Goke7:


We can’t expect everyone to always flow along with our own views, Let’s allow them to express themselves and see the points they are trying to makes, does it harm us in any way?

No issue with that bro. However, this needs to be done logically and justly.

hustla:



People dey vex

I tire Bros. Meanwhile some bloke in Alaba market is having a panic attack anytime naira goes south making the cost of his imports more expensive. I suppose different strokes for different folks.

Pls how does the UK gains way more from Africa’s natural resources annually? I noticed you mentioned Shell earlier.....Is Shell owned by the UK govt?

kwakudtraveller:

Imagine calling people’s view on neocolonialism nonsense just to sound politically correct. The UK gains way more from Africa’s natural resources annually than the change they give in the guise of "aid". Na our leaders I blame, if they didn’t mess up the country to the point where we all had to run to another land for "greener" pastures, we wouldn’t be having this conversation where people see opposing views as faux activism. When some of you are done jocking the people who were actually born here, remember that your passport is still green, you are still black and changes in immigration policies still affect you regardless of your visa status.

Help us in what way? Tories have historically been nasty towards immigrants. The Labour Party has been more welcoming and inclusive.
Full disclosure: I am progressive leaning and a Labour Party member. I have stood for elections under the party banner. You can too. You don't have to be a citizen to do this.

How did i choose my political affiliation? Simple , i used this tool to rank my priorities. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/2020/08/take-the-political-party-quiz-to-find-out-where-you-fit/

kwakudtraveller:

Lol I’m afraid none. Even Labour is looking to have stricter immigration policies.

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/24/keir-starmer-attacks-pm-on-immigration-as-labour-launches-its-own-plan

I beg to differ. Parents with Children in Public Schools do not subsidise anything more than people who do not have children.
VAT will go towards equipping the state schools.why should any British child be disadvantaged in basic education because parents earn less? If you want a fee paying school which is a privilege, you pay for the privilege. Simples.

Your second point is very interesting because i haven't heard it anywhere else apart from this thread. Is it possible to share your source please? Thank you

Peerielass:


Listen to yourself, you want them to charge VAT on tuition fees for parents who are already subsidising other people’s education by not taking up places in state schools? But you cry wolf when the same government attempts to tax you twice through IHS. Anyway this is Labour’s policy and not the Tories. What they have forgotten or failed to consider is that they can’t charge VAT on one type of education and leave the other. University education will also be vatable unless of course they decide to rewrite the entire VAT manual. VAT is not charged on education in any EU country.

Secondly, I’m not sure how much you know about VAT, by charging VAT to private schools those schools will now become eligible to reclaim input VAT on all their purchases and capital expenditure, in fact they can reclaim VAT on expenditure incurred in the past 7 years which will negate the so called revenue the government is trying to generate from the VAT charges.

I m going to stop you right here. I live here. Pay taxes here . Therefore i have the audacity of equality.
Not living in Nigeria or paying taxes has never stopped their majestys government from meddling in Nigerian affairs has it?

Oggg:
Did they tie any of you rope to stay in this country?? What is it every single day?
Leave na. No. Let the government of the country run their country. No.
This is becoming annoying. Don’t even bother mentioning me because I am ready for any of you. Like fully ready. Hian.

Peerielass:


I tire Bros. Meanwhile some bloke in Alaba market is having a panic attack anytime naira goes south making the cost of his imports more expensive. I suppose different strokes for different folks.

As the world turns, it turns differently for different people in different places

One man's meat is another's poison

Igbamatigbi:
Hello, am going to London to renew my passport, any Nigerian raw food store around the embassy? Anyone near by? Please let me know thanks

Not in the immediate vicinity cos it's in central London, but if you've got time you could head to Peckham which isn't far from London bridge and you'll have loads of options there.

kwakudtraveller:

This is not entirely true. I’ve noticed this as a theme for quite a number of your posts, even just yesterday, you brought about Nigerians not paying for healthcare causing policy changes. This wasn’t necessary as the argument was based solely on legal immigrants. Just to be clear, I do not think you hate Nigerians; If anything, I usually find your opposing commentary fascinating. It just needs to be a bit balanced as there’s so much great news about Nigerians out there.

I mentioned it within context, to provide some of the backstory to the IHS, but I take your point that it wasn't entirely necessary.

Re the bolded, great news like the chef who recently broke the Guinness world record? Ok, I will try to do better 😄

missjekyll:
I beg to differ. Parents with Children in Public Schools do not subsidise anything more than people who do not have children.
VAT will go towards equipping the state schools.why should any British child be disadvantaged in basic education because parents earn less? If you want a fee paying school which is a privilege, you pay for the privilege. Simples.

Your second point is very interesting because i haven't heard it anywhere else apart from this thread. Is it possible to share your source please? Thank you

They are subsiding state education by giving up their spaces. When your Labour Party eventually comes into power and decide to charge VAT on private schools, the elites will still be ok but the middle income earners who are just managing to afford private education for their kids will be priced out. It’s not for you or me to say whether private education is a luxury or not. Some people would argue that university education is a luxury too.

Assuming 20% out of the 25% of students who are privately educated now decide to enrol en masse in state schools which are already oversubscribed and bursting at the seams, where will Keir Stammer find the money to support the state schools? Is he going to build more schools to absorb the kids that have left the private sector? How about staffing?

As for your second question, I work in taxation so understand VAT very well. You can do a bit of research for yourself. The HMRC website below is a good starting point.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-exemption-and-partial-exemption

Oggg:
Did they tie any of you rope to stay in this country?? What is it every single day?
Leave na. No. Let the government of the country run their country. No.
This is becoming annoying. Don’t even bother mentioning me because I am ready for any of you. Like fully ready. Hian.

Don't mind them.

They've been directed to Downing Street they haven't gone. They were directed to Buckingham Palace they didn't go. The best they can do is come to a faceless forum and bark like a toothless bull dog.

missjekyll:
I m going to stop you right here. I live here. Pay taxes here . Therefore i have the audacity of equality.
Not living in Nigeria or paying taxes has never stopped their majestys government from meddling in Nigerian affairs has it?

On Nairaland?

Go to Downing Street.

missjekyll:
Help us in what way? Tories have historically been nasty towards immigrants. The Labour Party has been more welcoming and inclusive.
Full disclosure: I am progressive leaning and a Labour Party member. I have stood for elections under the party banner. You can too. You don't have to be a citizen to do this.

How did i choose my political affiliation? Simple , i used this tool to rank my priorities. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/2020/08/take-the-political-party-quiz-to-find-out-where-you-fit/

cc hustla

missjekyll:
I m going to stop you right here. I live here. Pay taxes here . Therefore i have the audacity of equality.
Not living in Nigeria or paying taxes has never stopped their majestys government from meddling in Nigerian affairs has it?

Hmm you have rights for sure, but I don't think in any country a non-citizen resident has equal rights to a citizen. Even Al Fayad (former owner of Harrods and owner of the Ritz) with all his wealth and connections, still felt the need to (attempt to) naturalise, and was rejected twice because the govt sees citizenship as a privilege and not a right.

Viruses:


Don't mind them.

They've been directed to Downing Street they haven't gone. They were directed to Buckingham Palace they didn't go. The best they can do is come to a faceless forum and bark like a toothless bull dog.

This is such a beer parlour way of thinking and it shows your cognitive dissonance. People have a right to be disgruntled be it on Nairaland or on whatever platform they choose or else we would all be docile. Saying that people are barking like toothless bulldogs because you are tired of seeing the conversation is the most ridiculous take I’ve seen on this topic. If you do not have anything valuable to add to counter the conversation then by all means ignore it, after all there are other conversations on this thread, why not focus on that instead of stooping to mere mocking.

Viruses:


Don't mind them.

They've been directed to Downing Street they haven't gone. They were directed to Buckingham Palace they didn't go. The best they can do is come to a faceless forum and bark like a toothless bull dog.

You can do better, this conservation has been so decent without such use of words. Thank you

The Public School System plays a huge role in perpetuating inequality in the UK.Labour will find the money by taxing the heck out of the rich. Oh and clawing back our PPE money among other things.

The Public Schools can claim back whatever they like, it ll still be a net profit for the government. I 100% welcome this tax and urge parents to prepare for it.

Peerielass:


They are subsiding state education by giving up their spaces. When your Labour Party eventually comes into power and decide to charge VAT on private schools, the elites will still be ok but the middle income earners who are just managing to afford private education for their kids will be priced out. It’s not for you or me to say whether private education is a luxury or not. Some people would argue that university education is a luxury too.

Assuming 20% out of the 25% of students who are privately educated now decide to enrol en masse in state schools which are already oversubscribed and bursting at the seams, where will Keir Stammer find the money to support the state schools? Is he going to build more schools to absorb the kids that have left the private sector? How about staffing?

As for your second question, I work in taxation so understand VAT very well. You can do a bit of research for yourself. The HMRC website below is a good starting point.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-exemption-and-partial-exemption

missjekyll:
The Public School System plays a huge role in perpetuating inequality in the UK.Labour will find the money by taxing the heck out of the rich. Oh and clawing back our PPE money among other things.

The Public Schools can claim back whatever they like, it ll still be a net profit for the government. I 100% welcome this tax and urge parents to prepare for it.

Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. They will need to win the elections first.

We all should understand that the increase in IHS fees has been the hottest breaking news in days now and it's all over the media space as everyone is affected, be it immigrants and non-immigrants which include employers as it impacts everyone.

Secondly, this is an immigration forum unless Justwise will have to come and tell us if it's another thing else so we know if we are truly drifting. The topic of this platform is Living in the Uk-life of an immigrant and so far the discussions so far unless someone can tell us if we are wrong falls within the topic. In between the conversations, folks are still asking questions about other matters and getting answers as well.

I observe that for some of us here, we are becoming a bit intolerant and are beginning to show irritation unnecessarily. If there is even anyone that should have been so irritated so far is Zahra but still kept going even when someone accuse her of hating Nigerians. Please let's show some decorum and as someone said earlier you can simply pass if you're irritated instead of resorting to insults.

The IHS fee increase is a hot topic and people will show their concerns and feeling whether we like it or not, some folks are going to be hit financially and I think it's even unfair to tell such people to leave the UK when you are not the one that brought them in the first place. Let's be guided, please

Do you live in London? You must not otherwise you would know there are protests nearly everyday at Downing Street.
You have now arrived the UK. You are allowed to have dissenting voices. You are also allowed to march and protest as you like. That is until you are told to disperse.

You dont have to be a good little citizen anymore. You can and should resist unjust government policies.

Who protests at Buckingham Palace? They are about as useful as chocolate teapots.

Viruses:


Don't mind them.

They've been directed to Downing Street they haven't gone. They were directed to Buckingham Palace they didn't go. The best they can do is come to a faceless forum and bark like a toothless bull dog.

Look around at the devastation wrought by the Tories and ask yourself " how can they not?".
In the past , state school graduates still did very well and got into elite universities.
After 13 years of Tory rule, its all desolation as far as the eyes can see. With new funding , state schools can become standard again and children who attend them can recieve worldclass education like their public school peers.
This is the Finland model which has worked wonders.

Peerielass:


Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. They will need to win the elections first.

Goke7:
.

I observe that for some of us here, we are becoming a bit intolerant and are beginning to show irritation unnecessarily. If there is even anyone that should have been so irritated so far is Zahra but still kept going even when someone accuse her of hating Nigerians. Please let's show some decorum and as someone said earlier you can simply pass if you're irritated instead of resorting to insults.

Zahra29 truly has a thick skin, someone called her an entity and she said it’s better than being called a nonentity, laugh wan kill me 😂😂

kwakudtraveller:

cc hustla

They're all mad abeg

I need Yankee or AU visa

Na wa.
I believe the country works the way it is, because of the constant and deliberate use of data to make decisions that are usually in the best interest of the country.

Over the years, It has remained one of the best and relatively stable economies in the world. And this is because of the system in place. D government, irrespective of who is calling the shots, take actions that would be beneficial to the stability of the state, based on the data they have. These decisions might not be desirable by different categories of people, but it keeps their economy going and working as it should

Whenever I hear or see their policies or situations that don’t Favour me as an individual , I remind myself it’s because of these things they put in place, that make it constantly desirable to people from different parts of the world.

Abeg, I no Dey for insult or quarrel. No my own I don talk.

Why would I even start bashing such a place and their actions, when me come from town hall wey dem wan share 8k give people

I think some questions needs to be asked and answered using realistic data which I think are not available or not made to be available.

1. What proportion of legal immigrants utilize NHS services annually?
2. Do legal immigrants contribute to the overall strain on NHS services?
3. Comparatively, how does the contribution of a legal immigrant, through taxes and IHS payments, correspond to their usage of the NHS services?
4. What percentage or estimate does an average immigrant contributes more in taxes than received in public services.


The statement “people should go back to their country if they ain’t happy with a particular policy” actually undervalues immigrants role in the healthcare workforce and their tax contributions to society.

Sincerely it’s essential to appreciate the various ways in which immigrants contribute to the UK, and to ensure fairness and balance.

* We need to consider the economic contribution of immigrants beyond the taxes and IHS they pay? it's worth noting their substantial contributions to the economic growth of the Uk.
* Are the financial contributions of immigrants, including the increased IHS fees, in balance with the benefits they receive? The increment in IHS fees should raised questions about fairness, especially as these immigrants also pay taxes. It's essential to approach this issue with fairness and equity in mind.
* In addition to financial considerations, what are the cultural and social contributions of immigrants? The UK's cultural diversity is in part due to its immigrant communities, whose contributions have shaped the nation's arts,, music, and more.
* What would be the potential impacts on NHS staffing if immigrants felt unwelcome or chose to leave the UK although this can’t happen but let’s just assume it happen ? Many NHS professionals are immigrants, and their departure could significantly strain the system.


Immigrants also support NHS through working in essential healthcare roles, paying taxes, and on average using fewer services than native Britons, especially the elderly.

Let’s for instance consider the financial viability for both immigrants and UK-born residents, let's consider a scenario where both individuals earn £2,000 monthly after tax deductions. From this income, each person pays about £800-£900 on accommodation and approximately £1,000 on bills and other expenses.

An important difference to consider is that immigrants, particularly those on certain visa categories, are often not entitled to public funds such as unemployment benefits, housing assistance, and certain tax credits, despite contributing to these services through their taxes. This restriction could potentially leave them in a financially precarious situation in the event of sudden job loss or other unforeseen circumstances. (My personal situation when I and some other British were made redundant in my previous company, it was a very difficult situation for me if not for God and the over 1k tax refund I got, while a typical British would quickly request for benefit)

Furthermore, immigrants from are required to pay IHS. This is an additional cost that UK-born residents do not incur, and which further reduces the disposable income of the immigrant in our example.

When we consider the cost of living alongside these financial obligations, it becomes evident that immigrants may face unique financial challenges. It's important to acknowledge this context when discussing their contributions to the UK, as it provides a clearer picture of their experiences.

Although I do believe that all this arguments may not go beyond this thread but we need to appreciate immigrants.

missjekyll:
I m going to stop you right here. I live here. Pay taxes here . Therefore i have the audacity of equality.
Not living in Nigeria or paying taxes has never stopped their majestys government from meddling in Nigerian affairs has it?

Please let us face our town-hall. Why have you not required equality from townhall where some tribes feel they are superior to the next? You have not stood on the side of equality for that one ooo for the taxes you previously paid to townhall is here you are shouting. Like?
Let one Ghanaian come to Nigeria and make this statement and your blood will boil.
Easy thing to stand on the saint-ish side on a faceless blog. You have the audacity of equality?? Really? Please when next you land at Heathrow go and join the queue of those with British passports or Canadian and USA passports. When you get to the top of the queue tell them you have equality because you pay taxes and should be allowed to use the E-gate because of your taxes. You are very bold.
As long as you can’t do that, go find seat siddon somewhere abeg and allow the government do what they feel is best for their country. If you can’t take the heat you simply get out of the kitchen! Noise noise noise.

Never a dull moment on this Naira and Kobo Land. Since I've been away I see say una don start a new thread, debate the merits of critical race theory, along with the fundamentals of racial anthropology and sociology, and are now busy dissecting the minutae of health economics and policy. This our 2020-23 set of UK immigrants abi exploitees gather weight o.

My take is that I don't think that the surcharge itself or the increase are fair from a moral standpoint, but the reality of life is that no government's policies are all done with morality as a guiding factor. I have no objection to the government raising more money through increasing its taxes and levies (which is what visa fees and the IHS are). Ultimately, the IHS is basically equivalent to a combined public and private health insurance system which is available in Germany, for instance. And I also believe there should be a means-tested fee for accessing GP care, if that will help make appointments avaialable. Something between the range of 10 euro per quarter in Germany and 50 euro per visit in Ireland.

What I find very objectionable is the way the government is highlighting the fact that it is taxing immigrants, and thus demonising both legal and illegal immigrants, by making it seem as if we legal immigrants are draining the public purse while we are contributing on the same basis as everyone else. It's being done for political reasons, the same rubbish they did to capture the public mind before Brexit, but these sorts of campaigns have consequences, usually unfavourable to visible immigrants, i.e. people with darker skins. Interesting that two Indians are at the forefront of this nonsense.

The last time they increased IHS in 2020, they did it in what I think was the proper way - announced it quietly and implemented it. This time it was the prime minister himself who announced it on national TV, explicitly tied it in to increasing public sector salaries in order to set the gullible public against immigrants (visible ones as usual) and has made it a political battlefield. That's very wrong.

Anyway, the Tories sabi say that they have burned their boats with the immigrant population, and the obvious next step will be for them to restrict or take away the privilege (not a right o) that they have given Commonwealth citizens to vote in UK elections. That is always a probablity and is already being noised about together with this 8 year period for ILR. One consequence of that is that them go remove non-settled people from electoral roll and at least people go stop to dey disturb Naira and Kobo Land with all the hunting for credit cards as a sign of having arrived obodo oyibo.

MichaelUde:

Definitely agree that how they implemented it was improper.

What’s clear to me is that it’s not because of the money per se. In that same speech the prime minister announced that the rest of the funding for the pay rises will come from authorities ‘repriotising’ their budgets, and then cheekily added ‘not as in cuts’, which obviously there will be because if you’re adding money to one line item (salaries) without increasing the budget you must be removing it from somewhere (potentially front line services), and that will primarily affect citizens.

What he essentially announced was Austerity 2.0, with the goal being to keep inflation down (or to keep people poor and enrich his wealthy buddies, if one prefers to be cynical).

Anyway, the purpose of making the IHS thing a cabinet level announcement by himself in person was because it’s clear that immigration is a wedge issue. By creating an us v them dynamic, the plan is to fire up the conservative base with the idea that he’s finally getting back at the immigrants, legal or otherwise, which is the biggest issue most of his constituents have - even bigger than economy (although they often don’t realize it - a la Brexit).

Ultimately it’s not a question of morality but of politics, same as Nigerian, American and all other countries’ policies on immigrants. The single issue I’ve had throughout this discussion is people trying to make it seem as if the UK is unique in that aspect and thus ‘unfair’.

Edit: When they take away the voting access too I’m sure many will come and write treatises on morality and the  ‘Audacity of Equality’ yet when asked to point out other countries (or our home country) with such access, their answer will , as usual, be ‘but but colonialism’. Lol.

This is for the purpose of clarity for those that don't understand the expression "toothless bulldog" and therefore took it as an insult without looking it up in a dictionary.

Toothless bulldog is someone that is weak, powerless, cannot take action or do anything about a situation.

If you have joined a protest, filed or signed a petition on this immigration issue or taken any action whatsoever, you are by all means a patroit. But if all you do is rant and derail this thread by reemphasizing points you have already made, you are still a toothless bulldog.

kwakudtraveller:


Zahra29 truly has a thick skin, someone called her an entity and she said it’s better than being called a nonentity, laugh wan kill me 😂😂

She’s the original MVP here, not the emotional ones that are writing the list of noise makers here lol

MichaelUde:
Never a dull moment on this Naira and Kobo Land. Since I've been away I see say una don start a new thread, debate the merits of critical race theory, along with the fundamentals of racial anthropology and sociology, and are now busy dissecting the minutae of health economics and policy. This our 2020-23 set of UK immigrants abi exploitees gather weight o.

My take is that I don't think that the surcharge itself or the increase are fair from a moral standpoint, but the reality of life is that no government's policies are all done with morality as a guiding factor. I have no objection to the government raising more money through increasing its taxes and levies (which is what visa fees and the IHS are). Ultimately, the IHS is basically equivalent to a combined public and private health insurance system which is available in Germany, for instance. And I also believe there should be a means-tested fee for accessing GP care, if that will help make appointments avaialable. Something between the range of 10 euro per quarter in Germany and 50 euro per visit in Ireland.

What I find very objectionable is the way the government is highlighting the fact that it is taxing immigrants, and thus demonising both legal and illegal immigrants, by making it seem as if we legal immigrants are draining the public purse while we are contributing on the same basis as everyone else. It's being done for political reasons, the same rubbish they did to capture the public mind before Brexit, but these sorts of campaigns have consequences, usually unfavourable to visible immigrants, i.e. people with darker skins. Interesting that two Indians are at the forefront of this nonsense.

The last time they increased IHS in 2020, they did it in what I think was the proper way - announced it quietly and implemented it. This time it was the prime minister himself who announced it on national TV, explicitly tied it in to increasing public sector salaries in order to set the gullible public against immigrants (visible ones as usual) and has made it a political battlefield. That's very wrong.

Anyway, the Tories sabi say that they have burned their boats with the immigrant population, and the obvious next step will be for them to restrict or take away the privilege (not a right o) that they have given Commonwealth citizens to vote in UK elections. That is always a probablity and is already being noised about together with this 8 year period for ILR. One consequence of that is that them go remove non-settled people from electoral roll and at least people go stop to dey disturb Naira and Kobo Land with all the hunting for credit cards as a sign of having arrived obodo oyibo.

This has been one of our major points here but we were told to keep quiet and leave the Uk.

On top of it we were even labelled toothless bull dogs lol