How’s your Hard Brexit going, British Celebitches? I get the feeling that many of the people who voted for Brexit (as opposed to those voting to Bremain) really didn’t believe that anyone would actually go through with it. Something similar happened with the people who voted for Donald Trump: so many of those voters were flat-out shocked to learn that he really is trying to do all of the deplorable sh-t he said he would do. Still, I’m sure that many Trump voters are getting what they wanted, just as I’m sure many Brexit voters are getting what they wanted. Michael Caine is one of those Brexit voters. He told a media outlet this week that he voted for Brexit, and his reasoning is… um, interesting?
Michael Caine has revealed his reasons for voting for Brexit, saying that the British public voted for “freedom” rather than as a result of racism or anxiety over immigration. Speaking to Sky News while promoting his new film Going in Style, the actor said that he was confident that Britain’s exit from the EU would be “all right”.
“I voted for Brexit. What it is with me, I’d rather be a poor master than a rich servant. It wasn’t about the racism, immigrants or anything, it was about freedom. Politics is always chaotic,” he added. “In politics, you’re always going into areas you’ve never been before, so you’re going to get lost and then you’re going to find your way, and then it’ll be all right.”
Caine has been outspoken in his Euroscepticism before. In an interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson four months before the EU referendum, he declared both leave and remain options “scary”, but seemed to express a preference for leaving the EU.
“To me, I think what you have in Europe is a government-by-proxy of everybody who has now got carried away. I think that, unless there are some extremely significant changes we should get out. I feel certain we should come out.”
Again, my take on Brexit voters is a lot like my take on Trump voters: you can claim that you were voting for “freedom” or “lower health insurance costs” or “the economy,” but that doesn’t change the fact that you were also voting FOR racism, jingoism, (white) nationalism and chaos. I would never presume to say that the European Union is great and there are no problems. Of course the EU has issues and of course there were completely legitimate gripes about Bremaining. But was Brexit the answer? Did Brexit solve all of Britain’s problems? Or did it just create a host of new, stupid, tedious problems? Also, with regards to Michael Caine in particular… is he, like, Peak Brexit voter? White man, 84 years old, came from a working class background but is now wealthy and probably living abroad most of the time?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
This old white rich man voted for Brexit knowing the he probably wouldn’t be around to see the end result, good or bad – he voted for something that won’t affect him in the least. It’s much easier rolling the dice with people’s lives when you have nothing to lose.
Amen
No lies detected there.
Damn, as long as he’s not an immigrant, all is well, right?
Autonomy!!!! THE PAST!!!!! Sovereignty!!! The immigrants will understand…
He just wants Britain to be Masters again…. And, and, AND… continue to work and vacation around Europe with arms wide open, and little hassle as an expat (cause he is not a migrant worker, only people like Gael Garcia Bernal and Ruth Nega and Colin Farrel are. amiright?!)
Well, thank you Sir Michael, for exposing us to your self.
*cancels Michael Caine*
I’m not surprised, Caine has always been vocal about his conservatism.
The UK will suffer for decades, he won’t.
That’s a huge part of this. A lot of the older Brexit voters basically said that if Brexit was bad it didn’t matter because they had their pension and wouldn’t be around for the fallout. Lovely
Three days ago I read that a Spanish nurse had taken her life because she feared to be deported back to Spain.
I, as many others already suffering from anxiety or depression, have at least once thought to do the same.
And this millionaire scumbag is thinking of himself and how he will be better off with Brexit.
Who gives a damn about 5 million of people lives, right?
Like Susan, Michael you are now cancelled.
that’s crazy. spain is a great country
Truth. Truth. Nothing but the truth.
I wish the actors I enjoy would stop speaking and revealing how utterly stupid they are.
+1000
+10000000
Didn’t he also say that black actors should “be patient” or something?
I believe he did.
I’m with you, juice. “Poor master vs. rich servant”… I’m thinking Mr Caine didn’t see the idiocy of that ridiculously clichéd statement, because when was the last time he saw a rich servant? He’s a stupid, rich, old white fart and none of Brexit is going to affect him. Have a seat, Michael, there’s a good chap.
Thanks a bunch Michael. Brexit was the last f-ck you of the baby boomers with their free healthcare and education, final salary pensions, and heaps of cash made off the property market. Glad you enjoyed it but what the hell are you leaving for the rest of us?
Too true. All too true.
I’m not enjoying the hard Brexit. As a Dutch woman, married to a British man and with young children and living in Britain, I’m genuinely worried.
Also, Michael Caine has gone down in my estimation. I’m always surprised when people freely admit they voted for Brexit.
I am SO sorry Mrs Fonzieface.
There are so so SO many in your position that it practically disgusts me.
I’m a proud immigrant myself, living in Sweden, and I know a lot of migrant workers from Britain here, who work in construction and such. Hell, some are just enjoying their retirements in wonderful cottage homes.
They are NOT worried about how it will affect their ‘papers’ while staying in an EU country, like Sweden. YOU, however, and many many many like you, are worried about their status/’papers’.
I hope for the best results, but I’m also weary. I think they will protect the’ expats’ living and working in the EU first, and then take care of the ‘immigrants’ living inside Britain, later.
But if all goes asunder, I hope that you will have a solid back up plan for you and your family.
‘I think they will protect the’ expats’ living and working in the EU first, and then take care of the ‘immigrants’ living inside Britain, later.’
the only consolation is that i doubt the rest of the EU will allow them to do that; i think any sort of protection will go hand in hand. that said, it’s upsetting either way to live in this limbo. i’m an immigrant in the UK, but because i moved when i was 11 i have the luxury of sounding like a londoner and also have a british passport, so i’m the ‘lucky’ kind. can’t even begin to think how it feels for those immigrants who have made britain their home for years now, but whose status is currently up in the air just because they were born somewhere else.
I’m in a very similar position to you, and yes, it’s really quite scary.
@Fonzieface that sucks, and I’m sorry you are feeling worried. BUT, as a non EU woman married to a British man, I can tell you there is hope (in terms of legally remaining here). As the spouse of the UK national, you can apply for ‘leave to remain’ and then eventually upgrade that to ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (equivalent to a Us green card), and then apply for citizenship. It is not ideal, of course, and it takes a fucktonne of paperwork, but you are legally entitled to remain here, wit or without Brexit. It is shit, I know – but I hope that security (which so many people sadly don’t have) takes a tiny bit of the sting and worry away.
@MrsFonzie
Hugs from another EU citizen married to a Brit.
I have been freaking out for the last 9 months, genuinely worried doesn’t cover it anymore.
@Claree
Non-EU citizens have different rules.
As a matter of fact, Home Office have shown gross incompetence in not registering EU citizens properly.
Nearly one million of us are out of all regulations at present.
And by the way, being married to a Brit for EU citizens does NOT give a right to reside or ILR (we don’t pay for spouse visas so British person cannot be used as a sponsor for immigration purposes).
This courtesy of Theresa May’ s rule at HO since 2012.
@Silverunicorn – my understanding is that EU spouses don’t have to abide by the same rules as non-EU spouses, but they are able to apply for ILR should they wish to. (I may be wrong, but worth looking into). Agree with you regarding mismanagement though – one of my girlfriends is French and married to a Brit, she recently attempted to apply for LTR and was told she didn’t have the required health insurance so the entire time she has been here (8 years) would not count towards her application. It’s a shit show.
of course old rich white man caine voted for brexit, i’m not even shocked.
the EU is a faulty institution, but the vast majority of british problems were internal, could have been fixed internally, and the xenophonia that drived this referendum is crazy. there’s been a massive rise in hate crimes since brexit, so caine can take his vote and shove it up his arsehole.
David Mitchell was spot on in his article on Ukippers the other day:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/commentisfree/2017/apr/02/unhappy-ukippers-maybe-europe-wasnt-the-issue-brexit-article-50-david-mitchell
What happens when Brexiters realize Britain’s problems run far deeper than EU membership?
they’ll blame the remoaners, as they call them. and my fear is that they’ll continue blaming immigrants, since may has stated she won’t be able to reduce immigration for at least 5 years. it’s scary. i seriously cannot understand how those leavers who insist they aren’t racist, can be fine with any of this.
Yes. The extreme fringe of Brexiters will blame anyone but themselves when it all inevitably goes wrong – and after so-called Remoaners, it’ll be the usual suspects: non-white people, unemployed people, single mothers, etc.
In the end they’ll blame the politicians- not themselves. I do believe a lot of Leave voters were conned.
Only the thing is Michael you personally WON’T be poor. It seems he took a gamble with the lives of others. He has security, he won’t be affected.
It reminds me so much of my two extremely rich uncles who voted for Trump. They won’t be affected by slashed healthcare and slashed public programs, they are safe in their rich bubbles to talk about bullshit reasons for voting that way.
Well… global warming is eventually going to come home to roost for ALL human beings, regardless of wealth. So we have that to look forward to 🙁
1) F*ck you. You’re not going to be a “poor” master. You’re rich so STFU.
2) You’re not going to be anything for that much longer, old man. Again: STFU.
I am in NO mood today and once again glad I don’t have children who will be asking me in 15 years what the hell went wrong and why we f*cked up so badly. I won’t be able to explain.
I feel terrible for the Brits, truly but I want the EU countries to kick the UK’s a**. I can’t help it, I’m so done with their whining and woe-is-me sh*t. We didn’t help with all the concession we’ve made over the years. Nobody’s looking good in Europe right now. Nobody.
Obviously I don’t want the EU to kick our arses, if only for the lives the Sixlets will lead and not for mine, but seriously – I wouldn’t blame you. We’ve been a terrible tenant during our EU tenure and nothing anybody did for us was ever good enough.
I’m glad you don’t take it personally because it’s hard not to. And I do not want the UK to leave but I guess that’s a moot point. Frankly, I took the vote personally. It’s like a break-up. It hurts and sometimes you don’t want the person to leave but goddamn if I’m going to roll over and hand them the house.
But it’s more than that. The EU is not strong right now and if we give the UK too much and if we’re not hard on your government, we might as well shut this down entirely. That is such a terrifying prospect. That this is just the beginning of the end of the EU. Yes we have problems, yes we need to fix things before we admit ANY new members and yes, the bureaucracy is sometimes batsh*t insane. But damn if I don’t love the concept and all the freedom it has given me, moving between countries. I can’t believe you guys want out, frankly. That was a propaganda masterpiece.
Well, 48% of us don’t want out. There’s that! It’s sad because it was a vote – whichever choice of Leave or Remain was made – based on emotion and identity for the most part and hardly at all on the facts. So it will be even worse here than it is for those in the EU27 because you’ll be having the break-up row with just us. We’re having it with each other AND you. It’ll be a national nervous breakdown for the next two years.
Sixlet Minor is really badly affected. Very bitter against the older generation, who he perceives as having selfishly tried to ruin his life. Which leaves me playing devil’s advocate a lot of the time – not because I’m not furious at the selfishness too, but because I don’t want my son to grow up with anger and bitterness as the main informers of his opinions.
LMN, this is why I wholeheartedly agreed with Obama’s statement about the referendum; essentially he said there were issues, but you don’t fix an organisation by leaving it.
There will be a knock-on effect of the other countries, which is also unfair.
Sixer, I feel him. It must suck so much to know that your own country screwed you like this.
Littlemiss – quite. I feel him, too. But it’s not going to help him – or anyone – if he entrenches the feeling that he has to be a tribal person who wants horrible things in order to get them back, is it? Parenting is shit sometimes you know!
Sixer, I cannot stress this enough. I do NOT envy parents today. HOW do you explain this world to your kids?
You tell the truth about it, I think. But you mitigate the awfulness of the truth by filling as much of their lives with positive things as you can, so that they know there are pearls inside even mountains of shit. And you yourself have to do stuff that makes something better than it would have been otherwise so that they can see it’s possible. It’s um… hard work at times!
Brexit has particularly screwed over Northern Ireland. It will now have a land border with the EU. There are a lot of promises floating around about maintaining a “soft” border, but like much of Brexit, the eventual outcome is very uncertain. Not that anyone in the Westminster government, or those voting, except those in NI, gave any thought to that.
Y’know, right after the Brexit vote, I had a wild thought. What if NI decides to hold a referendum for independence and the UK accidentally manages to reunify Ireland?
@LittlestRoman does the Republic of Ireland get a say in it? Many of them do not want N.I. actually. Indeed even many catholics in N.I. don’t want to be part of the R.O.I.
Michael Caine has been outspoken for years about his conservativism and how much he loathes paying taxes. This is no surprise.
Typical “I made mine, so everyone else can be as miserable as I was making mine.”
Old ass white man with trash opinion. How suprising. Baby boomers are the just worst.
Please don’t put us all in the same category. Not all of us are rich right wingers. I am neither of those things. And as he was born in 1933, Caine is far too old to be categorised as one.
This.
I’m not a Boomer, but I am the child of two that are lovely, informed, compassionate progressives. As are their friends. It’s not a homogeneous group, even if it may seem that way. And yes, he’s too old to be considered part of the post-WWII baby boom.
Thank you rachel for that wild generalisation.
No, millennials are the worst!,,
I’m a baby boomer and I know a lot of really great millennials.
My husband is a 30yo Brit who voted for brexit for very similar reasons. The governing body of the EU passed over 100 laws into the British constitution without needing the votes of the British people or British parliament. I understand that it is a complicated issue, so please do the same and stop treating all brexit voters like ignorant Trumpites.
Cool story. If only it were true.
No, they didn’t. They couldn’t, because our constitution is unwritten. Your husband is referring to EU directives, which automatically become part of the national laws of each country when passed by the EU bodies. There’s a difference between the constitution and legislation.
Tina, if you can find me a single Leave voter who can name the main EU institutions and their functions, and which proposes and passes legislation, and how and where domestic consent is given by individual member nations, I’ll eat my hat. And my coat. And my boots. And my sofa. In one sitting.
@Sixer, I will now go out to try and find such a person, just to see you do that. 😉
If you find TWO, I’ll throw in one of Sixlet Minor’s smelly football strips. And THAT is a fate worse than death.
lmao. you do realise that the moment you vote for something that it’s drenched in xenophobia and based on hatred you become complicit, even if your reasons for voting might be different? i’m british and know the situation well, so do one and stop pretending that brexit voters are any different than trump voters or le pen supporters; they aren’t.
Exactly. Very interesting to say not all Brexit voters are ignorant “Trumpites.” The Trumpites all say exactly the same thing.
Amelia – please try to explain to your husband that it is true that the last few decades have seen a loss of sovereignty and democratic accountability but the loss of that didn’t go from the UK to the EU. It went from the UK to global capital. Globalisation took domestic sovereignty away, not the EU. It’s happened to voters in EVERY country, including the US. Being part of a large and powerful trading bloc, such as the EU, is, in fact, our best chance of mitigating further loss of sovereignty; Leaving such a bloc won’t get any sovereignty back: it’ll result in the loss of more of it.
Amelia, I’m sorry but based on the above comments you and your husband do appear to be ignorant. This concept that the UK isn’t sovereign is nonsense, added to the hypocrisy that it has an upper chamber made up of 800 unelected members.
My general view is the Brexit vote was pushed by classic scapegoating; blaming the EU and immigrants for austerity and globalisation.
Nope, I can’t. Sorry. But your husband is complicit in f*cking all of us so whatever.
I do have a question though. He’s super upset about the intricacies of EU law and how it influences/changes national law? Okay. What has he done to affect change? Has he done anything? Or did he go from “I don’t agree with this.” directly to “Let’s burn down the house.” Because really, that’s super sensible.
@Amelia
Why do I have a feeling your husband could be the caller in this clip?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=QwK1MCTltSA
yeah, exactly. it’s all bollocks, like i said may and her lot aren’t even pretending it’s not about immigration and xenophobia, so people who claim they have any other reason make my blood boil. as does this caller btw. i moved to britain as a child so i’m an immigrant, most of my friends are children of immigrants at least from one half. anyone who’s familiar with immigrants would tell you that these people are tying to build a life for themselves, and there’s nothing they want more than integrating, be part of the community and the lifestyle.
Britain can make its own laws, so that whole ‘Take back control’ was a lie.
I still rage about Brexit, tbh.
But if Scotland and Ireland break away, that would be good for them and I’ll be looking to go to one of those countries. I’m not white, and am used to hardship, so I’ll get by.
You mean Northern Ireland, right? The Republic is already there waiting for you, free, independent and a member of the EU.
Don’t go to Northern Ireland! Not to scare monger or anything but the EU continues to PUMP money into the Peace Process. A lot of Northern residents, my family included are terrified of what’s to come.
Scotland seems to have a much more stable future. If you are realistically considering either 🙂
@Sizer….sadly I know more than a handful of Brexit voters that know exactly how the EU works blah blah blah – they are highly educated and engaged members of society…they aren’;t all clueless, just…a majority are assholes. Examples:
1. A colleague recently told me she voted to leave because there are too many immigrants here and her house was broken into my ‘polish thieves’. This woman is a lecturer at a University AND AN IMMIGRANT (not a British citizen, but allowed to vote as a citizen of the commonwealth).
2. A colleague (believe it or not, a chaired professor in the business school) told me he voted Brexit because there are too many Muslims here are he is afraid of Shariah Law.
I feel like a whole assortment of assholes voted to leave – not just clueless dummies.
You’re going to make me cry (again).
i don’t think educated people are less likely to be racist and/or xenophobic unfortunately. but it’s upsetting the way each and every brexit voter proves to be the stereotype in the end, no matter how much noise they make about ‘voting for other reasons’ it always comes down to racism and xenophobia. happy days.
@Amelia – The British constitution? I wasn’t aware we had one? Lolzzzzz
SIXER EAT YOUR DAMN HAT NOW.
LOL!
@Sixer
You should eat your whole wardrobe cuz you will not find a single Leaver voter who can explain a reasonable argument about Brexit other than *bloody EU* or *bloody immigrants*!
“I want to act like a Trumpite, but please don’t align me with them.”
Nope. Nada. Uh-uh. Be accountable for earning the title.
This week I’ve felt genuinely ashamed and unhappy to be British, particularly after that poor 17-year-old was attacked and hospitalised because he’s an asylum seeker. It’s all very well for rich white men to say ‘oh, it’s not about racism’, but for some people, it really is, and they see Brexit as legitimising their views. I’m so sick of it.
Since Michael Caine has spent half of his adult life since he became rich as a tax exile, and the other half putting his money into the same tax evasion scheme Gary Barlow et al got shredded for, he can STFU.
Kaiser – you have that about right. I’m pretty Eurosceptic myself but still voted Remain. The EU has all sorts of problems, it’s true, but whatever your reason for voting Leave, you thought it was more important than racism, more important than the life chances of the younger generation, and more important than living standards. Leave voters don’t like it when you say that, but it’s true.
same. i don’t think very highly of the EU as an institution, but i can never agree with any campaign nor any politician who presents migrants as undesirables. may and her lot are not even pretending anymore that it isn’t all about immigration, so the whole sovereignty narrative is frankly ridiculous at this point.
Like I said above, we have LESS sovereignty as a small single nation in an age when capital has gone global, not MORE because we left the EU. This is the canard that does my head in the most, it honestly is. Blue bloody passports, my arse.
so true.
Blue passports?
yeah lol, it’s one of the things brexiters seem to be rejoicing about e.g. going back to blue passports rather than the EU red ones. you know, the important shit.
Are you joking??? Oh yes, what a victory.
A recent poll found the two most wanted things from Brexit were the return of the death penalty and blue covers for passports. I kid you not.
If you scroll down this article, you can find the list, split between Leave and Remain voters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/leave-voters-brexit-day_uk_58db873be4b0cb23e65ccbd2
An actual MP described EU red passports as a national humiliation. Again, I kid you not.
If you look at Croatia’s passports, you will see that they are still black despite them being in the EU. We could have had blue passport covers and remained in the EU. And even now, we’re not going to go back to the hard-backed covers from the 1970s because they are incompatible with modern security technology. I really could weep.
Sixer, is there a chance you will get the death penalty back? I see reinstating the death penalty as a step backwards, is it really that popular among the remainers?
The death penalty is popular amongst remainers, but it’s never going to come back. Brexit won’t take us out of the European Court of Human Rights (which most people don’t realise) and it’s cruel punishment by any standard.
I agree with Sixer that Caine can STFU. I’m just here to say that Shakira Baksh, now in her 70s, is still an amazingly beautiful woman.
She is.
She is 70 years old??? I need to lie down.
‘I’d rather be a poor master than a rich servant’
Says the man who has zero to lose and will most likely feel no ramifications from the Brexit whiplash.
I’m certain quite a few Baby Boomers voted for Brexit, but Michael Caine is no BB. The oldest boomers were born 1/1/46, now 71 yo. MC is 84. He can be slammed for his selfish vote, but not as a boomer.
Thank you, that was bugging me. He’s too old to be a baby boomer, is part of “the silent generation” (according to my very superficial internet research).
I’m an immigrant in the UK, and this kind of arrogant British mentality is what scares me the most. Many white British people still romanticise the Empire era when the Brits are on top of the world. The way Theresa May presented going out of the EU as to reclaim their “world power” also speaks to this megalomaniac mentality. The British just hate the fact that they’re just like everyone else and have to depend on other countries to thrive.
FLASH NEWS, you’re not the world power anymore, get over it. The way to go in the future is not as an isolated country, you have to work together unfortunately. Now that the UK have to go out of the EU, they’re so so desperate to get a trade deals with the US that the UK government been bending over backwards to support Trump administration, which is so fucking disgraceful.
It must be a common problem because the same thing happens in Spain and clearly American Trump-Voters suffer from it too.
Most people wouldn’t be even close to the higher spheres of power if imperialism returned, I have no idea what kind of life they’re dreaming of.
Nationalism really is burgeoning all over the world again. SMDH
I find his ‘master/servant’ analogy quite revealing. The only thing you master in life is yourself.
Yes. It’s always interesting to read what a racist person’s “words of wisdom” are like.
Brexit created so many new problems, when I think about the whole trade sector, so many companies are at risk. It will be hard on the tourism, everything. Caine wants to be a master? Ugh, Mr. Caine, there is not Empire anymore. Deal with it and live in the real world for 2 sec.
Right! The EU have all the cards and are going to punish Britain and I can’t blame them. Every day when you wake up, jobs are fleeing. If you have a British passport, you’re being blocked from various projects (I know people who are applying for Irish passports on that basis alone).
I will say that after this, the Tories can’t say that they are the party of business and good economy anymore. Supposedly, May doesn’t want to call a snap election now and leave it until 2020, because people won’t be so ‘angry’ about Brexit then. I’ll be campaigning with a zeal to get all these tossers out of power, tbh. Right now, I’m just working on my local council areas to dislodge the Tory and Labour MPs. >:(
My colleague was moaning her holiday to some touristic city in Spain is already costing more, thanks Brexit. I told her this is the start and as a pro-Brexiteer, she needs to deal with the fact that everything is going to get more expensive and it will take a lot of time to climb back from this disaster. The UK got enough priviliges that other EU countries weren’t afforded but all be damned if she understand one thing about the the workings of the EU.
Can’t believe people, when they vote for things thinking it will affect only other people but never them, good old British born citizens, LOL. They get what they deserve.
Like the Mexican lady who voted for Trump and was shocked when ICE came for her husband. “I thought they were just taking the bad ones.”
Pay you taxes, (Sir) Michael! http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tax-scheme-celebs-ordered-pay-6833322
F#ck Alfred
If Michael Caine was USA citizen he would most likely have voted for Trump so he is canceled to me.
I for one wanted to apply for a job in London. Since Brexit, I guess I have no chance anymore.
I was accepted into a UK university (I’m Irish) but the week after Brexit happened I was alerted by email that while I still had my place I may be expected to pay international student fees, they weren’t certain at that point. I still have my place set to start next September but in all honesty I’ve resigned myself to it not happening. I can’t afford it. Cheers, Brexit and Michael Caine!
@Miffy, I’m really surprised to hear that. Jo Johnson said that the funding support for EU students would still be in place for students who enroll in 2017-18 (for the duration of their studies) and my Russell Group university has confirmed that EU students will pay the same fees as UK students this year. If your uni is still waffling, maybe check out other universities in Clearing & Adjustment?
Immigration in the UK is an issue though. 300,000 every year is extreme. We are a high density with a small amount of land.
We have so much elbow room in the United States, it is hard for us to understand the situation in Britain today.
If the United States had the same population density as the United Kingdom currently has, the US population would be 2.4 billion people.
Not everybody wants to integrate either. Social cohesion for some people is just not possible.
Which “some people” would they be, Hattie?
India has 440 people per square kilometer, England 264, China 146, Canada 4. There is so much room in Canada, yet we get ignored mostly by immigrants. Canada’s baby boomers started turning 65 at the beginning of this century. Seniors are 20% of our current population and youth are only 16%. Canada needs immigrants if we are going to survive and be able to take care of our seniors.
…and yeah Hattie, what people?
Lady D, that’s because Canada is ridiculously hard to get into. Canada is ‘The’ place for us Irish but you have to have the right career before you’re even allowed to fill out the rest of the paperwork for consideration. I tried 🙂 Apparently I’m not needed!
Trust, you are wanted and needed, Miffy. Sorry, I didn’t realize how hard it was to get into this country. It’s a sure bet however that we will need immigrants to survive as a country. Canada has 4 freaking people per square kilometer, and still the ignorant bitch about the few immigrants we do have. I do realize a chunk of Canada is uninhabitable except for the hardiest,(and the seriously foolish) but there is still tons of room.
But lets not forget how much our economy, health services, services sector, education sector and pretty much everything else depends on immigrants. Let’s also not forget that our industry was built on the backs and resources of the people WE colonized when we turned up in THEIR countries. It’s a bit rich, now, to say ooooh bogey man immigrants we haven’t got space for you – when for generations we have depended on ‘foreign’ resources – human and otherwise, to build our industry and economy.
They usually do low paid jobs that have to be topped up by tax credits etc. Most are a drain Some companies here don’t even attempt to offer jobs to people who already live here.
@Hattie
You have no backup for your ignorant claims.
Immigrants, specifically recent EEA immigrants, are making a net contribution to public finances: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24813467
“Even when compared to natives with the same age, gender composition, and education, recent immigrants are still 21% less likely than natives to receive benefits”
“Over the same period, British people paid 11% less in tax than they received.”
Tell me who’s a drain again?
Well said, Claree.
@Hattie, it’s comical that you think immigrants being taken advantage of by employers is somehow the immigrants fault. Get a grip.
@Theodora
Hopefully we will all be able to resettle somewhere else, us and our degrees. You will be stuck with whoever has no choice and your lazy Brits.
Hope you are happy about the reputation you have gained abroad as an immigrant-hating country.
on no theodora, we do have space. the uk is largely unbuilt, and this is a fact. i don’t disagree in putting limitations to for instance, the amount of benefits an immigrant can claim before a certain number of years, but this is an internal problem the uk could have solved and nothing to do with the EU. germany doesn’t allow benefits of that sort, and neither does italy. so see? EU countries do have a choice.
@Hattie, i bet you never even spoke to an immigrant ever. you probably heard them talking in a foreign language at your local shop, and thought omg they don’t even speak english, whereas they’re most certainly bilingual.
@ell
Itawy.
Plus if they wanted to reduce benefits, they could do it for everyone with simple rules (in Italy you need two years of tax contributions to even access the welfare system). They never did it because majority of people who are actually ‘scrounging’ the system are Brits and Tories would lose votes if they did that.
Better to redirect social anger at immigrants, right?
A lot of the land is not suitable for housing. I don’t think pouring concrete over the countryside is really the way to go. We already have such a high density
To be blunt Emily, you’re talking nonsense. I can safely say that you neither have a civil, structural or geothecnical engineering degree to have a clue. I am a civil engineer. It’s far more likely that land is unsuitable for farming than unsuitable for building. Just about the only land unsuitable is swamp land. Hardly the case in the UK.
@Theodora
Just to put it into perspective. Not all of 300.000 come to settle permanently, and many are coming to work in industries lacking qualified British workforce, such as the NHS. Overall, UK has financially profited off immigrants: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24813467
Education, NHS and housing are struggling to cope mostly because for years the Tory government has insisted on cuts to these services which is crippling the social situation in Britain. And also, the reality is that any country with low birth rate among domicile population (all of West Europe) needs immigration to keep it afloat. Why do you think Angela Merkel was so vocal about bringing Syrian refugees to Germany? Well, somebody needs to generate pensions for aging Germans.
Theodora, a considerable amount of Scotland is the opposite; lots of room and a very low population density. But it’s subject to UK immigration laws, even though many areas of the Highlands and Islands are crying out for incomers. There have been some high profile deportations and attempted deportations of families who had become part of the community there, simply because of an inflexible attitude by Westminster, and laws designed for the south of England.
@Annetommy
Same with northern England.
However let’s not facts be in the way of a good xenophobic story 😉
Kaiser – to answer your question – my husband and I both voted remain, as did 90% of our friends and family. We were both devastated when the results came in. I am still supremely pissed off. My husband, however has changed his tune a little. Of course he is still annoyed, but he has become increasingly pragmatic about it and his view now is, we need to do whatever is good for the economy now. I guess the view is, the vote is done, article 50 has been triggered, now how the hell do we come out the other side alive?
That’s really disappointing. I’m seeing him in a new, unflattering light. 🙁
Hello – one of the 48 per cent who voted REMAIN here – please don’t let a very slim built ultimately yes a f**king majority of terrible, hideous or at best irresponsibly, idiotically uninformed LEAVE voters colour your impression of the rest of us. The daily mood is utterly depressing – we (remainers) know it’s a huge mistake, then there’s the idiot regret-zics who were like ‘oh I didn’t really know what I was voting for’ then a percentage of people who are happy in their smug racist, clueless walk off the plank whilst singing rule Britannia I’M SO F**KING DEPRESSED AND ANGRY HEEEELLLLLLP
If you throw your vote in with racists and xenophobes aren’t you at the very least empowering racism and xenophobia? Does that not matter at all???? Hello? Is anybody in there?
Not to mention his wife is a woman of color that he’s probably objectified and fetishized. White guys always find us highly f*ckable. But respect our culture and heritage? Understand our unique journey? That’s often lacking.
Yes, one would show complicity with such actions. Also, I no doubt believe he has some problematic views on their relationship.
Also yes – Michael Caine is cancelled.
@ Michael Caine
Nope, you wouldn’t rather be a poor master than a rich servant. Because you have never really been poor. And you have no idea what kind of burden the Brexit will be for the poor and the economically starved areas in Britain. Basically simplified it is like this: the London Rich don’t care about the Northern Poor and the latter have been subsided economically by the EU. The London Rich will not cough up the same money for the Northern Poor.
Well, the London Rich voted to stay in the EU and the Northern Poor voted to leave. So where does that leave you?
Well, presumably it leaves the northern poor misled by bus adverts?!
I’ve no time for Michael Caine AT ALL but it is a nonsense to say that he doesn’t understand what it is like to be working class and not wealthy in the UK. He was brought up working class and not wealthy in the UK.
There are plenty of working class Tories. Amid all the talk of racism and xenophobia regarding Brexit, it shouldn’t be forgotten that there has always been a significant strand of individualistic, small state, socially conservative working class voters in Britain. These are the people who voted for Thatcher three times. My dad used to call them “chippy bastards”. They used to call him “loony leftie”. Didn’t stop them being neighbours and sometimes, even often, friends.
I often think we aren’t known as an Atlantic Bridge for nothing. Somewhat less individualistic than the US, but also somewhat less communitarian than the rest of Western Europe.
@Sixer, I agree, I was just poking holes. But on a serious note, as much as I despair of both Brexit and Trump, I still think it’s not a good idea to demonise those who voted for them. It’s very tempting to be sure! But ultimately counterproductive.
I do agree. The boneheadedness annoys me. The racism and xenophobia appals me. But it’s not as though voting from a place of ignorance is new. Or holding racist and xenophobic views is new. You can seek to educate and you can oppose racism and xenophobia but it’s not the same thing as tribal political warfare where you wish ill on others as a class of people.
Two other points:
1) did you see the article in The Times arguing that the BINO – Brexit In Name Only – solution is increasingly likely? I wonder if that’s possible and, in the end, we’ll end up with a Norway-like option with some added window-dressing about free movement? A Simon Nixon piece if you can get behind the paywall. It was quite good.
2) More specifically on the topic of demonising Brexit voters – I saw some analysis recently that laid out just how many Leave votes came from people that did not vote in the GEs in 2010 and 2015. And who say they are unlikely to vote in 2020. I think this is a) important and b) says a lot about the motives of the so-called left behind. The vote would, in their minds and for once, actually have the potential to change something. So they turned out. It really doesn’t matter that you and I think that change is destructive. But it does matter that people will turn out if they believe it will lead to change. ALL parties should take note of that.
If you’d rather be poor, come give your money to us Celebitches.
If a proper study is done , it will be found that a large percentage of blacks and other minorities voted for brexit. They wanted to continue the brit ish culture which they felt was being eroded
Oh for heavens bloody sake. It’s already been done. About 30% of BAME voters went for Brexit. The most commonly cited reason for this was immigration. They wanted EU free movement ended so that we could have less restricted immigration from other countries – that is to say, their own heritage countries of the various West Indies, African nations, India and Pakistan.
If you think the anti-immigration section of white Brexiters would approve of THAT, you really need to think again.
Since he wants to be a poor master, I’ll oblige and not support his films.