Maybe You’re The Very Reason It Needs To Change

 

There are many lies told by politicians when it comes to immigration in the UK, but none is bigger than the claim that it’s all too easy. Too easy to enter Britain; too easy to be given handouts; too easy to acquire citizenship. The UK is presented as an inert country, passively receiving future Britons that it does not charge, test or, indeed, invite. The government’s latest raft of policies to deal with the “failed experiment” of “open borders” is heavily influenced by this lie, as it is intended to make things harder for immigrants.

I doubt it, but if it turns out to be true, then it’s long overdue! 

That policy is extending the period you’re required to be settled in Britain before you can get permanent residency, and then citizenship, from five years to 10 years. As someone who became naturalised under the five-year route, my stomach sank when I saw the news.

why? It’s not going to affect you, is it? You’ve already got your feet under the table, haven’t you? 

If the government’s new policies come to pass, the route to settlement will now take a minimum of 11 years, not including any time spent in Britain as a student or on other visas that don’t count towards the settlement component. I know from experience that five years is already one long trial of keeping jobs against all odds and fighting sudden changes in the law.

Yet you managed it. And how have you demonstrated your gratitude? 

Above all, the rule changes show how little our politicians really care about integration. They constantly cite it as the epitome of what earns the right to be in the country and accuse immigrants of not holding up their end of the bargain. But being stuck on work visas for year after year amounts to the opposite of integration. It means you can’t vote, cannot have recourse to public funds if needed, cannot fully lean in to British society and participate with a sense of safety and belonging, as you’re constantly trying to minimise costs in case a change in circumstances means relocating.

All you've done sinse you were granted leave to stay is whinge ans moan and run Britain down, as a quick glimpse of your columns will show.So ehat exactly is the benefit to Britain of having you here? And if you're a shining example of integration, it's no wonder no one else (apart from the chattering classes) wants more of you here.

“Give Us More Money So We Can…Make Efficiency Savings!”

Some universities will need financial support to deliver the efficiencies that the government wants them to make, a report on higher education reform is expected to say.

Ha ha ha ha ha! You have GOT to be kidding!  

The recommendations are expected in an upcoming report on major higher education reform, set up after the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called for “real change from the sector” last year, and that will be shared with the government once finished. Sir Nigel Carrington, who was appointed to lead a task force focusing on university efficiency by Universities UK, told PoliticsHome that there would likely be proposals in the report around a “transformation fund or other financial assistance”.

No, I don't think even Labour are going to be daft enough to fall for that one! 

"Probably there will be some proposals in our report around which some sort of Transformation Fund or other financial assistance in a very targeted way would be helpful," Carrington said. He told PoliticsHome: “It’s pretty self-evident that if institutions are running deficits and have pretty much exhausted their borrowing lines, then significant structural change is not deliverable because they don’t have the resources to deliver it.”

Funny, they always seem to have plenty of resources to squander on other things... 

Who Is Bankrolling This?

Is it us, the long-suffering taxpayer? I bet it is....

Pub bosses and punters working at Saracens Head pubs across the UK have rallied around a landlord who is being taken to court by a convicted terrorist because he is 'deeply offended' by the name.

Khalid Baqa, who was jailed for four years for preparing Jihadi propaganda, has sparked outrage by trying to win nearly £2,000 from the Saracens Head Inn in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. He described the 'depiction of a bearded Arab/Turk' on the pub's sign as racist and also insisted the depiction 'incites violence'.

For once, they aren't rolling over for a quiet life.  

Pub landlord Robbie Hayes has vowed to fight back against the lawsuit - and he is being backed by other Saracens Head establishments across the UK.

Good for them! If only other organisations had done the same, maybe this cheeky little shit wouldn't be trying his luck. 

Baqa has filed a 'claim of money' form an application to county court for a sum of cash a person believes they are owed. His application was previously referred to a small claims court.

Why wasn't it simply thrown out then and there?

H/T: Macheath via comments 

'No Consequences' Britain....

A 'veil of secrecy' was placed over the Sara Sharif scandal yesterday after a court banned the naming of a judge who placed the little girl in the custody of her murderous father. A High Court judge ordered that none of the professionals involved in the family court proceedings could be named, including social workers, experts and guardians.

Of course, they look after their own. They always have done...

They also included the family court judge who made the fateful decision to give Urfan Sharif custody before he beat the ten-year-old to death.

It should surprise no-one, of course, but there's room for some appalling chutzpah from our disaster of a prime minister: 

The extraordinary ban sparked a secrecy row yesterday as Keir Starmer said questions must be answered about the appalling case.

Really, Starmer? Now you think questions are warranted? 

The anonymity ruling effectively prevents full public scrutiny of those responsible for the key decisions which culminated in Sara's death on August 8 last year.

Rather like an injunction does. You know what an injunction is, don't you Starmer? 

Not that he's the only failed politician to decide the public have forgotten all about their previous screw-ups. Lady Dogshit decided to open her trap too:

Yesterday, former victims commissioner Dame Vera Baird KC said: 'This has placed a veil of secrecy over this case. I think it's appalling that we cannot know who was responsible for this obviously extremely damaging order which played a key role in the horrible death of this child.

'This is the judiciary protecting the judiciary. How can the public be confident that the family courts can protect future children if the public are denied the knowledge of who is making such decisions... The judiciary needs to be held to account for the decisions they make. This is an awful case, people got it seriously wrong and the public need to know the truth.' She added: 'It is sinister.'

Bit of a stretch to insist the judiciary should be held to account when you've never been, eh, Vera? 

Like Killing Your Parents And Demanding Clemency Because You're An Orphan...

The activists who hounded Baillie Gifford out of sponsoring the summer book festivals are now trying to back hastily away from the backlash they are facing, by trying the 'We won but we’ve just realised the consequences of winning. How can we blame our victim for this?' tactic:

Which is quite the bald-faced chutzpah, I think you'll agree, Reader?

“Our first priority is to our audience and our artists,” Hay’s chief executive, Julie Finch, said at the time. “Above all else, we must preserve the freedom of our stages and spaces for open debate and discussion, where audiences can hear a range of perspectives.”

Now you'll have to stump up the cash for that yourselves. Good luck!  

Throwing Stones In Your Glass House, 'Mail'..?

Oh dear oh dear oh dear...in the very same edition:

And that's just a three letter word!

You Work For ‘The Guardian’, Zoe…

…it’s surely not just at Christmas?

If public calorie announcements have their own specific message – the establishment of a set of rules, with numbers attached, because how can you police others’ behaviour if the law isn’t laid down in advance? – it is marginally less ridiculous than the companion advice of how to avoid a hangover this party season. I’ve read all of these, in new and old media, since time began, partly so you don’t have to, partly because they have the shape of an ancient riddle. The tips, whether it’s “Alternate every drink with a glass of water” or “Never drink more than four units in one go” always boil down to: “Don’t get drunk.”

A Guardianista complaining about NuPuritanism and killjoys is rather rich, isn’t it? 

"And 2023's Brass Neck Award Goes To..."

Yes, Reader, you read that right. The man who shut does the entire country, not just the schools, for a case of sore throats and runny noses for most people...

I find I have no words, so over to Longrider: 

"The man is a charlatan who is clearly out of his depth.

...

By God, a little abuse is the least these charlatans deserve. May they all rot in hell for all of eternity for what they did, and that includes Whitty. Every time I look at my shopping bill as it steadily increases as a direct consequence of the advice given to the government by these ‘experts,’ I curse the ground they walk upon. They have the gall to whine about how they are reviled when they deserve to be lying forgotten in a stinking oubliette, wallowing in their own waste."

I Think Someone Would Notice, Surely..?

I mean, you can't really slip them into a pocket and waltz out the door, can you?

The losses took place over several years with a £50,000 jewel – which was advertised on eBay for £40 – listed for sale as long ago as 2016.

Just look for 'buyer must collect' on any eBay ads.

The museum has not specified how many items have been stolen or detailed what the missing items are, saying only that they were “small pieces” including “gold jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones and glass dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD”.

Yeah, 50ft marble friezes are safe.

The Bitch Is Back...

I was sacked from my position as Haringey’s director of education and children’s services by the then secretary of state for children, Ed Balls, on live TV. This was less than a month after Peter’s mother, her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s brother were convicted of “causing or allowing” his death. I was closely followed by four social workers and a paediatrician from Great Ormond Street children’s hospital (GOSH). The scapegoating and vilification of me and other social workers in this case and others has had many unintended consequences.

Yes, guess who? 

You'd think she'd want to fall back into welcome obscurity, but trust the 'Guardian' to offer her a platform...

Other agencies involved in such cases have sophisticated strategies to avoid blame and protect their reputations. In the case of Peter’s death, Balls, Haringey council, Ofsted, GOSH and the Metropolitan police all benefited from having a convenient scapegoat to take the blame for wider and more complicated failures.

How, exactly, since they were all censured along with you? You even admit a paediatrician was sacked too! 

...crucial information was not revealed at a stage when it may have made a difference to the social workers.

Like you'd have sprung into action if only evidence had been shoved right under your nose... 

The public pressure and opprobrium continued for months, until 2009 when Peter’s mother’s boyfriend, Steven Barker, received a life sentence for the rape of another young child, bringing closure to the public narrative. However, the legal scholar Margaret Jervis has suggested that the investigator’s reliance on a very young child witness, alleging a crime several years in the past, casts doubts on its veracity and on the conviction itself.

Wait, what..? Are you seriously defending a paedophile? What happened to 'believe the child'?

I don’t wish to reattribute blame. Rather, I want to draw attention to the potentially serious consequences of blame avoidance in powerful institutions, and how rapidly others can be scapegoated – often with the help of the public and the media. It is time for the country’s 100,000-plus social workers to put an end to this. We must educate the public and politicians about the realities of protecting children. And when accusations come, we must fight our cases through the courts.

And lose them. 

Questions Any Child Can Answer...

'Because you and all the other media outlets rolled over to let him tickle your tummies, you spineless lapdogs'. 

There. Wasn't so hard, was it?

We all remember chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance — aka ‘Gloomster’ and ‘Doomster’, or was it the other way around? These and other officials emerge from the multitude of WhatsApp messages leaked to The Daily Telegraph as happily acquiescing in the Government’s authoritarian approach, even when they doubt whether particular draconian policies are necessary.

We all remember how you failed to question any of those policies. Did you think we'd forget? 

Many of the exchanges between the Health Secretary and his advisers are shocking. I am amazed they haven’t led to more coverage on the BBC and in pro-lockdown newspapers such as the Guardian. Is it because these media outlets are ashamed to have embraced the policies of a politician who now appears so flawed?

Like...yours? 

And If Anyone Should Be Able To Recognise A PR Stunt When They See One...

...it's these two!

...on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said Meghan had not been contacted by the newspaper to apologise.

“A true apology would be a shift in their coverage and ethical standards for all. Unfortunately, we’re not holding our breath.”

Oh, please do! 

She's At It Again...!

Utterly shameless:

The parents of a boy killed in a dog attack 12 years ago are backing the Mirror’s campaign for change, saying they do not want other families to suffer.

John-Paul Massey ’s mum and dad talked about the overwhelming grief they still feel after the four-year-old was mauled to death.

By their own son's vicious dog... 

John, who has two daughters in their mid-20s from a different relationship, is also desperate for a change in the law. Backing the Mirror’s call for action, he said: “There are too many loopholes.”

Loopholes? There's no 'loopholes' here, because there's no loop! Anyone can buy and train a four legged weapon. And leave it with their toddler.  

She also thinks a full DNA test should be provided to those buying dogs to prove they are getting pure pedigrees.

It's not a DNA test that's needed. It's an IQ test. On the potential owner... 

I Guess It's Futile To Expect Him To Know The 9th Commandment...

Justin Welby criticised online platforms for giving people ‘a very loud voice’ and creating colliding ‘waves’ of opinions.

The only voice should be yours, eh, Justin? 

How very dare the hoi-polloi have opinions, especially when they are about you:

And how dare people have a voice to speak out about what you are doing to destroy Christian heritage: 

You know what to do, don't you, Justin?

The utter hypocrisy of this creature posing as a man of God proves there's no god, because if there were, he'd be vaporised the next time he set foot across the threshold.

What Happened To The MoD?

It used to be the only government department that got contracting spot on:

The government has been accused of wasting billions of pounds of defence spending which could have reversed cuts to Devonport-based warships.

Plymouth Labour MP Luke Pollard claimed the lost £13billion was caused by mismanagement in the Ministry of Defence and by government ministers.

A government defence review announced last March that the two oldest Devonport-based frigates would be retired and the savings used to pay for the next generation of warships.

HMS Monmouth was decommissioned in June and HMS Montrose is due to go out of service later this year after returning from operations in the Gulf.

 But I guess the long march through the institutions got there in the end.

Labour said the lost money could have paid for more tanks, aircraft and warships and avoided cuts in the recent Integrated Defence Review.

Of course, being Labour, he'd no doubt demand they didn't do anything other than escort 'refugees' to our shores anyway... 

H/T: i.r.Jackson via email

'Waiter, There's Some Free Speech In My Soup!'

BBC News presenter Tina Daheley published a letter she wrote to an unnamed restaurant on Twitter on Wednesday in the hopes the establishment can take action after...

She was served cold soup? The waiter spilled some on her? 

...a fellow diner repeatedly used a racist slur in her presence.

Wait, seriously? You expect restaurants to police their customers' conversation now? 

The journalist went on to explain that a 'white, middle-aged man repeatedly used an extremely offensive racist word starting with the letter P' when discussing cricketer Azeem Rafiq's recent testimony about the racism he experienced within the sport.

Oh no! Well, thank goodness he wasn't repeating the cricketer's antisemitism and letching instead. But maybe she'd have had no problem with that? 

Tina added: 'I considered confronting them, but was so upset I couldn't bring myself to it. Perhaps he was doing it to provoke me, (I'm a BBC news presenter), perhaps he was annoyed that he was sitting next to two women of colour, perhaps he didn't even consider us.'

So you think it should be 'stood up to'. Why didn't you, then? 

'After weeks of thinking about it and feeling powerless to do anything about it, I'm bringing it to your attention in the hope that you can take action.'

Ah, I see. You think it should be someone else's job.  

Tina concluded: 'I don't think this behaviour should go unchallenged. In 2021 there is no place for it.'

What's up, sweetie, Naga getting all the publicity and you think you should have a bite at that cake too? 

Maybe You Should Read This Back To Yourself Slowly, Nesrine...

Nesrine Malik on 'big tech as an excuse for bad behaviour':

When companies reach the scale and reach of Facebook, they can appear, to the right, a little too much like big governments infringing on individual privacy and freedoms. This fear is then easily capitalised on, and all sorts of unlikely victims can claim they are silenced by platforms biased against their politics. When Donald Trump intends to launch a new social media network to “stand up to the tyranny of big tech”, he is echoing the whine of many across the political spectrum. Those who, rather than admit their thinking is less popular than they would like, prefer to believe they are simply conspired against.

Where does this startling claim come from? Oh, just a long screed in the 'Guardian' whining that left-leaning ideas are being crushed by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, of course... 

It's not that left wing ideas are unpopular, dear me, no! Who could possibly believe such a thing?

Well, Why Not, There's Plenty Of Free Time In The Teaching Curriculum...

Children need to be taught how to treat illnesses themselves in an effort to ease GP workloads, NHS bosses say.

One includes the 'Dr Me' programme, which sees children given an hour lesson by medical students on self-care techniques and 'appropriate use of NHS services' for problems such as vomiting and diarrhoea.

And if that hour has to be taken away from teaching them to write properly, well, they can always be doctors when they grow up!

Putting Southend On The Map..?

A Southend councillor says a so-called "incel" movement is a threat to women - following urgent warnings from a former chief prosecutor.

Kursaal ward councillor Matt Dent has agreed with warnings by Nazir Afzal that men in the so-called movement needed to be identified.

Well, I suppose it's one way to attract the attention of the local rag... 

Mr Afzal, former chief crown prosecutor for the North West told BBC Breakfast on Saturday there were 10,000 people with incel views like Davison in the country.

How does he know? Has there been a survey of views? Is he just pulling 'stats' out of his backside? 

He said: “How many of them, a small minority, are a threat?”

I'm guessing an even tinier minority!

“We have to recognise that we have a responsibility to identify them and share that information.”

'We' don't have to do any such thing, actually. Especially when it seems that identifying problematic views isn't exactly your forte... 

Mr Afzal added: “We have now seen posts on various social media sites which paint a picture of somebody that has a very low opinion or had a very low opinion of women, who seemed to have a belief he was entitled to do whatever he wanted to, a real expectation that women were some kind of lesser being.

“That kind of extreme misogyny of the type we have seen here and in terms of the incel community is a threat to all women and, ultimately, to all our communities.”

Were you not paying attention at mosque, Nazir? Or when you were prosecuting all those grooming cases? 

They Abandon You To The Mob...

Police have released a gallery of 'wanted' rioters who sent burning cars freewheeling down a hill, pelted a police van with rocks and hurled bricks through windows during a vigil for a teenager in Swansea.

Detectives issued 11 images of potential suspects - including two females and nine males - all of whom they wish to question over the riots which saw 200 people cause carnage in Mayhill, South Wales, on May 20.

Yeah, it's this incident.

The gathering was intended to be a vigil for 19-year-old Ethan Powell after he died in May. His cause of death is not publicly known. But the crowds descended into chaos and a police van was forced to flee after being hit with rocks.

Flames were also seen billowing from a torched car as onlookers gathered to watch, with locals saying the car belonged to a man who tried to stop the violence.

Terrified residents hunkered down in their homes as their cars were destroyed outside and bricks were hurled towards their homes.

What were the police doing, faced with violent unrest? It appears 'very little'... 

Speaking following the riot, local Welsh Parliament member Tom Giffard described the scenes as 'disturbing'.

I'd have different adjectives, were I you. 

Detective Superintendent Gareth Morgan said: 'I would like to thank the local community for its assistance throughout the course of our investigations.

'The large majority that were present that night were not actively involved in the disorder. The critical task for us has been to identify those who were specifically involved in committing criminal offences that evening.

'What happened that night has had a huge impact on many families and people, the effect of which has continued for some time.'

It's your job to stop such disorder. You failed. 

Now you're here, are you doing anything other than insisting it was a small minority (that your officers were still too afraid to tackle)?