Theresa May

I didn't say the Australian or Canadian families were in more or less need of sympathy, I just asked mcem if she knew what was happening with them.

Really, There are many people trying to stay in the UK who are more in need of sympathy and support than these nice white people with a cute story to tell about life on an island.
quite an unnecessary comment. Quite nasty in fact.
That sort of remark is why people stop posting on some threads or disappear altogether if that is the kind of response they get when they ask a question.

Thank you daphnedil for the sensible and informative update on people being deported who have been here for years in response to a request from the Scottish Government to 'repopulate the Highlands'; however, I did not say that Syrian refugees are not in need of a home, either more or less need. I did not comment at all.

I contribute more than just compassion towards Syrian refugees. Bleeding hearts and compassion or 'virtue signalling' don't do a lot to help.

@Jalima

I'm certainly not accusing you of having more sympathy for the couple in Scotland. My comment was the result of the 'human interest' stories which I've noticed some newspapers run about unfair deportations. I think they're unfair and often cruel, too, but if people want immigration rules they have to apply to all and these rules were transparent.

However, I don't think I've ever read a similar story about people who are returned to war zones, especially if they happen to be black or brown. I have, however, read at least one post on GN, which described Calais Jungle residents in derogatory terms. Like many people, I was reflecting on how these different groups of people are treated by the media.

Sorry if you took offence, Jalima - it was unintentional.

PS. Unfortunately, the Scottish government was going beyond its powers to invite people indefinitely to repopulate the Highlands or anywhere else. It doesn't have its own immigration rules, although I expect Alex Salmond wishes it did.

I have read stories about people who have been returned to warzones. However, they are never in the mainstream papers, except for the Guardian or the i.

I have even mentioned them on GN, but they never get commented on.
Nobody cares, daphne.
Earlier this year, Theresa May won the right to deport 18 year olds who had lived here for years back to Afghanistan even though it wasn't safe and some of them had all their family in the UK.

Wasn't directed at you Jalima so don't take offence. It's just annoying when politicians and journalists seize on cases like this and try to get the rules bent for no good reason.
People seem to think that the immigration rules don't exist in this country. Which is so untrue. Only the other day a hairdresser was asking me why her friend could not bring her hard working Turkish husband to the UK.

Ok!!
But I didn't say they were nicer, whiter, or had more reason to stay, just that they had been here so long, are self-sufficient and had been invited in good faith and now have to go, disrupting their lives and those of their children.
Also the very old sick lady from SA whose whole family live here - and others we should consider with some sympathy; yet, for some reason, some people who are not hardworking or have a criminal record are allowed to stay. It just seems a topsy-turvy system without common sense being applied to some of the decisions.

It doesn't mean we have less compassion for refugees who are in a different category altogether and need our help.

Looks like the French government may act on dismantling ' the jungle' now that French lorry drivers and residents are demanding it.
The economic migrants/asylum seekers are mainly African and from Afghanistan and not from Syria btw ( according to reports.)
Why don't interviewers ever ask them why they feel France is not as good as Britain as a place to out down roots.

We voted to have control over our own borders so France should take down the jungle and we should set up borders in this country not in France

Totally agree; can't have it both ways now.

@Jalima

That's a strawman argument. I don't see why they should be treated any differently from any other people. In any case, the Australian couple haven't been entirely honest.

I was not getting at you personally Jalima

But, Jalima, one of the reasons that Brexit won was because of the numbers of migrants.

If we let in all refugees who need our help, there will be no room for other types of migrants.
Theresa May insists she wants to get the numbers down to less than 100,000, just like Cameron did. She has promised that there will be 20,000 refugees here by 2020, just like Cameron did.

www.theguardian.com/education/2016/sep/06/grammar-school-ban-could-end-government-memo-reveals

We knew this would happen, didn't we, even though she would not confirm it on the Andrew Marr show.

A target of under 100,000 immigrants is absolute nonsense. There are over 30,000 immigrants every year from Ireland. That agreement has existed since 1923 and there has been a promise that it won't be changed.

There are about 93,000 immigrants in the UK on student visas. Universities would be in extreme difficulty without their fees.

There are also thousands of people here on Tier 4 visas - engineers, doctors, teachers, nurses, scientists, IT specialists, etc etc.

Over half the immigrants to the UK last year came from non-EU countries. The UK has always had total control over their numbers.

@dj

Hopefully local protestors will resist this 'secondary moderns for the majority' plan.

Building the 'Great Wall of Calais' is about to start soon - they say it will be completed by the end of the year - 4 metres high and smooth finish to make it difficult to climb - they intend putting plants etc the road side to lesson the visual impact. The people of Calais are against the plan costing 1.5 million - this is a French/UK project. The wall is to go either side of the main road into the port(the Rocade). The hauliers says those trying to get into the lorries etc will simply go further out to get access to these vehicles.
Security on roads feeding into this section is also to be tightened.

Interesting to see that there is a suggestion that long dead horse called Grammar School is being flogged. Wonder if it will spring back to life?

Should have added"with thanks to Steve Bell"

First PMQs of the year today.

Hopefully someone will try to find out if the government know exactly what they are doing with regard to Brext, as apart from that whiskery mantra "Brexit means brexit" we don't appear any further forward. Davis seemed clueless, Johnson simply grins inanely - I have it on good information that he is driving the foreign office mad with his indecisiveness. And Fox appears to have a job with nothing to do for at least 3 years apart from tripping around the world on jollies.
Let us hope TM shines a glimmer of hope.

She told fibs on housing.

fullfact.org/economy/house-building-change-with-date/

I saw that, Welshwife. We can't complain about Trump if we are doing the same.
Our wall won't even be on our land!

www.politicshome.com/news/uk/home-affairs/immigration/news/78722/uk-build-%C2%A319m-%E2%80%98big-new-wall%E2%80%99-calais

However, at least the land registry sell-off is on hold.

www.politicshome.com/news/uk/communities/housing/news/78735/land-registry-sell-hold

J.C told fibs on the train, it's what politicians do!

Hmm, that is not necessarily true niggly - there are many contradictory allegations and in the end a family was upgraded to provide JC and his team with second class seats. That would not have happened if there had been seats available.

That's what his opponents would have you believe, niggly.
It's funny how so many people are taken in by the media.