Classic bit of UK Anti-Immigration Hypocracy

[Idaho]

So typical of the right. Rabble rousing and spreading hate, while at the same time getting work done on the cheap when it suits.

UKIP Leader hires Polish labour - The Times

[Leet Eriksson]

So typical of the right. Rabble rousing and spreading hate, while at the same time getting work done on the cheap when it suits.

UKIP Leader hires Polish labour - The Times

Just from the title alone, bad move.

You can hire cheaper labour from commonwealth countries like india

[rory_20_uk]

Just to show my complete ignorance of politics I didn't realise UKIP was anti immigration That's about the only aspect of the EU I like

All politicians are hypocritical liars. Why should UKIP be any difference?

[Red Peasant]

Just to show my complete ignorance of politics I didn't realise UKIP was anti immigration That's about the only aspect of the EU I like

All politicians are hypocritical liars. Why should UKIP be any difference?

Does that mean that Churchill was lying in your sig quote?

[rory_20_uk]

I think Churchill was an "old school" politician. He got elected and dismissed on what he believed, and wouldn't bow to anyone. He was what? 60 when he first got into public office. A man who didn't alter allegiances for power.

And the fact that I am clever yet so ignorant is further evicence that Churchill was correct.

[Red Peasant]

Churchill also had a quick-witted and mischievous sense of humour, and that quote is typical. Nevertheless, he believed deeply in his country's parliamentary democracy and its constitutional monarchy.

[Mount Suribachi]

I think Churchill was an "old school" politician. He got elected and dismissed on what he believed, and wouldn't bow to anyone. He was what? 60 when he first got into public office. A man who didn't alter allegiances for power.

Um, no. he was 26 when he entered parliament, left the Conservatives to join the liberals at 30, first cabinet post (president of the board of trade) was at age 32. Home Secretary at 36, First Lord of the Admiralty at 37, Minister of Munitions at 43, Secretary of State for the colonies at 47. Re-joined the Conservatives and was Chancellor of the exchequer at 50, First Lord of the Admiralty again at 65, Prime Minister (for the first time) at 66.

[KukriKhan]

The article: "...When it was pointed out to him that they could freely work here because of the political union, he said: “I don’t see that is relevant at all. We have three people who come here, they are very nice people and when they finish they go home.”

That was the prevailing theory here, too. And it worked for a long time. Migrants come and work the fields, orchards & vineyards for one-quarter of the wage local labor demanded (but still 5 times what the migrant could earn in his home province, if he could even find work), '... and when they finish they go home'.

Only they didn't, starting in the 70's. Instead of just following the crops for 5-6 months, then returning home, construction companies started hiring them (off the books, of course) for winter jobs. Now there was work year-round. Grueling, low-paid work to be sure, but fairly steady. If they're gonna stay here working 12 months a year, the next step is only natural: bring Momma and the kids up too. Former field-worker barracks got (quietly) renovated to house 2-3 families per hall. Community developed. Shops open to serve that community - by the 80's, there wasn't much actual 'migrating' among the migrant-worker population. Instead of commuting from Chiapas, Mexico to Escondido, US every year, the commute was only from the Escondido barrio to the Escondido orchards, and to the San Diego construction sites in winter.

Really, the same course followed by other immigrant groups since the 1800's, only with no papers involved, to the huge benefit of the US employers, including the new-fangled two-income, wife-working families, who hired the 'Mommas' as cheap nannies and houskeepers.

No more '... and when they finish they go home'. Rather, as Idaho says: "Rabble rousing and spreading hate, while at the same time getting work done on the cheap when it suits.".

[Red Peasant]

The Polish community here in Liverpool has burgeoned since the EU enlargement. New Polish/East European deli's and stores are popping up all over the place. The two Poles I know take advantage of cheap flights from Liverpool to go home regularly but come back because they can earn in one week what it would take a month in Poland, even at minimum wage level. They work hard and have no plans to stay permanently, but don't deny that that may happen. Good luck to them.

[The_Doctor]

The Polish community here in Liverpool has burgeoned since the EU enlargement. New Polish/East European deli's and stores are popping up all over the place.

What of Liverpool do you live in?

The only Polish people I have seen are a group of workers stay in a flat near my house.

[Red Peasant]

I live in Mossley Hill at the moment and there are not many Poles here (too upmarket), but lots of Poles in Tuebrook, Old Swan, and Wavertree. I'm a postman, until July anyway, and I've delivered to lots of Poles in those areas. You meet lots of people as a postie, and you get to know the makeup of different areas, especially as I essentially cover for other posties in most parts of the city.

[rotorgun]

Aren't we all just a little hypocritical when it comes to this whole "immigrant" thing? Seriously, who among us wants to pay more for the goods and services that hiring the "immigrants" avoids? The companies that hire them would only be forced to pass on the costs of hiring native workers to the consumer. Take the housing industry in the United States for instance. If contractors were hiring American carpenters, electricians, masons, and roofers, the cost of an average home would at least double, perhaps triple. And as others have mentioned, what about the agricultural industry? Would we all enjoy paying twice the price for a tomato, or our green beans? Now let's talk about computers. The only reason that I can even afford a fairly decent one, to play my leisure time games on, is the fact that the parts for it were made in some sweatshop in China or India somewhere. If I had to pay the price of an "American" made machine, I might as soon be writing to you all in a letter, and playing my old cardboard boardgames.

Perhaps it is time that we look truthfully at the whole mess, and agree that it is as much our fault (rehtorically speaking), the consumate consumers, as it is the fault of our governments' policies. The exploitation of cheap labor has been going on since Biblical times, and before. If we all want to agree to pay more for our material posessions, than we should get our poitical machines to completely halt all forms of immigration and have the courage to live within our means. If not, than we must embrace the newcomers, and graciously accept what they make possible-the all elusive middle and upper class lifestyle.

PS: I am not refering to the way in which any government turns a blind eye to the hiring of illegal immigrants. Tacitly allowing buisness to break the law for profit is the epitome of hypocracy, in my opinion. I must also say that Mr. Roger Knapman is a fraud, a liar, and should weep every time that he looks at his sad face in the mirror.

[The_Doctor]

I live in Mossley Hill at the moment and there are not many Poles here (too upmarket), but lots of Poles in Tuebrook, Old Swan, and Wavertree. I'm a postman, until July anyway, and I've delivered to lots of Poles in those areas. You meet lots of people as a postie, and you get to know the makeup of different areas, especially as I essentially cover for other posties in most parts of the city.

I had to use google earth to Mossley Hill.

I live in Waterloo.

[Red Peasant]

I had to use google earth to Mossley Hill.

I live in Waterloo.

Someone has to, mate!

[Slyspy]

All the Poles (and Lithuanians) who I have met work here because of the high wages relative to their homeland. However the bulk of their money is invested at home, primarily in land and housing. They work here to secure for themselves a house in Poland so that setting up home doesn't saddle them with debt for the rest of their lives. Some stay, but many apparently return home quite happily. Of course not all immigrant groups, or individuals for that matter, are the same.

[lancelot]

Aren't we all just a little hypocritical when it comes to this whole "immigrant" thing? Seriously, who among us wants to pay more for the goods and services that hiring the "immigrants" avoids?

I dont see it like that...IMHO, hiring immigrants to work cheap benefits the greedy owners who want nothing more than to avoid paying a decent wage for a job while still keeping prices high....getting the best of both worlds...

[rotorgun]

I dont see it like that...IMHO, hiring immigrants to work cheap benefits the greedy owners who want nothing more than to avoid paying a decent wage for a job while still keeping prices high....getting the best of both worlds...

Good point, but isn't it really a matter of staying competitive? While I admit that some buisness people are unscrupulous, that doesn't mean they all are. I don't know what prices for housing, agricultural goods, and consumer goods are in the UK, but there is a limit to what the consumer will pay. In a way, the consumer....IMHO, has it a little his way too.

PS: the editting is to correct my poor typing skills.

[The_Doctor]

Someone has to, mate!

Whats wrong with Waterloo?

[lancelot]

Good point, but isn't it really a matter of staying competitive? While I admit that some buisness people are unscrupulous, that doesn't mean they all are. I don't know what prices for housing, agricultural goods, and consumer goods are in the UK, but there is a limit to what the consumer will pay. In a way, the consumer....IMHO, has it a little his way too.
:

You are right...it is a matter of staying competitive but it has gone past that now IMHO. Particularly with housing...there seems to be no government intervention whatsoever...leading to sky rocketing prices...which you either pay...or live with your parents forever...

The average age of a first time buyer is at least 30 years old now...which in this modern age I think is nothing short of disgusting.

The UK is a very expensive country especially for fuel and housing...for example....for the price of a detached house with a pool and perhaps even an acre of land in florida would get you a semi-detahced, probably no more than 3 bed house in a grotty area...in the south that is.

[Red Peasant]

Whats wrong with Waterloo?

Calm down. Just pulling yer leg, lad.

[Idaho]

Good post Rotorgun.

[The_Doctor]

Calm down. Just pulling yer leg, lad.