrant families in their area.

So I suppose they think if there were houses available why did that family get it rather than mine.

What answer would you give them?

Have you failed to notice that putting immigrant families in hotels, which is essentially 'bed and breakfast' was the cause of demonstrations and near riots over the past year or two?

Put them in disused military camps and there's a huge protest about hundreds of young brown men at large planning to violate our women.

Put them in houses and they're taking accommodation which rightfully should go to people who've been on housing lists for years.

What is your answer?

Simple! Don’t let them in in then first place.

sundowngirl

"identifying the causes of the current housing crisis which have absolutely nothing to do with immigration."

Of course thousands of people arriving month on month must contribute to the housing crisis. Where do you think they are going to live?? - they don't bring their housing with them

You’re right and it shouldn’t really need pointing out!

Remember the old saying “you can’t fit a quart in a pint pot”.

MaizieD

Lathyrus3

Well Maybee people know they can’t get a house and are living in B and B.

And they know that their council has housed immigrant families in their area.

So I suppose they think if there were houses available why did that family get it rather than mine.

What answer would you give them?

Have you failed to notice that putting immigrant families in hotels, which is essentially 'bed and breakfast' was the cause of demonstrations and near riots over the past year or two?

Put them in disused military camps and there's a huge protest about hundreds of young brown men at large planning to violate our women.

Put them in houses and they're taking accommodation which rightfully should go to people who've been on housing lists for years.

What is your answer?

I was replying to your other post that sad people only think there is a problem because what they see on Sunday dial media.

It’s this sort of dismissal of people’s actual experience that makes them feel unheard and of no account and that will lead to a vote for those who appear to be listening.

They are only assuming they can’t get a home? Silly them.
So if they’d get off social media and actually go out and look they’d realise there are plenty of homes out there?

social media.

If only the issue of housing asylum seekers was simple

Why are there so many EMPTY houses?

@Primrose53 “Simple! Don’t let them in in the first place”
I hope, for the sake of you and yours, that you are never put in the position of seeking refuge, only to be met by hostility. Young men often come ahead to find work to provide for their families, or they may be fleeing conscription - as was the case with Hamas (I worked with a young Palestinian in fear of his life for refusing to work for them but who, regardless, the British Government were ‘repatriating’). I befriended a young Syrian man who had fled from conscription by Assad’s regime. But go on listening to Farage, Braverman, Patel if it suits your mindset. Just remember the £350m going to the NHS and what a brilliant success Brexit has been to underscore their honesty and integrity, and that Rwanda was deemed unsafe by our own defence force. The solution? Stop thinking that way. There is plenty of work that refugees will undertake while waiting to be processed: agricultural, care work, refuse disposal, street cleaning, supporting the homeless - and on, and on. People opened their homes to white Ukrainians - why not to the brown people fleeing for their lives???

Primrose53

MaizieD

Lathyrus3

Well Maybee people know they can’t get a house and are living in B and B.

And they know that their council has housed immigrant families in their area.

So I suppose they think if there were houses available why did that family get it rather than mine.

What answer would you give them?

Have you failed to notice that putting immigrant families in hotels, which is essentially 'bed and breakfast' was the cause of demonstrations and near riots over the past year or two?

Put them in disused military camps and there's a huge protest about hundreds of young brown men at large planning to violate our women.

Put them in houses and they're taking accommodation which rightfully should go to people who've been on housing lists for years.

What is your answer?

Simple! Don’t let them in in then first place.

How will that solve the housing crisis? How does that get more homes built, reduce the cost of rents and buying a home?
"Approximately 6.5 million to 10 million people in the UK live in poor-quality, substandard, or non-decent housing, according to different studies. These homes often feature hazards like severe cold, damp, mould, or lack of modern amenities, with about 3 in 10 people in England affected. The crisis disproportionately affects young people, low-income households, and renters. " AI generated
The construction industry needs 45K extra workers annually to meet current demand. The construction industry board says it needs 150K extra skilled workers by 2028 to meet demand and there were 140K unfilled vacancies in 2025. Stopping small boats won't get houses built or train people, we are desperately short of labour!

Emilymaria

@Primrose53 “Simple! Don’t let them in in the first place”
I hope, for the sake of you and yours, that you are never put in the position of seeking refuge, only to be met by hostility. Young men often come ahead to find work to provide for their families, or they may be fleeing conscription - as was the case with Hamas (I worked with a young Palestinian in fear of his life for refusing to work for them but who, regardless, the British Government were ‘repatriating’). I befriended a young Syrian man who had fled from conscription by Assad’s regime. But go on listening to Farage, Braverman, Patel if it suits your mindset. Just remember the £350m going to the NHS and what a brilliant success Brexit has been to underscore their honesty and integrity, and that Rwanda was deemed unsafe by our own defence force. The solution? Stop thinking that way. There is plenty of work that refugees will undertake while waiting to be processed: agricultural, care work, refuse disposal, street cleaning, supporting the homeless - and on, and on. People opened their homes to white Ukrainians - why not to the brown people fleeing for their lives???

Seeking refuge from that nasty, dangerous place called France. yeah right!

Primrose53

Doodledog

Primrose53

I see the green eyed monster has reared its head again! 🤣

If we can afford it, we can spend our hard earned money as we choose. If that means buying a second property to rent to local people then I think that’s a very positive move. They get a pristine property at a very reasonable rent in a nice, quiet area after long waits on the council list. Any problem in the property is dealt with in 24 hours and they get their own parking and a lovely walled garden for privacy. One couple stayed 13 years and in all that time we only put the rent up once by a few £. They were great tenants and we are great landlords. People like us are providing a valuable service to local people.

Two questions?

Who is not 'allowing' anything? Of course people are 'allowed' to buy what they like. We are not in primary school with someone making rules about how we spend our pocket money.

Why do people assume that opinions that are not theirs are fuelled by envy? Is that the only motive they understand? It is perfectly possible to be able to have options based on a sense of justice, with envy having absolutely nothing to do with it.

Oh, and a third question if I may? Why the 🤣 (rolling on the floor laughing)? What is so hilarious about someone else having point of view from yours?

The emoji is because every time anyone raises the question of second homes it comes round to the unfairness of some on here having more than one property.

It is just laughable that people can spend their savings on what they like, cruises, luxury holidays, flash cars, booze and fags etc but it is wrong to spend it on a second property according to some.

There are several on here who have a second property.

My comments are not confined to 'people on here'. If people didn't have more than one property there wouldn't be so much of a scarcity, so rents and house prices would fall. Many landlords routinely increase rents when mortgage rates rise, as they expect their tenants to cover their costs and add on a profit. This makes it harder for the tenants to save a deposit.

Nobody has said that people are not 'allowed' to spend their money how they like. However, in a discussion about resentment against immigrants because 'they take our houses' it is relocate to mention that the housing shortage - particularly in areas such as Cornwall - is not helped by the fact that there are those who buy up homes either as a source of income or for short-term holiday lets. It doesn't matter in the slightest whether those people post on here or not, and the comments do not come from a place of envy.

Speaking for myself, I have a house, and have no desire to have another one, so I am not envious of those who do. I do, however, have two adult children who have bought houses in the last couple of years. As well as student debt they both paid high rents to people who bought up 'spare' homes in the areas they live in, meaning that it took far longer for them to save deposits than it would have done had 'market rents' not been based on the cost of mortgages and profit for the landlords. On a recent graduate salary, £1200 a month rent is a huge chunk, but that is what they have been paying - one for a flat and the other for a small house. It is well over the full new state pension, too, so older people needing to rent accommodation are in an even worse position. That doesn't make me feel like rolling on the floor laughing - not at all.

Happily, we don't live in a society where people can be told what they are 'allowed' to spend their money on, be that 'booze and fags' or more houses than they need. I am not advocating that at all. What I am saying (again) is that there are not enough houses to go round in the first place, and the fact that some have more than one means that others can't have one at all. That observation does not come from a place of envy, but from a desire for fairness. Why is that so hard to understand?

Primrose53- "Seeking refuge from that nasty, dangerous place called France. yeah right!"

Pre Brexit the UK relied on the EU's Dublin agreement to return asylum seekers to France. This evidently stopped after Brexit thereby creating the problem. This is the outcome of the Brexit vote..