Referring to ‘an island of strangers’ in his latest shift to the right, very similar words to those used by Enoch Powell when he suggested people were becoming ‘strangers in their own country’. With every passing week I feel more and more satisfied that I cancelled my membership when this fella took over the party. Vote Green.
I also cancelled recently. Lib Dems and Greens both stand for my values far more than Labour these days.
I cancelled, with a heavy heart, following the attack on welfare benefits. Sounding more and more like Pound Shop Tories. I could never vote Tory or Reform, obviously, but I’m honestly not sure where I go next.
He's worried about Reform. He appears to be getting tougher on immigration. Some stuff he's mentioned is just common sense like getting fluent in the language of the country you live in. This should be a given for anyone and I include Brits that live in places like Spain and the UAE.
I agree that learning the language reasonably well of the country you live in should be mandatory (given its possible), but my word does it frustrate me seeing how many English people say this whilst living abroad and not knowing the native language themselves. So arrogant.
Fluent is a tough ask, certainly at the point of immigration and if one is learning the language as an adult. I think competent would be a more reasonable target, and people need to be given time and support to get there. Don't get me wrong, my French is pretty good. If you were to hear me having a conversation and you didn't speak too much French yourself you'd probably say I was fluent. But I wouldn't. At least, not fluent and correct at the same time. There's the rub. Also, my wife and I, or my friends and I, or other ex-pats from other countries and I, speak English to each other. That might not look like integration, but it would feel crazy to limit ourselves to the lower quality of our French. My French is never going to be anything like as good as my English, and I study most days. Learning to be fluent in a second (or nth) language sounds like a perfectly reasonable requirement, until one tries to do it.
I've said before a sensible controlled immigration policy which is policed correctly including removal where entry is refused is common sense. The Tub thumping about boat people invading us is disgraceful cos it's such a small percentage it hardly affects the overall figures. We have always been a country of immigration ( Mi Grandad came from Dublin as a lad) but how sustainable is net migration of between half to one million people per year..Starmer wouldn't get elected if the vote was tmorra tho..
There are lots of double standards. As well as the language issue when UK citizens relocate abroad, I have also wondered why they are referred to as ex-pats and not immigrants.
He's not going to out reform reform. Care workers are overwhelming!y made up of immigrants so that policy makes no sense at all.
While I agree that there is a double standard, I think ex-pat more often refers to someone living in another country on a temporary basis, as opposed to an immigrant being someone with the intention of relocating permanently.
Last 2 net migration figures have been 906k and 728k each year. Think the thing with the boats is it's costing the u.k tax payer billions each year, and these people are unvetted. Starmer said he was going to get to grips with it and the people smugglers and he's failed miserably 35k boat crossings since he took over.
Starmer. Could stand at the shores in Dover and Machine gun every single boat and he still wouldn’t be able to ‘outflank Reform’. entirely the wrong approach that cedes ground and Enables Farage. Starmer and anyone voting for him should be ashamed. Glad I got out when I did. Labour are part of the problem not the solution. Just need a few unions to start funding the Greens.
I suppose Keir is seeing millions of British adults not working and thinks these people should be doing care worker jobs, which is a fair point. Poaching health care staff from abroad just makes the health care in them places worse. We need to be more dependent on our own people.
Possibly, and I definitely don’t mean any offence. Being retired we often watch New Life In The Sun etc. (I know, I know!), and the term ‘Ex-Pat’ is consistently used to describe people who have already emigrated, or are in the process of doing so. It always seems to me to sound better than referring to them as ‘immigrants’!!
I get the sentiment and thats why i voted for Labour at the last election, but for me too much has happened and too much water has passed under the bridge for me to vote for them again now. I'm choosing to vote for a party who i can align my principles and morals with and not feel a sense of shame when consider voting for them. I've been a labour voter all my life, in part yes because it's who my grandparents/parents voted for but in a larger way it was because the party represented the values i was brought up on. For me those values in the Labour party are eroding every second and i'm no longer supporting this. Vote green.