love* in the time of plague (and by love* i mean brexit* and other dreary matters of uk politics)

This is exceptionalist bullshit and myth-making though. At the height of the last decade's refugee crisis the UK was taking in fewer asylum seekers than Hungary. Even now Germany, France, Sweden and Italy have been taking in more, although Italy's location makes it something of a different case.

Throughout the late 20th and early 21st century the UK probably had a reputation for treating immigrants better than a lot of other European countries, I would imagine that's gone now but as diasporas grow and people move back and forth then a kind of aura builds up, whether that's true or not.

I'm not convinced that welfare really comes into it as a motivating factor especially given the condition of our welfare state compared with other European countries. On balance the notion that refugees and asylum seekers take up a disproportionate amount of the welfare bill is probably on the rise across Europe though.

Most of the people I've talked to in detention centres barely know welfare is a thing! The push-pull is much more between waiting for byzantine bureaucracy to become a legal citizen vs getting into yr mate's group of eight ppl w/ one deliveroo liscense and earning some money.

Everyone who makes it here wants to work. And great news folks apart from anything else we desperately need at least 50,000 more nurses and coppers total.

The differential, or perceived differential, in wages between destination and origin countries is probably more of a factor. Also language, the number of people you know in the country, etc.

my old scouser friend who lives in berlin says signing on das pancrack is much more easier and the german SS is much less punitive and more generous than the ugly and cruel UK benefits system. he said when you are on unemployment over there you get free electricity, but i don't know if he was taking the piss when he said that. I'm sure there are parts of Europe with much worse benefit systems than the UK, but not that many.

yeah the UK still seems to have a pretty good rep amongst a lot of people - the job market, education system, welfare, and the experience ppl have on the street & in society. hungary and italy obviously have geographical reasons for being many people's first ports of call, but afaik not many people stay in hungary, and although italy is fast catching up I think the UK still has more refugees per head (altho still a way down the league table ofc). the UK needs to sort out its system, close the detention centres, offer much more support to asylum seekers and refugees and ultimately take more people, but atm the left/liberals are mostly concerned with general moral argts and the discussion about the practicalities and the underlying structural factors is dominated by/ceded to the right

Friend of mine in detention told me about a mate of his who went to Germany first and quit because "it was too racist". Can't really believe Germany is more racist than the UK generally (it's not a contest, I know), but the UK does have a much larger BAME population so there's probably more of a support system.

yeah I don't know enough about what it's like in these other places but anecdotally sweden and germany seem to have the best rep and italy the worst. asylum seekers are concentrated v unevenly so they're not necessarily having to deal with a lot of mail readers I suppose

English language.

Let's face it, if the US was where Ireland is no-one would come to Britain.

You'll blow Lord Ashcroft's mind with that send it him.

It were right bad during the US potato famine and 40 million mericans flooded that little Atlantic island to escape famine and disease.

Any clue as to whether Labour's policy is 'return to school only when safe' (RLB, Education) or 'i'll be sending my kids back on June 1st but the government needs to give people more confidence' (Lucy Powell, Business)?

I think Lucy is doing policy on the go here.

Great time for putting out mixed messages from the shadow cabinet. Thought these melts were all over message discipline.

too real for the Real England thread

Whitley Bay people are now putting up privatisation conspiracy posters pic.twitter.com/Q4o8Z7QVTW

— Peter Wells (@peterkwells) May 18, 2020

Lucy Powell isn't even in the Shadow Cabinet so I'm not sure why Sky were interviewing her and not RLB (or Ed Miliband, if they're treating it as a business/employment issue). Looks like an on-the-spot fuckup from Powell tbh.

It's either that or she went out/was sent out with the deliberate intention of undermining RLB, and I'm not really sure what the benefit of that would be to the leadership given the schools issue is a disaster waiting to happen and likely to be a hugely unpopular decision from the govt.

so much for all the careful media management and consistent messaging

I saw some Tory minister - Culture Minister - getting mauled by Kay Burley, of all people, this morning over the idea that you can expect people to go back to work but not to take any risks when using public transport.

Don't know the ins and outs but this is a positive step wrt to Italy immigration.

Bill to regularise undocumented migrant workers in agriculture, domestic and care sectors passed by parliament in Italy!

5-6 HUNDRED THOUSAND undocumented key workers who've been keeping Italy going through the pandemic will benefit. Imagine. IMAGINE. https://t.co/6mCruslCbQ

— Zoe Gardner (@ZoeJardiniere) May 14, 2020

I don't know how you make the Tube safe, or trains. There's no real ventilation. You can space people apart with a 'conductor' in each car to enforce it but it's absurd - everyone's breathing the same air

CON: 47% (-3)
LAB: 35% (+4)
LDEM: 9% (+2)
GRN: 3% (-2)

via @RedfieldWilton, 15 May

whoah! the people's lawyer making some gradual headway in the polls, this donkey derby isn't a sprint race!

Govt just announced that everyone over the age of five can now be tested if they have symptoms. Two months too late.

“I said ‘can be tested’. I never said exactly when.”

^ how do I shot? Googling govt pages are still on the "apply if you are an essential key worker" steez...

xp

"If Labour had someone like Yvette Cooper..."

Oh. pic.twitter.com/TtJn1KUoaz

— Sam ✌️ (@samisam147) May 18, 2020

You think these people have vanished but they've been in an office somewhere repeating the same sentence every 10 minutes for the last 5 years. Someone opened a window and the sentence made its way out into the world to meet its friends in a short BBC article

London (subject to weekend effect caveat obv, again) reported zero deaths for a 24 hour period yesterday for the first time in months. Currently reporting 15 in last three days & highest at peak (with admin capacity constraints being more hit too) for that was 156.

— FQ Coyle (@francisqcoyle) May 18, 2020

Can't believe Yvette Cooper is ignoring Starmzy's leadership and waving thru some racist Tory bill

of the various little campaign groups/slates that have been put together ahead of the portentous momentum national coordinating group, forward momentum seems the best to me

London (subject to weekend effect caveat obv, again) reported zero deaths for a 24 hour period yesterday for the first time in months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwZAYdHcDtU

i hate to be a wet blanket but since most people who die of it die about 4-6 weeks after getting it, doesn’t that great statistic indicate that whatever we decided to do about 4-6 weeks ago REALLY FUCKING WORKED?

I guarantee there will be further death spikes incoming that will be proved by future epidemiologists to have a strong correlation with confusing dumb as fuck govt messaging that led to VE day rope congas, multi-generational picnics, tennis lessons, much complacency etc..

Yvette Cooper is such a vile tory oxygen thief. What are you supposed to do with dogshit elements within the PLP who think Starmer is too left wing! I give up.

Every time Blair is conjured out of the ether to, for example, tell the nation that schools should re-open on the 1st of June, i wonder who's paying him and whether it's just the formal donors to the Institute for Global Change (US State Dept, Pinchuk, KSA, etc) or there are more direct inducements.

Technical difficulties explain some failures to vote. But I also understand that five MPs contacted whips to say they were going to abstain as voting against immigration bill will "put further holes in the red wall"

— Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) May 19, 2020

This "air bridges" thing makes me froth, after careful consideration we'll consider which of the less sickly continentals we might let in, surely they'll be happy to reciprocate?

They are giving her free reign on
-family reunion rights
-who will be entitled to apply for what kind of permanent settlement & after how long
-the entire asylum system
-the future of immigration detention
-NHS visas
-trafficking victims

All without seeing so much as a sketch.

— Zoe Gardner (@ZoeJardiniere) May 19, 2020

Beyond the few Lab MPs chasing shadows this was always going to pass and Patel would never get a 40 seat rebellion even if all the Draconian legislation came up in Parliament in its gory detail. There are far too many racists in this country.

there is already is a gaping hole in that red wall and it is called Sir Kier Starmer. With the current parliamentary maths it only would have been a symbolic vote against the immigration bill, if they can't even do that they should go join Ukip or the tories, where the cunts belong.

I'm actually surprised that flight from Greece of 50 vulnerable people to be reunited with family already here was allowed the other week. Maybe she just didn't notice.

Can someone from @BBCNewsPR @BBCNews explain the difference in reporting and tone? Not that I’m advocating Muslims break lockdown rules but why the double standards? pic.twitter.com/lal5QBfmq8

— The Trashies (@TheTrashiesUK) May 19, 2020

UK's state broadcaster in racist double standards shocker.

Full steam ahead. Immigration yesterday, the size of parliament now.

https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/your-vote-matters-wherever-it-is-cast-in-the-uk

they can gerrymander all they want but aren't we trying to have faith that the house of cards is falling in on the tories

I'm fully prepared for one of those 'Cassius Longinus first said this in AD 230' gambits when it comes to metaphors for the failing Tory party. This lot are going to be around forever.

Wonder if the clash with teacher's unions will form the basis for anti-union legislation..

If they're competent, this is an opportunity to completely shift the nature of British democracy and put the Singapore-with-lousy-weather plan into place for real. You need largess in public housing, great infrastructure and a relatively low cost of living to compensate for the gutting of workers' rights. etc. With almost unlimited capacity to borrow and a massive labour pool, they're never going to be in a better position to construct an appropriate carrot to go along with the stick. I'm not sure they've got the vision or ability to deliver it, though.

competent you say?

cabinet ministers trying to shift blame onto the scientific advisers today, you love to see it from the safety of quarantine

Wonder if the clash with teacher's unions will form the basis for anti-union legislation..

They'll be milking it for all its worth, for sure.