Comments on: Why are so many people leaving the UK?

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:24:25 +0000

It's funny that you mentioned we need the skilled workers to fill the skills gap currently in this country. I would very much love to be trained as an electrician but cannot on account of my age (30) So what's the alternative? flood the Job maket with cheap EU nationals while the indiginous young people are left with soul destroying, stressful low paid service work. If I wanted to become a skilled tradesman just about anywhere else, I could tomorrow. But because of so many limiting factors in applying for such jobs here, I after 4 years of trying am still in the same position I was at the beginning.
The drink and drugs problem of this country could be tackled quite effectively if people under 40 in the UK believed that there was a future for themselves here if they worked hard enough. Sadly, this is not the case. The opportunities to do well just don't exist. Rotting on benefits or working flipping burgers or working in a miserable call centre is as best as anyone can do here.
The only party I'm siding with is the one that's best for the country. After 30 years of Tory and Labour incopmpetence, it obviously ain't them.

By: Martyn Priestnall

Martyn Priestnall — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:17:15 +0000

It's stupid blaming any particular govenment when
it's the political system that disenfranches the voice
of the sensible majority, members of whom exists
all across the political spectrum.

Direct democracy anybody?

By: Helen

Helen — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:33:25 +0000

Wow, you people should live in Berlusconi's Italy.

Or actually, in 80% of the world where there are zero democracies.

British people love to blame – and we do have bad politicians – but apart from your odd Obama (or not, depending on your political taste) most politicians anywhere and everywhere in the world are pretty bad.

I am a young person with a minor in Politics, so I can also agree that Brown is a completely unfit leader and many of our current politicians are terribly corrupt and feel the need for them to go. I feel passionately about this.

However, that is a separate issue. The government does not MAKE the feel of the country. Britain is a big country and Brown is not responsible for gun crime, poverty or the multititude of problems our society is facing.

WE ARE.

We, the British people, are why so many people move abroad and why I chose to study abroad.

*Take responsibility for your own lives* is what we, as British people, sorely need to do.

Britain is the only country where a mother blames the pregnancies of her 12 and 14 year old daughters on lack of sex education in schools.

We have good jobs, good money relative to most of the world and decent education – yet people STILL are unhappy. Perhaps more so than in many of the poorer countries.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:13:54 +0000

I'm a Yank, living in New York City, and we've had another "British Invasion" since 2004. I don't mind. We're getting the Brits with money, skills, and family values.

Britain is experiencing what Manhattan had in the 1970's. Public services like transportation, sanitation, and police got worse. Crime went up, the streets got dirtier, and the city was no longer safe. So people moved away.

I lived in the UK from 1988-1992. In that era you never heard of crimes involving guns (unless it was the IRA). Now, I see articles about shootings all over London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, etc. It's like the kids are armed to the teeth bullets are flying all over England.

I have this to ask…..

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?

By: Lochduart

Lochduart — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:02:42 +0000

Further thoughts of an ex Tory. Would it be nice to have a hung parliament, and a National Government with Nigel Farange as PM , Vince Cable as Chancellor, John Redwood as Foreign Sec, David Davis Home Sec, and Frank Field as Minister for Work and Pensions.

By: Lochduart

Lochduart — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:46:16 +0000

As an ex Tory of 50 years standing I now support UKIP as do the 2.25million other ex Tory's who want us out of the United States of Europe as members and continue to still trade with the Common Market as an equal partner as we were before Heath sold us out. The French farmers and the Spanish fishermen are laughing all the way to the bank.

By: Lochduart

Lochduart — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:18:11 +0000

Doesn't the scottish deserve a capital S

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:26:44 +0000

We should really be done with the corrupting political correctness and start using the freedom of speech, and perhaps even offend a few people by saying, we full up(words left out)

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:23:27 +0000

New Zealand house prices have gone up more relative to local wages than they have in the UK, I suspect that you did not notice coming from here.

Please don't blame the victims, most people that bought houses bought them because it was the right time in their life to do so ( I know all about that, and felt all the huge pressures from family, friends, professional advisors, adverts, TV, and the press). The victims were and are victims because the banks willing lent them unsafe amounts of money. The leaches have been the Buy to Let market, whom use houses as an investment rather than some where to live, and they did Gordon Browns bidding to sustain the boom, and they felt safe to do so, as Nu Labour was doing the EU's bidding, fulfilling its Nu Population policy.

Yes the people here are turning bad, but the people are the victims, being manipulated, and for the past 10+ years they have failed to see it. Clandestine organisations such as Common Purpose with their tentacles in Education, Health, Fire Service, Local Governemnt, Press, The Police, The Churches, and of course Central government have been very successful so far.

By: Luke McFadden

Luke McFadden — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:38:27 +0000

good points Mr. Redwood, effectively put. Nice to see things clarified, contextualised … and yes absolutely, so many of us would leave at the drop of a hat, if the opportunity came around. Finances, family links, housing, routine, etc tie so many of us to this old hill of bones …

if there were less practical constraints on going, the numbers would double at least, if not more …

sadly some don't do so well overseas, like the 'por favors' of Spain, the aging British population who fled to Spain in the '70s but who now fall between jurastrictions when it comes to pensions etc … not an easy time for them …

but you're dead right, if we've half a chance we'd go, nowhere in the civilised world could be worse than all this … roll on the Olympics!