What Is Happening To Our Country?

[Whitey Grandad]

2 hours ago, rallyboy said:

The use of language is interesting, straight out of the Daily Mail handbook there, swarms, floods, plague, it's all very biblical and theatrical, to capture the imagination of one group of voters. 

The net migration figure of 171,000 from December 2025 is not a flood - but the word trickle doesn't fire up simpletons, and those wheely bins won't burn themselves.

When the tide comes in slowly it's still called a flood.

[Lord Duckhunter]

2 hours ago, rallyboy said:

The net migration figure of 171,000 from December 2025 is not a flood

The 10 years preceding Blair’s deliberate opening of the floodgates , net migration averaged 40k. We’re now led to believe 170k in little over 6 months isn’t a flood. 
 

It’s a ticking time bomb which people like you ignore in the rush to appear kind & moral. As we’ve seen time and time again, the “immigrant’s welcome” crew, really mean “immigrants welcome, just not where I live”. 
 

It can be done, look at Poland. Growing at 3.6% & unemployment at record lows. They’ve taken lots of genuine refugees fleeing Ukraine, but don’t take economic migrants pretending to be refugees. 

[rallyboy]

8 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

 

It’s a ticking time bomb which people like you ignore in the rush to appear kind & moral. As we’ve seen time and time again, the “immigrant’s welcome” crew, really mean “immigrants welcome, just not where I live”. 
 

 

Yeah, I'm always rushing to be kind and moral, it's my little thing that I like to do, though if you think I've forgotten that you fucked up and confused me with someone else, you're wrong.

As wrong as you were when you told us all that Boris was playing a blinder, when in reality he was a corrupt cunt who opened what I like to call floodgates - because that really was a flood.

 

[Farmer Saint]

The real floodgates opened with Brexit and the loss of the Dublin agreement, which we all knew couldn't be kept or replicated. That's it. If you voted for Brexit, this is what you've got.

[Farmer Saint]

1 hour ago, rallyboy said:

Yeah, I'm always rushing to be kind and moral, it's my little thing that I like to do.

 

Gosh, you must be a right cunt, being kind and moral. We want less people like you, and more like LD 😂

[ecuk268]

2 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

The real floodgates opened with Brexit and the loss of the Dublin agreement, which we all knew couldn't be kept or replicated. That's it. If you voted for Brexit, this is what you've got.

Ironically,  when we got back the ability to "control our borders" that the Brexiteers were always going on about, 2023 gave us the highest immigration figures at nearly 1.5m with a net figure of 950k. 

Getting that net figure down to 170k in 2 years is pretty good going.

[Gloucester Saint]

35 minutes ago, ecuk268 said:

Ironically,  when we got back the ability to "control our borders" that the Brexiteers were always going on about, 2023 gave us the highest immigration figures at nearly 1.5m with a net figure of 950k. 

Getting that net figure down to 170k in 2 years is pretty good going.

Yep, along with Boris’s sunlit uplands and his and Farage’s NHS red £350m bus, they voted for higher former Commonwealth immigration over EU economic and often temporary migration. 

Enjoy Brexiteers!

😂😂😂

Edited yesterday at 12:30 by Gloucester Saint

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

People love to use Poland as an example of steady growth.

Conveniently forgetting the billions they've had over the years from the EU. They've used those funds well to build up infrastructure and all sorts. And being able to attract businesses and retain people.

However the cost of living is rising there and parties to the right want in and have started to gain traction. Wonder how that will square with the EU teat sucking.

[Osvaldorama]

21 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

If those people most concerned about the net migration figure were to leave, the figure would come down.

Replacing productive, concerned citizens with economic migrants, with questionable backgrounds doesn’t seem to be the smartest strategy. 

 

The times are reporting that 76% of the migrants given right to stay under EHCR are unemployed. 

Meanwhile loads of the millionaires and billionaires that generate actual GDP growth and progress for the country are leaving   

I mean.. wtf are we doing here 
 

 

[egg]

38 minutes ago, Osvaldorama said:

Replacing productive, concerned citizens with economic migrants, with questionable backgrounds doesn’t seem to be the smartest strategy. 

The times are reporting that 76% of the migrants given right to stay under EHCR are unemployed. 

Meanwhile loads of the millionaires and billionaires that generate actual GDP growth and progress for the country are leaving   

I mean.. wtf are we doing here 
 

I'm not sure what you think we're doing, or what we can do.

You (and others) talk as though we've built a sea creating an open path to our door, that we've sent people to northern France, handing out leaflets proclaiming the milk and honey available in the hotels of Hastings and Blackpool, and left dinghies behind so that people can flock here and enjoy all that's on offer. 

Nobody, I mean nobody, is stopping people wanting to leave certain countries, stopping people making money by popping them in a boat, and sending them into open waters. 

Like it or not, this will happen. All we can do is make ourselves less attractive a destination, accommodate anyone seeking asylum as cheaply as possible, and process them as quickly as we can. 

It would be a more productive discussion if the people whining about this issue could offer any thought through thoughts on the solution, rather than the "make the lefties who want them here pay extra" and "it's all Starmer's fault" bollox that people write. 

[badgerx16]

1 hour ago, Osvaldorama said:

Meanwhile loads of the millionaires and billionaires that generate actual GDP growth and progress for the country are leaving   

 

Then again perhaps not.....

https://taxjustice.net/2025/07/24/the-myth-busters-guide-to-the-millionaire-exodus-scare-story/

 

[badgerx16]

Another Brexit bonus ? Police and Border Force say they can't readily access criminal records on the other side of the channel.......

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clye9zn0y1ro

"A convicted people smuggler, once described as "the godfather" of the French migrant camps, is living in Leicestershire and believed to be seeking asylum while working illegally, a BBC investigation can reveal.

Twana Jamal was given a five-year jail sentence in France in 2016, where authorities described him as one of the most successful people smugglers ever caught.

Prosecutors said the Iraqi Kurd, aged 36 at the time, had earned up to £100,000 a week for moving illegal immigrants across the Channel.

Following a tip-off this year, we traced Jamal to the village of Blaby and witnessed him working, driving a car without a licence and apparently using a false name.

Jamal's presence in the UK raises serious concerns about whether existing border controls are effective in checking asylum seekers who have committed serious crimes overseas."

 

How can the BBC find these people but the authorities can't ?

Edited 10 hours ago by badgerx16

[AlexLaw76]

4 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Another Brexit bonus ? Police and Border Force say they can't readily access criminal records on the other side of the channel.......

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clye9zn0y1ro

"A convicted people smuggler, once described as "the godfather" of the French migrant camps, is living in Leicestershire and believed to be seeking asylum while working illegally, a BBC investigation can reveal.

Twana Jamal was given a five-year jail sentence in France in 2016, where authorities described him as one of the most successful people smugglers ever caught.

Prosecutors said the Iraqi Kurd, aged 36 at the time, had earned up to £100,000 a week for moving illegal immigrants across the Channel.

Following a tip-off this year, we traced Jamal to the village of Blaby and witnessed him working, driving a car without a licence and apparently using a false name.

Jamal's presence in the UK raises serious concerns about whether existing border controls are effective in checking asylum seekers who have committed serious crimes overseas."

 

How can the BBC find these people but the authorities can't ?

And when they find them, we keep them (and pay for them)

[Weston Super Saint]

7 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Another Brexit bonus ? Police and Border Force say they can't readily access criminal records on the other side of the channel.......

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clye9zn0y1ro

"A convicted people smuggler, once described as "the godfather" of the French migrant camps, is living in Leicestershire and believed to be seeking asylum while working illegally, a BBC investigation can reveal.

Twana Jamal was given a five-year jail sentence in France in 2016, where authorities described him as one of the most successful people smugglers ever caught.

Prosecutors said the Iraqi Kurd, aged 36 at the time, had earned up to £100,000 a week for moving illegal immigrants across the Channel.

Following a tip-off this year, we traced Jamal to the village of Blaby and witnessed him working, driving a car without a licence and apparently using a false name.

Jamal's presence in the UK raises serious concerns about whether existing border controls are effective in checking asylum seekers who have committed serious crimes overseas."

 

How can the BBC find these people but the authorities can't ?

Which is just bullshit and probably covering up for ineptitude.  Unless France has left Interpol, whose headquarters are in Lyon?

Edited 10 hours ago by Weston Super Saint

[badgerx16]

22 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Which is just bullshit and probably covering up for ineptitude.  Unless France has left Interpol, whose headquarters are in Lyon?

I think the issue is on-demand access to data as people are being processed. There are procedural routes for investigators but these involve form filling and submission to individual national forces rather than instantaneous results. The UK does not have access to the EU wide integrated Schengen Information System.

[Gloucester Saint]

13 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

I think the issue is on-demand access to data as people are being processed. There are procedural routes for investigators but these involve form filling and submission to individual national forces rather than instantaneous results. The UK does not have access to the EU wide integrated Schengen Information System.

I agree, although there’s still ample evidence to kick him out with a brief hearing and keep him out. Driving around without a licence, can deport him for that as well. 

[Turkish]

51 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

And when they find them, we keep them (and pay for them)

with his leadership, organisation and business management skills im sure he'll make an outstanding contribution to British society. Welcome Twana!!

[Weston Super Saint]

45 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

I think the issue is on-demand access to data as people are being processed. There are procedural routes for investigators but these involve form filling and submission to individual national forces rather than instantaneous results. The UK does not have access to the EU wide integrated Schengen Information System.

Nope.

Quote

An encrypted Internet-based worldwide communications network allows Interpol agents and member countries to contact each other at any time. Known as I-24/7, the network offers constant access to Interpol's databases.^[26] While the National Central Bureaus are the primary access sites to the network, some member countries have expanded it to key areas such as airports and border access points. Member countries can also access each other's criminal databases via the I-24/7 system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpol

[AlexLaw76]

31 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

I agree, although there’s still ample evidence to kick him out with a brief hearing and keep him out. Driving around without a licence, can deport him for that as well. 

Why would we do that when the standard of Chicken nuggets are sub-optimal in his home country. Human rights, innit

[Whitey Grandad]

37 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Why would we do that when the standard of Chicken nuggets are sub-optimal in his home country. Human rights, innit

The solution is simple. Make sure that our chicken nuggets are the worst in the world.

What do you mean, "They already are"?

[Gloucester Saint]

45 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Why would we do that when the standard of Chicken nuggets are sub-optimal in his home country. Human rights, innit

Given he was earning the same as Aaron Ramsdale was last season as a smuggler, he can afford plenty of nuggets. Gold ones if he wanted.

Get him gone asap under a tribunals system (so a doddery judge can’t be tied in knots by his very expensive lawyer) false name, driving without licence, evidence building rapidly of his past. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

4 hours ago, egg said:

All we can do is make ourselves less attractive a destination,

That’s exactly what we need to do, but it’s the exact opposite of what we actually do. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

22 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Farage’s NHS red £350m bus

Wrong… I suggest some research is in order. 

[Gloucester Saint]

40 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Wrong… I suggest some research is in order. 

Nice selective quoting 🦆- I said Boris and Farage. Former was Vote Leave, latter Leave.EU.

I hold them equally responsible for wiping 6% off of the UK’s economy. Aided and abetted by plenty of useful wallies. 

 

[badgerx16]

3 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Nope.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpol

"Immigration officers have told the BBC that since the UK left the European Union, it has become more difficult to check criminal records from some other countries"

"

Since Brexit, the UK no longer has a data-sharing agreement with many countries in the EU, making it more difficult to check criminal and immigration records of asylum seekers, according to Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union.

"If we were able to share databases, even if just with our nearest neighbours, with Germany, with Belgium, with Holland and France, say - then, yes, we'd know that they had a conviction for people smuggling," she said.

Asylum seekers are fingerprinted on arrival in the UK and checked against UK police databases, but these would not necessarily show a conviction from another country."

Edited 5 hours ago by badgerx16

[Gloucester Saint]

1 minute ago, badgerx16 said:

"Immigration officers have told the BBC that since the UK left the European Union, it has become more difficult to check criminal records from some other countries"

One can argue the only Brexit benefits are those being claimed by the extra non-EU incomers. Ironically.

[Osvaldorama]

Three-quarters of all migrants given the right to stay in the UK via human rights laws are unemployed.

Each one costs you at least £18,700.

Which means the 12,000 small boat migrants this year cost you £222 million — enough for 30 brand new primary schools.

Source: Home Office

I dont think people realise how bad the welfare system is. PIP payments, taxis, handouts. 

It’s mental that anyone can defend what’s going on. 

[Osvaldorama]

1 hour ago, badgerx16 said:

"Immigration officers have told the BBC that since the UK left the European Union, it has become more difficult to check criminal records from some other countries"

"

Since Brexit, the UK no longer has a data-sharing agreement with many countries in the EU, making it more difficult to check criminal and immigration records of asylum seekers, according to Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union.

"If we were able to share databases, even if just with our nearest neighbours, with Germany, with Belgium, with Holland and France, say - then, yes, we'd know that they had a conviction for people smuggling," she said.

Asylum seekers are fingerprinted on arrival in the UK and checked against UK police databases, but these would not necessarily show a conviction from another country."

I’ve got a bridge to sell you 

[Gloucester Saint]

Save our children…from Raise the Colours

 

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Save our children…from Raise the Colours

 

Wankers

[badgerx16]

1 hour ago, Osvaldorama said:

I’ve got a bridge to sell you 

Five magic blue beans enough for you ?

[ecuk268]

1 hour ago, Osvaldorama said:

Three-quarters of all migrants given the right to stay in the UK via human rights laws are unemployed.

Each one costs you at least £18,700.

Which means the 12,000 small boat migrants this year cost you £222 million — enough for 30 brand new primary schools.

Source: Home Office

I dont think people realise how bad the welfare system is. PIP payments, taxis, handouts. 

It’s mental that anyone can defend what’s going on. 

Those 12000 are in the queue for asylum and so are not allowed to work and cannot claim benefits..

The only benefits they receive are about £40 per week if their accomodation does not provide food or £9.00 per week if food is provided.

[badgerx16]

1 hour ago, Osvaldorama said:

I’ve got a bridge to sell you 

Once the Brexit transition period ended the UK no longer had direct access to the European Criminal Records System.

Edited 2 hours ago by badgerx16

[AlexLaw76]

15 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Once the Brexit transition period ended the UK no longer had direct access to the European Criminal Records System.

Ok, great. Let’s start departing those who commit crimes when over here.

oh….

[badgerx16]

2 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Ok, great. Let’s start departing those who commit crimes when over here.

oh….

It's almost as if the people negotiating agreements and treaties between Governments are incompetent.

[Osvaldorama]

32 minutes ago, ecuk268 said:

Those 12000 are in the queue for asylum and so are not allowed to work and cannot claim benefits..

The only benefits they receive are about £40 per week if their accomodation does not provide food or £9.00 per week if food is provided.

Free home, 300£ a week in benefits, private security guards patrol the neighborhood 24/7 because the asylum seekers “don’t feel safe”.
 

[badgerx16]

34 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Once the Brexit transition period ended the UK no longer had direct access to the European Criminal Records System.

This is not funny, this is a fact.

"No, the UK can no longer access the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS). Following Brexit, the UK lost direct access to the secure EU-wide electronic system used for sharing conviction data. UK law enforcement and authorities now rely on slower, ad-hoc information sharing via Interpol or bilateral agreements."

Edited 1 hour ago by badgerx16

[Weston Super Saint]

4 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

"Immigration officers have told the BBC that since the UK left the European Union, it has become more difficult to check criminal records from some other countries"

"

Since Brexit, the UK no longer has a data-sharing agreement with many countries in the EU, making it more difficult to check criminal and immigration records of asylum seekers, according to Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union.

"If we were able to share databases, even if just with our nearest neighbours, with Germany, with Belgium, with Holland and France, say - then, yes, we'd know that they had a conviction for people smuggling," she said.

Asylum seekers are fingerprinted on arrival in the UK and checked against UK police databases, but these would not necessarily show a conviction from another country."

Authorised border and immigration officers in member countries are given direct, real time access to Interpol's global criminal databases....

As mentioned previously, I suspect they are making excuses for their ineptitude.  They have the access to criminal databases and they have it in real time.  If they don't use it, they can hardly blame Brexit for it.

[Lord Duckhunter]

4 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

I hold them equally responsible for wiping 6% off of the UK’s economy.

Complete & utter bollocks. Number one, you think the UK would have grown substantially more than any other EU economy had we remained in Number 2, Nigel wasn’t even an MP let alone PM or chancellor. Whatever happened to the UK economy is down to the Government. Brexit wasn’t an alternative Government, Brexit didn’t have a manifesto, it was just leaving the EU, what happened after that is down to the UK Government. George Galloway’s version of Brexit was entirely different to IDS’ . Nigel’s different than Boris’. The fact you still don’t get it, indicates exactly why your side  lost. You just don’t understand, it wasn’t a financial transaction, it was a fundimental principle of accountability .

Had Corbyn won in 2017, the country would look totally different than it does now, but people like you would still be banging on about “Brexit” when in fact it would be decisions Corbyn made which would have changed the country . When Burnham  faces the inevitable debt crisis, it will be because of decisions The Labour Government have made, not because people thought too much sovereignty was “shared” prior to 2016. 

[badgerx16]

14 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Authorised border and immigration officers in member countries are given direct, real time access to Interpol's global criminal databases....

As mentioned previously, I suspect they are making excuses for their ineptitude.  They have the access to criminal databases and they have it in real time.  If they don't use it, they can hardly blame Brexit for it.

House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee in July 2024;

"We also heard about some significant losses in capability. The police has lost access to the EU’s largest security database, SIS II, which it had consulted 603 million times in 2019. 13 EU Member States have also stopped extraditing suspects to the UK. This can result in offenders not being prosecuted or in victims and witnesses having to take part in proceedings abroad. "

 

https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/media-centre/house-of-lords-media-notices/2023/july-2023/post-brexit-uk-eu-security-cooperation-suboptimal-says-lords-committee/

 

"The UK now no longer has access to SIS II or ECRIS. In place of SIS II, the UK has had to fall back on the Interpol database, which is not directly integrated with the UK’s Police National Computer (PNC) and Border systems or with other EU Member States’ national systems, and as such, requires more manual support. Although the UK is working to semi-automate the process of inputting Interpol notices, it is predicted that fewer notices will be circulated. Moreover, even once UK agencies have geared up their systems and processes to link with Interpol, full effective use of Interpol depends on other states diligently utilising the system on their end. The Brexit deal does set out an alternative mechanism for the exchange of criminal record information in place of ECRIS, but UK enforcement authorities will have to submit requests to individual member state authorities each time they wish to access such data. Under the terms of the Brexit deal, UK agencies may have to wait up to 20 working days to receive a response. "

https://www.cov.com/en/news-and-insights/insights/2021/01/cross-border-criminal-cooperation-in-a-post-brexit-world

Edited 1 hour ago by badgerx16

[Gloucester Saint]

10 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Complete & utter bollocks. Number one, you think the UK would have grown substantially more than any other EU economy had we remained in Number 2, Nigel wasn’t even an MP let alone PM or chancellor. Whatever happened to the UK economy is down to the Government. Brexit wasn’t an alternative Government, Brexit didn’t have a manifesto, it was just leaving the EU, what happened after that is down to the UK Government. George Galloway’s version of Brexit was entirely different to IDS’ . Nigel’s different than Boris’. The fact you still don’t get it, indicates exactly why your side  lost. You just don’t understand, it wasn’t a financial transaction, it was a fundimental principle of accountability .

Had Corbyn won in 2017, the country would look totally different than it does now, but people like you would still be banging on about “Brexit” when in fact it would be decisions Corbyn made which would have changed the country . When Burnham  faces the inevitable debt crisis, it will be because of decisions The Labour Government have made, not because people thought too much sovereignty was “shared” prior to 2016. 

Talking out of your arse:

- GDP per capita 6-8% lower

- Investment 12-18% lower

- Productivity down 4%

https://ukandeu.ac.uk/brexits-impact-on-the-uk-economy/

Oh, and go and tell Phil Ward from Eskimo and tens of thousands of other business owners that Brexit wasn’t an economic project or didn’t have an economic impact. I’d hear the laughter from Bristol https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyv0m164m84o

[Challenger]

What's happening to our country ?

The headline item on BBC six o'clock news probably explains all.

[Weston Super Saint]

1 hour ago, badgerx16 said:

House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee in July 2024;

"We also heard about some significant losses in capability. The police has lost access to the EU’s largest security database, SIS II, which it had consulted 603 million times in 2019. 13 EU Member States have also stopped extraditing suspects to the UK. This can result in offenders not being prosecuted or in victims and witnesses having to take part in proceedings abroad. "

 

https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/media-centre/house-of-lords-media-notices/2023/july-2023/post-brexit-uk-eu-security-cooperation-suboptimal-says-lords-committee/

 

"The UK now no longer has access to SIS II or ECRIS. In place of SIS II, the UK has had to fall back on the Interpol database, which is not directly integrated with the UK’s Police National Computer (PNC) and Border systems or with other EU Member States’ national systems, and as such, requires more manual support. Although the UK is working to semi-automate the process of inputting Interpol notices, it is predicted that fewer notices will be circulated. Moreover, even once UK agencies have geared up their systems and processes to link with Interpol, full effective use of Interpol depends on other states diligently utilising the system on their end. The Brexit deal does set out an alternative mechanism for the exchange of criminal record information in place of ECRIS, but UK enforcement authorities will have to submit requests to individual member state authorities each time they wish to access such data. Under the terms of the Brexit deal, UK agencies may have to wait up to 20 working days to receive a response. "

https://www.cov.com/en/news-and-insights/insights/2021/01/cross-border-criminal-cooperation-in-a-post-brexit-world

So, to recap. UK border force and immigration have got access to the info they need. It may take a little longer than it used to, but they should have been able to find a criminal that entered the country illegally having been in prison in France, long before the BBC did and certainly shouldn't be processing an asylum claim for him?

[AlexLaw76]

4 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

So, to recap. UK border force and immigration have got access to the info they need. It may take a little longer than it used to, but they should have been able to find a criminal that entered the country illegally having been in prison in France, long before the BBC did and certainly shouldn't be processing an asylum claim for him?

I assume we are booking his flight right now?

or are we probating the next benefits payment?

[Weston Super Saint]

3 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

I assume we are booking his flight right now?

or are we probating the next benefits payment?

We've still got his asylum claim to process yet.