Immigration isn't anywhere near the problem that the right wing like to make out. As you've mentioned, the Tory backers in industry need immigrants to fill the jobs and create a supply and demand v wages and benefits culture that suits maintaining the status quo. Also the right try to talk about Asylum and immigration in the same breath, when the two are completely different and occur for totally different reasons.
It doesn't matter what's true, it matters what people believe. Crime was at a record low until the Tories started carving up the police recently. People were still terrified about how lawless the modern England is. This always sums it up for me: This is just another policy that's been created because polls suggest that people think it's an issue. The Conservative party run it as a meme and get elected because the electorate believe that they're strong at it. The reality has nothing to do with it.
Well immigration levels certainly increased under theresa may despite the tories promoses to half the figure!
There was a breakdown of Govt spending which included fraudulently claimed benefits that I saw a while back. It was a pitiful small amount of money, I can't remember the exact figure, but a mere fraction of what the Exchequer loses out on in unpaid corporate tax. It doesn't stop the tabloids and low brow ****e TV ramping up the 'problem' with cries of 'Spongers' and 'Benefits Street' programmes.
They supposedly overpay by £4.6bn every year, but this figure also includes mistakes, both by claimants and the state. They also underpay by £1.6bn, though. We'll call it £3bn, despite this being rather generous. That's less than 1% of the total. A survey suggested that people think it's actually around 24%. https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/fraud-and-error-stocktake-3/ Tax avoidance is estimated at around £34bn. Over ten times the amount of overpayment of benefits. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29644274 The HMRC are sitting on thousands of cases, negotiating for smaller amounts and prosecuting virtually nobody.
If we quit the EU what happens if the remaining EU countries decide to kick out the 2.2 million British people who currently reside in Europe ?
Why would they? The idea that everyone would be sent back to there countries if we pulled out is nonsense.
More pertinently if we pull out of the EU what is going to happen to the UK? Isnt there something in the good friday agreement that would be affected if we pulled out? And the devolved governments are all dead against pulling out, with a 2nd Scottish referendum very likely then the split up of the UK could happen, which would be a huge disaster
With the price of oil as it is there is no chance at all that Scotland would go for independence again in the near future. There figures for independence relied heavily on oil remaining at a high price and also being steady. The volatility of the oil market at the moment and the low prices would make there figures completely unworkable.
Id say theres no way that scotland (and to a leaser extent NI) will be willing to lose the support and benefit from Europe - something backed up by most of their MPs/MEPs and polls
If it means they had to go independant they would stick with us, like I said as it stands Scotland economically aren't in a position to pull away from the UK. They would make a huge fuss I'm sure and eventually settle for guarantees of funding towards the current projects funded by the EU and probably a future guarantee of X amount for social projects in Scotland.
Why is it nonsense ? By the UK leaving the EU British people would lose their right to live and work in the remaining EU countries.
No, depending on the country in question anyone who has lived there for X years would qualify for residency in the country and even citizenship. It is highly likely anyone settled in other countries and any Europeans settled here will be offered some form of residency or visa dependant on how long they have lived there. To think all of a sudden millions of people are going to be evicted from all over Europe and sent back to the UK while we send millions back the other way is ridiculous.
In terms of trading with Europe. The out team say we'd still trade with Europe because they need us and we'd negotiate deals to trade with them. But we'd still have to abide by the EU trading rules anyway, so what's the point of being on the outside ? Surely it's better to be on the inside and have a say in shaping those rules, rather than having no say and just being subject to them ?
In terms of trading with Europe certain rules would still have to be followed but we would also be free to pursue trade agreements with other countries around the world not having to abide by those rules.
We do that anyway. My point is if we're going to trade with Europe then we have to follow EU rules on trading. So what's the point of being on the outside with no say on how those rules are shaped ?
No we don't do that anyway, we are limited in the ways we are able to trade with countries outside the EU by being in the EU.
For example the EU has EU wide customs rules for trading with non-EU countries, with imports and exports having to meet certain criteria and certain costs applicable. Free from the EU these barriers to trade with other nations could be removed.
