Morning all 👍
Cat & nature lover. Truth seeker, not scaremonger. Not a fan of Tories, nor of racism, Brexit & right wing ideology. Pragmatic..this is the real world (sadly).
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Morning all 👍
We need more visas for social care workers from abroad, not less. There is a real gap in the 'market' for them. And unless pay & conditions improve radically it's going to stay that way.
I'm sure many wouldn't give this info the time of day, but why would anyone right now think Starmer should resign or call a GE...just when we're starting to get sorted!
Busy, positive start for the Gov. big announcements from Home Office, Foreign Office and a mega shipbuilding deal. Extra childcare hours come in and lowest August small boat crossings for 4 years. Keep up the good work!
![1. Towns and rural areas across the country will benefit from an additional £104 million to improve local transport 2. Investing £12.6m to boost UK agri-tech, building on clever innovations to cut costs, drive growth, 3. Strengthening border security and reforms to the asylum system - [ ] a 28% increase in returns of failed asylum seekers and a 14% increase in removals of foreign criminals. - [ ] Increased raids & arrests on illegal working by 50%, & cut the annual hotel bill by almost £1bn 4. August 2025 - lowest August Channel Crossings since 2021 5. Over half a million children to benefit from funded childcare from 1/9/25 6. New measures to tackle Corporate fraud come into effect 1/9/25 7. £10bn boost for Scottish shipbuilding as Norway selects UK warships. Biggest UK shipbuilding deal in history 8. Plans to build 14,000 prison places nationwide, work has begun in Devon 9. Treasury sold £5bn of 3yr gilts in an auction, more x3 oversubscribed. 10. £ has strengthened against other major currencies.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:h4oe5ydbclpkhkocdjnaaaww/bafkreih2i47jl4fye5exj7vrmqpvfbhtdiypihl6b4vswgs47rtdgwlm5q@jpeg "Click to view full size")
He might be ill I suppose, but then he spent the pandemic & a supposed attack on his life proclaiming how indestructible & untouchable he is, so he won't want to look remotely weak or old 🤷.
Like what?
Here we go. Get them.proscribed.
Watch this space then. No one seems to be able to come up with any better suggestions...well, at least not humane ones 🙄
But it was a great idea back then Now it's someone else's mess to clear up its going terribly 🤦
Not so long ago it was changes to the benefit system, bungs for MPs, the NHS & Gaza. This one will be chucked back on the conveyor belt of political gripes soon enough.
We all know Badenoch lies already.
As he always is, I think Starmer has been diplomatic in his 'challenge' to Farage. As PM he doesn't have the freedom of Ed Davey (who isn't even the main opposition) to say what he thinks. He's chosen to not give Farage's inane plans any credence as the msm does that for him. That'll do me.
If you want the UK to have border control & less immigration that doesn't make you racist. If you threaten asylum seekers in hotels, daub misappropriated flags/crosses all over town in anger & vow to vote Reform then that shows you actually are.
After the 'charisma' of Johnson, the lunacy of Truss & the inept mendacity of 'Dishy Rishi' I'll take boring any day.
This is pretty much what Keir Starmer said and now everyone is throwing bananas at him...
And he's exactly right.
Ok you disbelievers.
What reason do those who want him to either call a GE or stand aside for a leadership contest give? It's total bull crap.
As I've said before, only in the UK in 2025 can the PM be criticised for both what he says & for not saying the various things people think he should have said. Completely nuts 🙄
I can obviously think of a few gaffs, but on the whole Starmer is proving himself to be one of the best PMs we've had in years. Not a high bar after the Tories those critics will say, but the good he's done in just the 1st year outweighs the disappointing. He's said all I need him to say re flags 🤷
Excellent decision 🖕
www.itv.com/news/2025-09... Some good changes, including the inestimable Darren Jones & new communications adviser 👍
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
How bloody ridiculous 🤦
This govt will not leave the ECHR.
Ed Davey is in a good position to say what he believes, being neither in govt nor the main opposition.
Something this govt needs to look into, though it has always been the case t h.
One more try at getting info out there. Some reasons why asylum seekers come to the UK. Most actually don't, & remain in neighbouring countries. And for Brexiteers, you wanted independent control of our own borders, so why do you still expect France to do the job for us. We've left, get over it
To those who have put flags on my estate, grow up. You don't speak for me or most of my neighbours. If you want to bring your country down by voting Reform then sadly that's your right, but don't involve me & mine! This is just a fanatical misappropriation of our flag, & it's pathetic. Rant over 🙄
Morning all. Awake at 6 am, & how refreshing not to be roasted by that summer heat! Next time it rains I swear I'm going to stand out in it just for the feel of it!
on.ft.com/46eXCO6 Crossings of small boats to UK in August fall to lowest since 2019. Poor Nigel.
Night night all.
Fears? Total indifference is more likely.
Enough of this immigration mullarkey now. I'm hoping after this week the flag fad wavers, the mini island madness has had its day & we can just get back towards being the multicultural country I love. And FFS let the govt do its job! Well, you have to hope ...🤷
Half the UK wants tightened border control & less immigration, the other thinks any restriction on the number of immigrants is due purely to racism. Govt is supposed to find a mutually acceptable solution to this. I think they're making a fair attempt in the circumstances, not cowering.
Farage is a con man. He makes people believe him, even when he contradicts himself.
I used to love having new stuff for school as a kid.
To Reform supporters none of this matters if they are brown skinned.
Futile to try, but an asylum seeker is someone running from life threatening situations/persecution. If you claim asylum in UK you need to be on UK soil. While your claim is processed you have to wait here. An illegal migrant is one who stays beyond, or has no UK visa or legal right to stay.
Banning any protests would be greeted with more of them, as well as others about freedom of speech/right to protest. Arresting anyone committing an unlawful act IS UK law & order being applied. This is a volatile issue. Govt needs a calm approach, not a self defeating slanging match.
Over HALF of all Asylum seekers DONT arrive over the English Channel. 70% of all UK Asylum Applications are successful. 200,000+ people from Hong Kong now life in the UK. Mr Farage doesn't speak about them, because they have British Empire Passports. The 'Stop The Boats' patter is based on lies.
How specifically?
Their asylum claims will be processed.
Fabulous Warren. Thank you.
Want a summary of the bills/acts the Labour government have been working on since they came in power? I've put one together here. 44 bills, 24 of which have got Royal Assent and become law. You can see when each bill passed each stage in each house. I've highlighted those still progressing. 1/3
The Express is simply laughable.
This is not my bloody country. Red cross flags should make me proud, not ashamed. Union jacks make me nervous, not patriotic.
Farage is rubbing his hands in glee, watering the sauna coals over this. Govt is speeding up the processing of these poor people's asylum claims so they don't have to be kept in hotels anymore. But it appears, whichever side of the protest you're on, the right wing & msm get to have their field day.
I never used to be interested in politics until I realised the need to be in this crazy country. I guess the travesty of 14 years of Tory govt woke me up. Some days when the vitriol goes nuts in here I still ask myself why it matters so much, & the answer always comes back - just because it does 🤷🌹
No, this is your take of what you think I meant. Go away.
Shows how misread a social media post can be then. These already racist protesters are being whipped up into a frenzy by Reform, Tories & msm for their own ends. That's obvious. I think you should keep your 'vile' & 'repellent' comments to yourself until you've read the post properly.
Morning all. Off for a short break tomorrow, & not before time. Heading for the hopefully more down to earth Wales. No more misapprpriated red crosses 👍🏴
This govt recognises the need for sensible border control & is taking steps to manage it. This protest stuff is simply being stage managed by Farage & Badenoch to undermine the govt. Ironic since their actions caused the backlog in asylum cases. These thugs are the ones being meekly carried along.
🤦
Farage has them all too busy raging with his con trick speech about immigrants having more rights than Brits.
Ok, so bring on the half who say this is abhorrent & Reform lite, plus the other who thinks it doesn't go far enough 🙄. Just putting out the news for anyone who wishes to read it.
If there are asylum seekers who have committed a crime while awaiting processing they should be arrested I der UK law the same as anyone else, & if found guilty should forfeit their right to claim asylum here. You wouldn't arrest all Brits on the same estate if only one of them assaulted someone.
Plus they still expect the French to police our borders for us post Brexit. We left, get over it ......
He hasn't done anything that justifies his removal yet 🤷
As I've said before, there are those who want sensible border control & reduced immigration, those who believe immigration control is simply Reform lite prejudice & those (the current flaggers) who blame immigration for all our woes & don't know the difference between asylum & illegal migrants.
Plenty of those silly flags on bridges again today 🙄, but it was strangely satisfying to see them sagging & soggy in the rain on the way home 🤭
Nobody listens when they don't wish to hear.
Tedious.
This is propaganda, not a newspaper.
This woman should be nowhere near politics.
Indeed, & that's why the HO appealed. Where else can they go? Sadly, those protesting haven't thought that far...
I think 5 years is long enough tbh. This is intended as a deterrent, but I don't think it will work
Mental health may well be involved in these mass shootings, but the ease of access to weapons can only facilitate them.
Catch 22
It’s worth remembering that the govt cannot force a hotel to be given over to asylum seekers. The move is a contractural arrangement, usually agreed by the last govt, and usually very much in favour of the Tory hotel chains. Much the same as historical dodgy PPE contracts etc. Follow the money!
The semantics of a con man.
Moral norms & Farage kind of don't fit in the same post 🤔
They'd be laughed out of the room
No, he puts the need to process asylum claims legally & responsibly above the prejudice of a small % of unruly UK citizens. If any asylum seeker is found guilty of a crime then UK law should be applied accordingly. Human rights apply to all. That's the whole point.
You've hit the nail.on the head there; there is a certain % of the population to whom facts means nothing. Their preconceived bigotry gets in the way.
The bit fartage will never tell you
Farage is a con man. Sky news, along with most other media outlets helps him get away with it. He can infer what he likes politically about the ECHR, but alongside that we need an explanation of what it actually does state in this regard. Was it there?
People seem happy to chuck decades of good international relations with, & being an ally of the US in the bin overnight. It's mutually beneficial. We all know Trump's a problem, but diplomacy demands we at least don't make it worse from day one.
...& deporting those without a legal right to stay here. I'm not sure what these people actually want tbh. Doesn't bear thinking about...
I would like to hear these supposed Reform supporters' plans to curb small boats..& not the ones involving threat, gunboats (Sky News!) or loss of life. Govt has begun to address this, having already made smuggling gangs arrests, a plan with French border control, processing asylum claims quickly...
I don't think the Home Office was concerned about 'victory', more about stopping racist protests on our streets.
If it does indeed breach planning law that's a different issue, but the ruling to clear out asylum seekers there before the October hearing was rash, given the racist tension surrounding it. Those waving flags & shouting there would only do the same wherever they moved the asylum seekers on to.
People equate asylum seekers with the term 'illegal migration'. If their claims is rejected they will be deported, if they have a genuine claim they will become refugees & given the help they need. Illegal immigration is a global issue, but not a crisis.
I used to live close to a hotel which houses asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be processed. Tbh I didn't even know they were there until some local gammon showed up to shout about it. He actually caused me more angst than them.
It's worth trying the diplomatic approach first, we're hardly at war with the US.
Nobody listens to the part where Labour states they plan to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers by the end of this parliament. The Tory backlog of asylum claims is being processed quicker; that's why we have asylum seekers there in the first place. Just let them get on with it.
The govt always has to be more reserved in its comments. It doesn't have the freedom of smaller opposition parties.
Our PM fortunately understands the meaning & importance of diplomacy 🙄
The Gaza 'hysteria' spills over again.
Sky seems to be making it up as they go along.
Ah yes, John Craig...who begins his write up on the Epping asylum hotel appeal with the words 'by a longstanding Labour lawyer'. Just chucking water onto the sauna coals 🙄
Always by implication & innuendo.
The govt wouldn't be heard if it did push back aggressively for the yowls of 'curbing freedom of speech', being anti democratic or being racist. Nobody reports what the govt actually says 🤷
Of course, the first words in Sky News report mention one of the lawyers is a 'Labour lawyer' 🙄. This ruling should never have been made in the first place. Watch the redcross sketchers go mad with their crayons in response🤦
A win for common sense.
There's always a place for our flag when it's displayed for the right reasons, but not while it's being used as a symbol of racial hatred.
They say ignorance is bliss, but these two just take it to another level.
These people are far more frightening than any asylum seeker.
The current racist furore is apparently all down to the govt not commenting strongly enough on Farage's racist rhetoric. If it's not that it's because the govt is either acting too much like Reform, or not doing enough to deport people! How is this govt supposed to do its job with all this nonsense!
Only in 2025 UK could the media make someone else's racist rant the fault of the govt 🤦