Comments on immigrant benefits

foxie48

sundowngirl Absolutely nowhere have I said that "undocumented men" (your phrase not mine) are skilled workers. Please read what I have actually posted not what you think I have posted.

You wrote:-
"The construction industry board says it needs 150K extra skilled workers by 2028 to meet demand and there were 140K unfilled vacancies in 2025. Stoppingp small boats won't get houses built or train people, we are desperately short of labour!"

To mention the need for skilled workers and "stopping the small boats won't get houses built" in the same paragraph- It would appear that you believe that these arrivals on the small boats are those that will build the houses or train others to do so.

Perhaps you should read what you have posted

Could it be sixandahalf the fact that you verbally attacked another poster with an unpleasant and personal remark, and that’s why your post was removed.Yes, I think that was the case.

How bizarre! Somebody has reported my comment.

What a strange place this site is. Almost as if there is some sort of underlying agenda here. It is deemed acceptable to post all sorts of unsubstantiated things but not to point out that an ex mining community is very poor.

sundowngirl Absolutely nowhere have I said that "undocumented men" (your phrase not mine) are skilled workers. Please read what I have actually posted not what you think I have posted.

'Some building blocks are in place. Peterlee will receive £20m investment over 10 years under the government's Pride in Place Programme. The council's £10.7m 'Horden Masterplan', developed before Reform's victory, will see three streets near Cotsford Primary demolished and replaced with 100 new homes. And in 2020, Horden train station opened after a £10m project, creating links to Newcastle and Whitby.

But Brexit has removed a key source of funding, which the area desperately needs. County Durham received £154m of EU funding between 2014 and 2020, about £22m a year. Since the UK left the European Union, it receives about half that amount, £12m annually, under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

At the same time, government statistics show that County Durham is home to seven of the 10 poorest rural communities in England, and that its former mining villages have become more deprived since the UK voted for Brexit in 2016.

Local groups continue to help those struggling financially. At Horden Youth and Community Centre, a main and dessert are served for just £3. They have a shop selling discounted toiletries too; it was recently stolen from.

Here, residents are despondent and angry.

Pat, 64, says the village has been left to "disintegrate" and believes the role of the EU was misunderstood. "Everybody thought the EU was about people coming into the country. They didn't portray what benefits we were having."

Denise sees investment in other nearby towns, like Seaham, and feels aggrieved that it hasn't been replicated in Horden. Her vote lies firmly with Reform UK. Brexit has failed due to the way it's been enacted, she says, and it's time to turn back to Nigel Farage'...this is from a BBC article on Facebook... I can't copy all of it.

Check your sources.

Private Eye

Who’s behind the Centre for Migration Control? This so-called “research organisation” has been cited in The Sun, The Telegraph, The Times and Express - but it appears to be run by one man with a Brexit campaign past, publishing opaque and selective data and wild claims about migrants.

Good Law Project

Dodgy statistics and fringe beliefs: the groups behind Reform’s anti-migrant agenda

goodlawproject.org/dodgy-statistics-and-fringe-beliefs-the-groups-behind-reforms-anti-migrant-agenda/

www.thesun.co.uk/news/38279745/migrant-households-pocket-benefits-study-claims/#:~:text=MIGRANT%20households%20have%20pocketed%20more,staggering%20bill%2C%20the%20research%20suggests.

£15 BILLION paid out in Universal Credit in just 18 months to households with at least one migrant family member.

That is absolutely shocking when our own pensioners and WASPI women must go whistle!

foxie48

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!

150K skilled worked needed by 2028 and 140k unfilled vcncies in 2025

What makes you think these undocumented men are skilled workers? and with the unemployment figures growing, especially among our young people, why not give them the opportunity to be trained rather than strangers arriving illegally on our beaches

They can and do say anything once here.
We were only going to take Afghan families who had helped us as translators and other things but enormous numbers have arrived.
We can’t take everyone in the world who would simply prefer to live here, neither can all the other European countries.

Have you ever thought about those asylum seekers who are escaping being forced to work for Hamas or being conscripted to Syria, or who have worked with British military in Afghanistan or escaped from any other hell hole existence? We no longer have any means for them claiming asylum in this country unless they are actually in the country. Many of them speak English, have English connections because of our past history in their countries. Civilised humane countries accept their responsibility in accepting refugees, we take far fewer than most European countries and IMO we should improve our processing not try to build walls.

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???

It is nothing to do with the colour of their skin, don’t be silly. The Ukrainians came here legally and were mostly women and children. Their menfolk stayed behind to fight for their country.

These are mainly men of fighting age arriving here illegally and frequently lie about fleeing for their lives

I refer to my list earlier today. The accommodation issues in my seaside town is unrelated to immigration.
This is a situation requiring long term planning, and, possibly, some rethinking of the tax advantages of running an Airbnb.

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???

Have you ever thought that those asylum seekers being refused entry here were lying about being forced to work with hamas and being conscripted in Syria?
Some will say anything in order to stay here.Not all that many took in Ukrainians and I can’t see the British public taking in anyone who arrives here on a small boat when they could stay in France in safety.

sixandahalf

Message deleted by Gransnet

I have a hatred of nobody. I have friends from different parts of the world who agree that we need to stop welcoming people into our country who have not come here legally. They came here legally and they worked and paid taxes and think it is unfair. Sorry if that doesn’t suit your agenda of labelling me as something I most definitely am not.

Lathyrus3

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?

I think you were replying to MayBee, not me.

But apart from the rather daft answer of 'don't let them come here' it seems to me that whoever is responsible for placing them has a problem whichever one they decide on.

LemonJam

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..

No its not. Pre Brexit hardly any migrants were returned, as I have already posted on other threads.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

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..

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?

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

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!

@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???

Why are there so many EMPTY houses?

If only the issue of housing asylum seekers was simple

social media.