Do you see violence in the streets now? Is council housing overwhelmed or are the migrants being sent to hotels at your, the taxpayer's, expense? I wasn't sure how bad this all was until it got here. This could be another life changer for me if it gets any worse.
I've not read the whole thread to get a feeling for the replies of others, and might upset some people, might not.
Council Housing. There is none. But it's got nothing to do with migrants, it's down to the Right to Buy, and an almost total lack of building new properties to replace them over a 40 year period. The entire country is predicated on house prices increasing, so there has been a resistance to build new properties that would hurt the market. Instead, people were encouraged to get themselves into debt to "own" their property. Banks kept happy by making ever more sinister mortgage agreements: 5 year mortgage, 10 year mortgage, buy 50%, and now they're thinking of buy 10%.
I have lived and worked abroad for a good amount of my life, and therefore know what it's like to be an immigrant. I spent time in Germany, and when I went I didn't speak a word of the language. So, although I was very privileged (I had a job, and therefore the money to solve all problems) I think I have a general idea of what being an immigrant is like. Let me tell you, it's not all fun and games. It can be hard. Very hard.
The idea that someone would walk hundreds of miles, not knowing where the next meal is coming from, sometimes with kids, older relatives, and would then step into a boat to sale across a cold sea channel just so they can get benefit money is something I can't comprehend. I'm sure there are some horrible people in the mix, there always is, but on the whole, I'd like to see more sympathy and empathy.
Truth is, some of these people are running away from wars and/or governments that have been bombed into existence by my government, or been held up through aid and/or military support hangs heavy on me. In the UK we have a lot of immigrants from India, Pakistan, and throughout what was the Commonwealth. Ultimately, we went there and took advantage, and they're now coming here (well, they're been coming here for decades, but the point remains).
Let me give a theoretical argument. The US are spending billions in a war in Ukraine right now. Now, if the war goes the wrong way, should the US be willing to take in the people who have to leave (or who manage to leave)? Or does the entire thing sit squarely with enabling a war, and if they lose they simply lose? (By the way, I choose this example only because it's contemporary, not for any other reason).
If you do a quick search, the stats say there are over a million EMPTY homes in the UK. That's right now, today. They're empty for lots of reasons, but still. Building more housing creates jobs, too. There are 270,000 homeless people in the UK. These are people for whom home ownership is very unlikely to happen. They need an alternative. So we have private rentals, and I don't have much good to say about that.
Do I worry about migration? Yes, of course. I just think the rhetoric around it has gotten stale and nasty. Kind of like Brexit, okay so we left the EU, are we better off now? No, of course not. Because Brexit was a solution looking for a problem.
I feel fortunate in life overall. But I know I mustn't get complacent in that.
