What are your thoughts on immigration into the UK? For me, our open door policy needs to stop, and we should be more like Australia and select who we allow to move here, and who we don't. Rather than just grant asylum to any european that turns up in Dover.

However I don't want anyone to think I want us to just shut the border, immigration is a good thing, but it should be limited, our population is spiraling out of control, as is unemployment. On a similar note, I had a conversation with a guy I work with today who voted BNP. And I tried to explain to him that BNP is not the answer. Then I realised why the BNP got the seats they got in the european elections, all comes down to Labour ignoring the wishes of the British people for years. Now ordinary people are turning to an extremist group to turn the mass immigration tide.

Any thoughts? Or am I just rambling?

I don't really know about immigration in the UK, but people complain about it everywhere. Greeks hate Albanians because of it - an instance of this is there was potentially a fungus at a beach close to where i was staying (though I thought fungi didn't grow in salt water), and even on the news, they were saying it was because of Albanians. My friend, an Italian (given, he's a fascist... Literally), hates all immigrants of any kind. He hated the fact that he was living in Tanzania because of that - at least he wasn't a hypocrite.

We just seem to be inundated with immigrants from all over Europe here, they get off the boat and can claim asylum and get houses and benefit money straight away, it's ridiculous. But were so liberal over here if you utter what I just said in public your labelled a racist or xenophobic.

WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH PEOPLE WANTING TO LIVE WHERE WE LIVE

If I was living in shitholeistan, where my mother gets raped daily, there's only cat food to eat, and electricity is so uncommon the locals know it as "god magic"... Hell, I think I'd want to move to the west too.

It's all very "they tuk arr johhhhbbbzzz" etc etc

Either way, this is bollocks. THEY get benefit money straight away? Guess what... SO DO WE! Charver dave turns 16, he can finally escape state school and him and his pregnant missus (Chardonnay we'll call her, also 16) have nothing to worry about except which shitty housing estate their council house will be on. Now, tell me what gives charver dave the right to a free house + benefits over an immigrant? Is it just because he was born here rather than in shitholeistan?

If "them" claiming benefits is your problem with immigration I suggest you complain about the welfare system as a whole - white british folk doing fuck all and living for free are a much bigger drain on our economy than a few of them pesky immigrants.

I don't see why happening to be born somewhere different should make any difference to anyone's life ever. It does, of course, but it damn well shouldn't.

Weellll I guess I'll be the lone Americano to chime on this thread, and not just an American, but a Texan, living on the 'forefront' of the 'onslaught of the heathen horde' as my grand father called it at one point, wonderful man really, but that's another story. In my oh so humble opinion, I'll say that my entire life, I've been brought up around Mexican immigrants my entire life, as long as I can remember I've had a Mexican Nanny (both parents were workers so I was left with one after a particularly nasty day care incident involving a die cast truck, and a kid's nose. I didn't play well with others.) So it's never been an issue of, oh dear lord look at these strange and disgusting individuals! It's been more, oh look, more hard workers. I mean, let's face it, most immigrants come from some piss poor piece of shit country where they had to be part of some sort or manual labor for their pay check, I mean for god's sake, they can live on one dollar a day down there, and that's considered 'living wage'. Now, my knowledge of the problems in the UK are very limited, I went to Ireland not too long ago and they had some problems with eastern europeans coming in and basically being squatters, so I'm not sure how much of a nuisance they are, or if that was just hyped or what, but I can say this, most of the day laborers, migrant workers, and illegal aliens that I've come across (aka every time i drive by the gas station any time before noon) seem to be too hard of workers to mooch off 'the system'. Immigration has never been the problem, it's how we've taken it and how we've seen it as this horrible thing. And again, I know NOTHING about immigration in the UK, other than it's different than here, that they're not illegals, and that they can apply for state funds, while here it's different, but I have to think that these people aren't just complete and utter moochers, but more people looking for an opportunity they couldn't find in their homeland.

it sucks that your life is determined where your born. were lucky enough to be born in these 1st world nations. It would be nice if everyone could live in western Europe of North America but thats unrealistic. you have to draw the line at some point. With England you guys simply don't have enough room/stuff to go around.

The "problems" in the UK are closer to mythology than actual events.

Just the kind of response I'd expect from a fascist etc etc

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8224520.stm

An interesting recent article on how much immigration is affecting our spiralling population.

I'm not saying that there's no issue with immigrants turning up and claiming benefits, but the effect is so insignificant compared our own people leeching from the government that it's barely worth considering separately.

Blaming all our problems on foreigners and minorities is exactly how the extremist groups gain support, when the real problems are much closer to home. I don't disagree that our benefits system is diabolical, but blaming it on immigration is missing the point and scape-goating people who are no more to blame than the rest of us.

Two of my best friends have lived on benefits for a long, long time. Why? Because they can. Why the hell should they work when it's so easy to claim their dole and sit around smoking pot all day? Yeah it's "immoral" as fuck, but there's nothing to stop them doing it and they'll freely admit that the system is fucked up because it's so easy for them to do it.

The whole damn system needs an overhaul, it's got sod all to do with immigration.

Re-read my posts then call me a fascist again. That attitude is the problem with the country. I'm middle of the road, not right, not left wing. Your assuming I'm right wing because I've spoken up against immigration. Just the same as everyone does. And the reason fascist groups like the BNP have got the power they now have is because people are sick of being called fascist for speaking out against it. People like you are the problem. So you sit there and tell me im wrong and fascist all you want, your finding yourself in a minority, the majority of English want action against this tide. And understandably so.

Re-read my posts then call me left wing again. You're assuming that I'm left wing because I'm against tighter border controls because I can see that the problem is elsewhere.

If you're going to call me a lefty like I'm someone under your shoe, don't be surprised if I throw fascist back at you.

I'm only in a minority in my "don't give a shit about immigration" view because the press has been so focussed on immigration for so long that average joe in the UK now thinks it's a major problem and that stamping it out would solve all our problems.

"Solving" immigration would barely be a patch on the quilt. We need a massive welfare reform; fannying about worrying about things we have little control over anyway (EU membership -> open borders, it's part of the package) isn't going to get us anywhere.

NB: I was calling you a fascist in jest if you didn't realise, I understand the internet is a bit shit when it comes to tone of voice :/

Agreed with Ross. Closing the borders won't solve these kind of things:

Ross wrote:

Two of my best friends have lived on benefits for a long, long time. Why? Because they can. Why the hell should they work when it's so easy to claim their dole and sit around smoking pot all day? Yeah it's "immoral" as fuck, but there's nothing to stop them doing it and they'll freely admit that the system is fucked up because it's so easy for them to do it.

This isn't the point, im not discussing the state of our benefits system. Back to my original point, do you really think its ok for abdul and muhammed to turn up at Dover and claim benefits? Because they can? Yes English people do it too. But that dosent mean its ok. And it is costing our economy millions, both with English and immigrants. Reducing and controlling immigration will help. If not slove the problem.