I'm a lefty only relative to you but basically more interested in objective reality than party politics.  As you only deal in slogans the following isn't really aimed at you but anyone who might believe what you say might be true and whose views are not set in concrete. Nobody is pretending that immigration doesn't have some significant downsides and that it hasn't been mismanaged by successive governments. However, I have not ever seen a credible piece of an analysis that shows anything other than the cost of health care and pensions that older people have decided they deserve being an insupportable burden for younger generations who are less numerous. They are already more highly taxed than any of their predecessors were before them if you take into account student loans. Looking forward demographics and the fiscal position of the UK are only going to make that worse. As the birth rate is falling, there seems to be unanimity that the only way to avoid a major crisis is by evening out the generational unevenness by bringing more young people into the country. We had an excellent system for doing this when we were part of the Single Market and there was Freedom of Movement but now we need to bring people in from a much wider geographical area. Donald Trump could effectively end immigration because the dollar is a reserve currency (and therefore less subject to negative international market sentiment) and the US economy is riding an AI generated boom (or bubble if you read the FT this week). Let's just say a Nigel Farage became Prime Minister and announced a zero target for immigration — the bond markets would price in a significant deterioration in our GDP growth and fiscal position meaning that the massive amount we already spend on interest would rise further risking a spiral into economic collapse.  People with a dislike of foreigners have already dictated policy in this country and made us all poorer. I'd rather they didn't do it again but it looks like decisions are going to continue to be made on the basis of grievance rather than objective truth. However this ends with the unravelling of the NHS and the unlocking of the triple lock.

Entire Thread

Topic	Date Posted	Posted By
The past is a foreign country	20/03/26 10:53:00	Dominik Klimowski
Re:The past is a foreign country	20/03/26 17:51:00	Keith Iddon
Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	21/03/26 13:50:00	Rosco White
Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	12/04/26 16:29:00	Dominik Klimowski
Re:Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	12/04/26 19:26:00	Rosco White
Re:The past is a foreign country	21/03/26 21:32:00	Peter Yale
Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	21/03/26 21:40:00	Simon Hayes
Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	22/03/26 09:09:00	Rosco White
Reply	23/03/26 11:22:00	Gordon Southwell
Re:Reply	23/03/26 13:05:00	Rosco White
Reply	23/03/26 17:39:00	Gordon Southwell
Re:The past is a foreign country	22/03/26 11:34:00	Dominik Klimowski
Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	22/03/26 11:49:00	Keith Iddon
Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	22/03/26 13:02:00	David Burke
Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	23/03/26 15:57:00	Dominik Klimowski
Re:Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	23/03/26 16:02:00	Rosco White
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	24/03/26 09:57:00	Dominik Klimowski
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	25/03/26 07:13:00	Rosco White
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	06/04/26 18:16:00	Dominik Klimowski
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:The past is a foreign country	07/04/26 08:18:00	Rosco White

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