Former home secretary Jack Straw has admitted Labour's decision to drop immigration restrictions on eastern European migrants was a "spectacular mistake".

Mr Straw said that the Home Office had wildly underestimated the number of immigrants that would come to the UK from 2004.

news.sky.com/story/1167859/straw-admits-...-immigration-mistake

ITK, I thought you loved the immigrants. Previous posts have indicated that the more the merrier and how good they are for the economy etc. Now you are slating New Labour for letting too many in.

I was about to say the same thing Robbie, ITK a hypocrite like George Osbourne.

robbiex wrote:
ITK, I thought you loved the immigrants. Previous posts have indicated that the more the merrier and how good they are for the economy etc. Now you are slating New Labour for letting too many in.

I don't think he slated anybody. He posted the story without comment.

robbiex wrote:
ITK, I thought you loved the immigrants. Previous posts have indicated that the more the merrier and how good they are for the economy etc.

No, robbiex - I like WORKERS(*) !

The immigrants largely do the jobs that the homegrown dolers won't do (and then they complain about immigration LOL !)

Without immigration the NHS would have shut down years ago - but try telling that to the loony supporters !

(*) I see unemployment is DOWN yet again !

unemployment down could due to fact that more people are being referred to the work programme. It's an old Labour trick when started New Deal, they take you off the Job Centre and let third parties deal with you. Only part time jobs seem to be on offer no full time work 30-40 hours is what I need ITK.

Why not start FJF up again it was successful ?

In The Know wrote:
robbiex wrote:
ITK, I thought you loved the immigrants. Previous posts have indicated that the more the merrier and how good they are for the economy etc.

No, robbiex - I like WORKERS(*) !

The immigrants largely do the jobs that the homegrown dolers won't do (and then they complain about immigration LOL !)

Without immigration the NHS would have shut down years ago - but try telling that to the loony supporters !

(*) I see unemployment is DOWN yet again !

You say that unemployment is down, it just means that they have taken away the benefits from more people or have fiddled the figures in other ways. On top of the 2 million + unemployed in this country there are 100,000s more under-employed in part-time work or zero hour contracts earning a pittance.

The economy is growing very slowly but it is the wrong sort of growth. Debt driven consumerism (i.e. the exact same growth that got us into this mess in the first place, and Cameron is encouraging it again with his help to buy scheme.


When you say loony supporters I can only assume you mean Ukip or the tories.

robbiex wrote:
You say that unemployment is down

The economy is growing very slowly

You obviously don't bother with the news, robbiex !

"On Wednesday, the UK unemployment rate was reported at 7.6%, down from 7.8%.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, said the report was proof the government's economic plan was working.

Mr Carney has said the Bank will not consider raising interest rates until the jobless rate falls to 7% or below.

Growth for this year is forecast to be 1.6%, up from 1.4% previously thought, and for next year, annual growth is expected to be 2.8%, rather than the 2.5% it predicted in August".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24926512

Left to Labour we would now be waiting outside the PayDay Loan shop for a loan (at 4987%) to pay off the credit card (at 59%APR) that pays the credit card at 36%APR - you get the idea? - that pays the bills !

I bet the Greeks would LOVE to be in our position !

Robbiex for PM, if you were on the dole under Labour you were put on every work course under the sun, do 40 hours unpaid supermarket work for £50 p/w. I been sanctioned 4 times due silly reasons since I started a joint claim.

Sorry, couldn't reply earlier -was watching "Dolers On The Fiddle" on BBC1 !!!!!

ITK of course hasn't a clue how capitalism actually works.

Friend of the worker Hedda choosing to live in capitalist enclaves at least seeks out how the system works and survives under it ie : a consumer based system of wealth creation needs more and more customers duhhh whether they be Poles, Brits or Gypsies and the defeaning silence of the Tories during this mass immigration ( yes yes-Enoch Powell) demonstrates they too know Hedda is right.

as do all those people who have become "property developers" (yuk)

a word from our sponsor :

andrew wrote:
if you were on the dole under Labour you were put on every work course under the sun


... and still didn't get a job ?

What does that tell you ?

andrew wrote:
unemployment down could due to fact that more people are being referred to the work programme. It's an old Labour trick when started New Deal, they take you off the Job Centre and let third parties deal with you. Only part time jobs seem to be on offer no full time work 30-40 hours is what I need ITK.

Why not start FJF up again it was successful ?

Why do you need thirty or forty hours a week? With housing benefit surely if both of you got a part time job you would earn more than dole money?
If jobs are scarce I would be inclined to take whatever was on offer. No?

andrew wrote:
Robbiex for PM, if you were on the dole under Labour you were put on every work course under the sun, do 40 hours unpaid supermarket work for £50 p/w. I been sanctioned 4 times due silly reasons since I started a joint claim.

What reasons were you sanctioned for, Andrew? I have heard some humdingers, like people not trying hard enough to find a job in-between a successful application and the start date,and "going for an interview" not a good enough reason for signing on late, and refusing jobs that are impossible to travel to.

In The Know wrote:
andrew wrote:
if you were on the dole under Labour you were put on every work course under the sun


... and still didn't get a job ?

What does that tell you ?

tells you that all these ludicrous schemes are useless and a waste of money.

Far more productive to give them all a pony and a field and let them have some wholesome fun.

In The Know wrote:
andrew wrote:
if you were on the dole under Labour you were put on every work course under the sun


... and still didn't get a job ?

What does that tell you ?

Its worse now, they make you work at Poundland for 40 hours for £75 (illegal - less than minimum wage), and the call it training. What is the point of companies like poundland employing people when they could just grab someone off the dole and get them to work for virtually nothing.

I was only unemployed when I left school got in retail for a few years, Woolworths went bust, go in labouring project finished then firm went bust, having no references does help either.

robbiex wrote:
In The Know wrote:
andrew wrote:
if you were on the dole under Labour you were put on every work course under the sun


... and still didn't get a job ?

What does that tell you ?

Its worse now, they make you work at Poundland for 40 hours for £75 (illegal - less than minimum wage), and the call it training. What is the point of companies like poundland employing people when they could just grab someone off the dole and get them to work for virtually nothing.

I am all for giving people every chance of work but I have no idea why we are subsidising Tesco and Poundland by providing an ever changing stream of free labour.

Only jobs available here are only few hours a week, they rather give them to single mums. When I go back in work I lose housing benefits why I need 30-40 hours a week, another catch 22 is if you start work your fucked for money for a month.

Girlfriend was from suffering from severe cramps and missed work programme appointment, even though it's on her medical records and she rang Avanta and Jobcentre up, I filled in 2 sheets when I was supposed to fill 3 but Jobcentre only gave me 2, Jobcentre got our claim mixed up with someone else and we suffered from it.

I heard Poundland won't be taking any more people on due to bad publicity, why not pay dolers to go on courses to gain certificates like NVQ's and PTS etc ?

I remember I had to go on a interview for door salesman even though it wasn't on one of my job options, it's not real work your paid commission, and you get fired straight away if you can't reach targets.

Labour started the FJF ITK, which you worked 30 hours a week and you were taxed still. ITK wants to sweep that under the rug.

andrew wrote:
why not pay dolers to go on courses to gain certificates like NVQ's and PTS etc ?

We've already paid out appx £50K to "educate" each and every one ... and what "value" did we get from that ?

NO - let's not waste a further penny.
They will wise-up eventually.