Points to Ponder

[Helig]

I think the Tories are now panicking as they realise the immigration situation is likely to have an adverse impact on them in the next election which isn't that far away. I doubt they are serious in tackling the huge numbers entering the UK but the noises being made are for publicity only. It is to be hoped that people will see through them and not be deceived. I recently visited Swindon in Wiltshire. It is like a shanty town with thousands of illegal immigrants being housed there. Former office blocks are being used to house them and these appear to be in a state that can only be described as slums. A number of local hotels are also housing large numbers. There is a Border Force Agency in the library which issues visa applications. I saw long queues of people lining up outside before it was open in the morning. I question why a town in the UK should be allowed to be used in this way. The local people are suffering and being treated as second class citizens because of the resources being diverted to immigrants and the demands put on services.

[Ian]

I'd add only one point, Helig;  when you say

local people are suffering and being treated as second class citizens because of the resources being diverted to immigrants and the demands put on services.

perhaps we should say that local people are suffering and being treated as second class citizens because of the continuous reduction in public services which the Tories have engineered.

It's easy to forget that the intolerably smug Rees-Mogg not that long ago was threatening to sack every other civil servant, and proclaiming that we should punish Russia severely, while his own business was investing there at a fast rate.

[Ian]

Remember this?

[Hugo]

The immigration Policy of the Tories is just a joke.    making it illegal to cross the Channel in small boats is easy, it is nothing other than hot air.      Deporting the migrants immediately seems to be the problem but it shouldn't be, when they arrive here they know that they have broken the law so it shouldn't come as a surprise.
New migrants should be fast streamed and deported immediately with no right of appeal and existing illegal migrants should be sorted out asap

We seem to be fighting a losing battle with the small minority od do-gooders and Human rights but no one seems to acknowledge the human rights of the majority of UK citizens.     There are enough illegal migrants already here to fill six towns the size of Llandudno and are mainly young men with a different culture to us.
Call them Asylum seekers or whatever else is PC  but the vast majority are economic migrants

[Helig]

Yes, services have been run down by the Tories but it doesn't help when a medium size town in Wiltshire is swamped with thousands of illegal immigrants. I decline to call them asylum seekers as they haven't been awarded that status as yet.

There are parallels with the PPE contracts as the firms who profit excessively here also have connections with the Tories. SERCO is run by one of the Soames family:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/12/serco-chief-to-retire-rupert-soames-outsourcing

[Hugo]

Wasn't Jo Johnson, now Lord Johnson employed by one of those PPE firms?      I also seem to remember Stanley Johnson now possibly Sir Stanleygoing to Greece when direct flights to Greece were banned during lockdown but of course Stanley got in through the back door
The only thing that seems to be thriving in the Tory Party is nepotism and corruption

[SteveH]

I am not sure if this is the correct thread for this, but we discussed HMOs in Llandudno recently, and reading these two stories reminded me that if CCBC do not handle the HMO situation properly, we could be in the same position.........

Concern over concentration of homelessness in Rhyl as scale of problem in Denbighshire revealed
The county currently has 316 households in emergency or temporary accommodation
cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/concern-over-concentration-homelessness-rhyl-26515758?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

And despite millions of pounds spent on regeneration projects.............
North Wales seaside resort ranked UK's least fashionable with 'no past, no arts, no fun'
A 'seaside gentrification index' gave Rhyl a score of just five out of 100
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-seaside-resort-ranked-26513736?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

ASYLUM seekers have not been confirmed as having arrived at a former Llandudno Junction education centre contrary to rumours, the MP for Aberconwy has said.

Robin Millar MP made a statement this morning (March 24) regarding the supposed housing of asylum seekers at Marle Hall Centre for Outdoor Learning.

He has sought clarity on the situation from Robert Jenrick, immigration minister.
https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23409321.asylum-seekers-not-confirmed-residing-llandudno-junction-home/

[SteveH]

Asylum seekers to be housed in North Wales mansion
They will be placed at the Grade II listed Marle Hall, a former outdoors centre which closed in 2021 as Aberconwy MP Robin Millar tells Home Office 'this is the wrong kind of facility'

The development comes after asylum seekers were housed temporarily, in a Hilton hotel in Dogarrog, Snowdonia, last year. Mr Millar said: "I contacted the Immigration Minister immediately last night to seek urgent clarification on what is happening. I expressed my strong concerns about the suitability of the site and their selection process."

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/asylum-seekers-housed-north-wales-26548658?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

'Serious objections' made over plans to house asylum seekers at North Wales mansion
Janet Finch Saunders MS has written an urgent letter to the Minister for Immigration

Formal objections have been made over plans to house asylum seekers at a North Wales mansion. Janet Finch Saunders MS for Aberconwy has written an urgent letter with 'serious objections' to the use of the property and any other location in Aberconwy.

The letter comes after it was revealed the Home Office is expected to place migrants at Marle Hall, near Llandudno Junction imminently. Up to 111 asylum seekers are expected to be sent to the Georgian mansion, which was formerly used as an outdoor learning centre by generations of schoolchildren.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/serious-objections-made-over-plans-26559344

[SteveH]

Interesting article ............

14 maps you need to see to understand Wales and the challenges we face

Like every country Wales has its challenges. Whether it be poverty, a creaking infrastructure, poor health, low levels of education, decline of public services or the erosion of the Welsh language it is easy to see these issues in isolation.

But Wales' challenges are not simply separate problems occurring and ruining lives in a vacuum. They are immensely complicated and entrenched societal issues that both interact with and compound each other.

Read full article  https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/14-maps-you-need-see-26514876?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Ian]

We seem to be fighting a losing battle with the small minority od do-gooders and Human rights but no one seems to acknowledge the human rights of the majority of UK citizens.     
Call them Asylum seekers or whatever else is PC  but the vast majority are economic migrants

This piece from, New Scientist made me think:

"The global population will peak at 8.6 billion in 2050 and decline to 7 billion by 2100 if current trends continue. That is the projection of a model developed as part of an initiative from the Club of Rome non-profit organisation, and it is 2 to 3 billion less in 2100 than other recent forecasts.

This Earth4All model, created to explore which policies would deliver the most good for the majority of people, also suggests that if the world invested in a ?Giant Leap? to reduce poverty and inequality, the world population would peak at around 8.5 billion people in 2040 and decline to 6 billion by the end of the century.

?Even if the numbers are not going to be as scary as some older forecasts, this does not mean that we don?t have a problem,? says Beniamino Callegari at Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway, one of the authors of the Earth4All report.?

If the report and its conclusions are accurate, then levelling the world's population towards a more balanced society could help us all.

[SteveH]

Asylum seekers will no longer be housed in a North Wales mansion following a backlash from local politicians. The Grade-II listed Marle Hall, near Llandudno Junction, had previously been earmarked by the Home Office as a potential migrant facility.

The former Georgian mansion was bought by Warwickshire council in 1971 and was used as an outward bound learning centre, providing residential trips and courses for schoolchildren until in shut in October 2021. It was announced last Friday that it would be used to house asylum seekers.

Robin Millar has confirmed the site will not be used as a Home Office facility. The Conservative MP welcomed the news and said it will "come as a relief to many in the community".

Mr MIllar said: "I welcome the news that, following my meetings with the Immigration Minister, Marle Hall will not be used as a Home Office facility. I know this news will come as a relief for many in the community who were unsure how many people were coming, who they were, how long they would be here and why.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-mansion-no-longer-26575379

[Meleri]

I note the Home Office stating in the article mentioned above, that they remain committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use & limit the burden on the taxpayer & the local communities. But they have not refunded ?90,000 to CCBC for the young Asylum Seeker at Dolgarrog, that came under our Social Services & has come out of our Council Tax. I have asked both Robin Millar & Janet Finch-Saunders if something can be done about this refund, but no replies as yet.

[norman08]

Meleri I have also asked Robin Millar on a few occasions about our council getting the money back,,, oh I?m asking the home office. 😤,   Ref the asylum seekers in Dolggarog.  Who put it out there,, Robin Millar,    This with Marl hall,,,, yes Robin Millar. Talk about trying to scare people and get votes, him and finch will stoop to any level and people are falling for it.