h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have a number of friends who view their parents trying to arrange within the EU goes up to 6 months, marriages as an easy way to meet girls.

As an aside sort of following from this, it is my impression that language skills are the determining factor in integration and acceptance, and not just for immigrants.

Ben, I am fairly sure you need a letter of guaruntee of continued employment or similar to get a UK work permit.

I haven't found anything specifically about migration from or to the EU on or via the National Statistics site. I would assume/hope that those would be included.

A slightly longish Google reveals that, for citizens of members states, right of residence in any country in the EU lasts for up to 6 months. After that you still have right of residence if you have a job in that country. But the documents I can find on this seem to stress deference to the laws of the individual states, so I expect that in practice permanent migration from the UK from mainland Europe probably isn't a special case.

Agh now how did that first line happen...

Don't drink in the daytime, Bouncy

Afternoon again WA

I get the impression that you're hanging round my neck

I think you know exactly what I mean (you would if you had read the posts I referred to).
I take your point about Scottish and Welsh schools, I award you a debating point. I think you are being picky; I have tried extremely hard to show that I am not Racist in any way, just to show that I can identify with the concerns which have made this a political issue.

I think that I have said that people can do or practice what they like in their own homes. I believe that the only point of law I have raised is the request that Sharia law is applied in some areas.

Frankly I am amazed that you think my view is narrow. In what way is my feeling of 'the norm' narrow? What have I defined as unacceptable to you? , please bear i mind that I am a country boy and I am almost an OAP which is going to give me a 'mindset'- which I try hard to make as open and accepting as possible. I'm sorry you cannot accept that , together with the little pearls which Pixel throws in from time to time.

They distil my thoughts

Nuff said

Novo
>blackcat>

I'm getting rather bored with this B

And as for lumping UKIP and VERITAS in with the BNP!! well, beam me up Scottie!!!

Novo,
If you think i am picking on you I apologise. I'm not so far behind you in the age stakes as to make any difference but again I tend to not catagorise if I can help it.

What I am trying to ground out is why immigration is such an emotive issue. It's been the best Dog Whistle so far and when you start to look at the figures they don't support the argument. Niether does the Bourgass case hold water when the facts come out, but it can and has been spun out of all proportion. I admited in the back log that I have to consciously be nonracist and that is after a carreer working and living with all sorts of nationalities.

Our norm will change, everything does, we wouldn't be having this converstaion 10 years ago. In the same way I believe immigrants will assimilate into our society. But that society will evolve as part of the assimilation process. It will be heavily weighted towards the status quo but it will change. Who would have predicted five years ago that the celibration of Diwali would be an annual Archers theme.

OK W A

Let's just admit that we are not actually poles apart then!

I accept too your point about the Archers, but then Usha Gupta has been with them for a while: and whilst I don't go to her temple, I enjoy my Hindu colleague's celebrations and photographs of her various festivals.

Perhaps it is because I count her, one Russian ,Claudio (obviously Italian)and one Chinese Indonesian amongst my friends that 'over concentration' is what worries me, not varieties of culture ,colour or background.

Novo


PS Ichose Albatross for my nickname initially, buy you were in first You will have to work out the connection to Novosibirsk

Bad news for us all then - Incidentally, for all those of you thinking of voting Blue. Think carefully. Phil Collins has said he might move back to the country in the eventuality of a Tory government. - Should have pushed him off that roundabout in Portugal last year eh ?

I live in Coventry - hardly a white enclave - and have had asian friends since I was about 11 - (40 years) B's point about pulling up the ladder is well made, and I've heard Jamaicans say it about Indians, Indians say it about Pakistanis, Pakistanis say it about Africans, and Poles say it about Chinese, and Ukranians say it about Finns, ad infinitum. I am however white - Celt - educated - and hold what are considered a lot of right wing views - though not as many as the current government.

Immigration for me is not an issue - but it remains the dominant point in so many threads - and alas it is also a dominant part of my working life, and I'm rather restrained on what I can say about it.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/election/story/0,15803,1462953,00.html

Well, it seems Michaels minions are getting uneasy at what is being perceived in some quarters as a one issue campaign...

What did people think of Paxos interview with the Lib Dem leader last night?

I imagine it was probably as entertaining as Paxman always is. However, I was out doing proper politics at The Manics gig at Hammersmith.

Heh, seems like my playist is psychic, spooky .

I thought it was reasonably good. However I am coming to think that sometimes if Paxman backed off a tiny bit his style would become better. I sometimes think these days he has become a victim of his own success and that he might just end up iliciting sympathy for the politician in the audience.

I rather feel his job is to make them squirm but not in a way that makes me feel sorry for them.

Yeah I used to think Paxman was really sexy but since he's started parodying himself, 'the thrill is gone' Sorry for that bit of flipancy but I've grown far too serious lately. General elections always do that to me!

It's looking good for Labour in the polls!

Polls, schmolls I reckon.

In a way I think the worst thing that could happen to Labour at the moment is to look comfortable. They need people to be genuinly worried the Tories might get back in, otherwise I can see the labour vote collapsing.

For my MH best chance of success is looking like he does not have a hope in hell.

Hi Ferret B

I think that MH does that rather well!

Thats what I reckon, I'm an 80s kid so I'm just terrified he'll get back in by dividing us up into groups, as per previous threads..

When does Paxo have MH on?

Well, now that the Muslim Council of Great Britain have come out for TB, the UN have stated they believe that Tory policy will INCREASE rather than decrease asylum applications and people starting to release that the clean hospitals thing is a bit of a red herring, Howard is looking more Frankie than Michael at the moment.

I submit that potentially that could be a disastor for Labour. If 1 million hacked of labour voters wake up on may the 5th thinking it is a forgone conclusion then they probably wont bother, or if the do they will protest vote.

Then the Count will get in.

I doubt it. Despite their hacked-offness with TB and the war, all the polls show only 3% who will actively change their voting intentions on that issue.

Howard is doing a very good job of mobilising the Labour vote. Dog Whistle racism and assaults on those who aren't to blame (hospital cleaners) is always a good way to remind people that this is the same old Tory Party with the same old outlook and mostly the same old policies.