₦airaland Forum

rock86:
What's your advice in making friends in the UK please?

Are you religious? Do you have children? Are you single and alone?

Church, parents groups, hobbies like rock climbing or dance classes.

Either that or friends from work.

I think in this day and age you have to be quite deliberate about trying to make connections.

franchasofficia:
Tell me why Nigeria should be relying on manual collation of election results in 2023 when we have more efficient, secured electronic systems to handle it fairly, transparently and faster?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkH2r-sNjQs

There are compelling reasons to use manual ballots. The UK still uses them because of this and has no plans to change.

Zahra29:
Reform's biggest donor is a British Asian tech entrepreneur from immigrant parents.

He gave a big speech at their rally last week.

I was watching the far right podcast LotusEaters. It had around 10,000 live viewers at the time I saw it.

They didn't like the guy. Said he was trying too hard to be Vivek and he shouldn't be trying to represent "natives".

They also don't like Kemi Badenoch any more because she insulted the "indigenous population".

These people are not your friends.

deept:
Welcome to election day

if you are still not decided, brief video from humble penny on youtube on the manifestoes of the political parties and how they affect your finances.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lug70hgwx0A

I mean. He's right to suggest that Labour with raise taxes ... somewhere. Whether that's Capital gains or elsewhere.

But to then suggest that nothing will change because of it is bonkers. There are a lot of areas of government spending which are incredibly degraded right now. With no new tax rises there will need to be £18bn in cuts to public spending (which the Tories already have pencilled in).

There's nothing inherently wrong with paying more tax if it's used effectively for public services.

Zahra29:
If the polls are to be believed then the young people in the UK appear to be following a similar trend as their European counterparts who are increasingly turning to the right.

This is embarrassing.

missjekyll:
Forgot to recommend a podcast "the news agents". By Emily maitlis, Jon sopel ,Lewis goodall.

I went to uni with Lewis. Same college. He's a good lad. Nice guy IRL. Very genuine.

Very strange to watch him be so popular/prevalent.

jedisco:
All forms of migration especially permanent migration is very much a part of both past and contemporary British culture. Yeah, times change but its mainly the perception and reporting that differ. When Brits/certain Europeans migrate, they see it as their right. When black folks migrate, its pictured as a privilege.

Yeah I'd agree with this. How else would Australia or Canada have been populated in the first place?

Sadly the vast majority of Brits don't know British history too well. It's not their fault or anything. British history in school mostly only covers Tudors and WW1/WW2 🫠 (with zero mention of the Africa parts too)

But in the days of the British Empire migration was encouraged willy nilly. South Asians would move to East Africa - Kenya, Uganda, Brits would move to Australia or Canada or Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. There was technically complete free movement around the Empire/Commonwealth up until 1962. Obviously it was a lot less feasible technically.

deept:
At what point should individuals be responsible for their choices? If tomorrow, I decide to be irresponsible, quit my job and not take care of my family and my kids go hungry, is it the government's fault? Then you punish the people who sacrifice time, energy and other things by taxing them to take care of what is supposed to be my responsibility is that fair. as far as I know there are programs, internships and other initiatives to skill up citizens so they can be responsible to themselves and their families and if they do not take these opportunities, is it the government's fault?

People shouldn't be going to food banks to get food.

Back in 2010 food banks basically didn't exist.

Now we have people in work with kids having to visit food banks to get by.

Yes, we should encourage personal responsibility, but the system people operate in matters too.

missjekyll:
We haven't seen that for decades in everywhere including with housebuilding targets. I do not accept any of the blame for the current housing crisis. I am laying it squarely where it belongs at the feet of the government.

Before anything else. I think it's wrong to blame anyone, especially anyone who has been given a visa to come to the UK to live and work. The government is ultimately responsible for immigration policy. People are free to take advantage of anything government offers.

missjekyll:
You do know low houseprices are not the only indicators of a prosperous nation.
The UK population would be falling if not for immigration. How would you fund pensions , infrastructure and services then?

Populations grow ,that's just what a healthy population does. Onus is on the government to plan ahead and provide infrastructure well ahead of projected..

So I know that Labour have some major plans around this to ease planning regulation which I'm hopeful will help.

But the UK also has never really been able to build more than 300,000 homes a year (and hasn't even hit that since 1970). There is only so much we can expect the government to realistically achieve even if they completely relax the system.

This is also not a great situation for the people who immigrate here who don't have the wealth to buy a house.

claremont:
The evidence widely available IS that immigrants from outside the UK are net positive fiscal contributors to the UK economy.

I believe while this is true overall, not everyone is a beneficiary.

For example, a 2022 study found that immigration to the UK from 1994 to 2016 reduced the hourly wage of UK-born wage earners at the 5th percentile (i.e. the lowest earners in the labour market) by around half of one pence per year. The gains for top earners were also small: 1.7p per year for people at the 90th percentile of wage earners. Another study focusing on wage effects at the occupational level found that, in low-wage service sector jobs, a 1 percentage point rise in the share of migrants reduced average wages in that occupation by about 0.2%. These results are broadly similar to findings from other studies.

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/the-labour-market-effects-of-immigration/#:~:text=Similarly%2C%20the%20MAC%20review%20concluded,others%20found%20positive%20average%20effects.

It also has a sizeable impact on house prices:

Professor Nickell, who advises the Government on affordable housing, said that since 2000 the ratio of average house prices to average annual earnings had risen from four to seven. If net immigration had been zero, house prices would, according to Professor Nickell, still have risen to 6.5 times average income (Q 49). Professor Nickell also forecast that, if the current rate of house building is sustained for the next 20 years, house prices will rise to 9.3 times average income if there is zero net migration. But if there is 190,000 net immigration each year, house prices will rise to 10.5 times average income—13% higher than they would be with zero migration

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldselect/ldeconaf/82/8209.htm#:~:text=Immigration%20is%20one%20of%20many,there%20were%20zero%20net%20immigration.

Which somewhat explains why there's a fairly big disparity in opinion towards migration. If you have a home already and a well paying job. Great! Your income goes slightly up and your house price climbs.

If you're on the lower earning end of the spectrum and you rent then the result is marginally worse wages and more expensive housing/higher rents.

jedisco:
Hehe. They'd still moan when foreign based folks buy houses for themselves or kids in the UK. It appears the aim is to have a constant stream of migrants arrive at Heathrow, turn over £50k to the UK government and return home. Even with that, they'd still complain about overcrowding the airport. They should borrow a leaf from Japan and own their problems.

I don't think that's it at all.

There are just different groups of people in the UK.

There's a decent size group of people who would just prefer net zero migration and for the UK to be like Japan.

And there's a decent size group of people who don't mind or they're business owners looking for talent and workers or they're the chancellor trying to fix growth numbers.

Neither group is inherently right but it leads to an incoherent set of policies.

justwise:
[/b]

If you watched the whole programme to the end you see where younger members like Rob Bates, Dan Jukes etc made some strong homophobia comment when they spotted a police car with pride sign on it.

If Reform pick up some seats after this election you will see that many young people will start looking around Reform political party.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1379439/uk-election-polls-by-age/

Maybe. But if you look at the polls or watch any Nigel Farage rally it's still packed out with old people.

There's always been a small stream of young fascist types in the BNP or similar. Even if that's not mainstream.

justwise:
This doesn't surprised me at all, their views are inline with Nigel Farages. This will soon become normal that it will not be breaking news anymore. We are gradually heading towards MAGA way

I don't think so.

Even now. Reform, like the Tories, votes are still mostly confined to older voters (who are a lot more racist in general).

We haven't seen the swing to the hard right among young people that we can see in Europe. I hope it remains that way.

missjekyll:
You dont put everything in a manifesto. Who would read a thousand page document.

You only put votewinners and things that would be revolutionary and require an express mandate.

I think Labour are being more deliberately vague than normal because they feel they don't need to spell anything out. The more they spell out the more the Tories can attack.

But it means that comparisons of manifestos, such as Greens vs Labour aren't very useful this election.

Like you say, the best way to judge this upcoming government is probably to compare it to the last New Labour government (which wasn't that bad). I'm irritated with Keir somewhat but I'll probably still vote Labour.

missjekyll:
It was just that I get a bit tetchy when I feel somebody is going on about Anglo-Saxon, celtic heritage etc. In my experience, it usually leads to some racial abuse to me or implying that I am somehow not "British enough" because I was born somewhere else.

I m happy to learn you are cut from different cloth. Oya , come and take suya

Yum!

No worries! I know the kinds of people you mean and I do not share any of their views. I work with 1st, 2nd, 3rd gen immigrants from Nigeria, India, Hong Kong, Jamaica, France daily & they're all lovely.

I find that people who complain about people not being British enough also tend to have a poor understanding of British history.

headofschool:
NASUWT has done a good job by breaking down what the teacher association wants and compare against manifesto of each party. Green party 💚 seems to be the best of them all. Labour touched on everything without saying anything in particular, no quantitative point, so they won't be held responsible if they only made a tiny contribution towards each point.

I've heard a few suggestions that Labour are holding back a lot and aren't putting absolutely everything they'll do in the manifesto.

missjekyll:
Right and wrong do not have colors. I am not sure why you needed to state that?
You could have just joined the conversation, you know?

When I first commented I didn't start out but saying anything to do with colour though! I didn't know if this was a Nigerian only forum. I mentioned I was only British, and not Nigerian.

In an attempt to not be rude I seem to have offended several different people 🥲

It was also semi relevant to the conversation which was about what British people's worries are, potentially around immigration and if they would express them to an immigrant on the doorstep.

As a non-immigrant, I probably have some insight into what people may say behind closed doors and I was trying to express that.

Oh my days. I didn't mean to upset anyone.

jedisco:
By 'Brit' you mean? Cos there are good number of Brits and soon to be Brits who post on this thread.

Anglo-saxon, Anglo-Celt, Oyinbo, White, "Native" British, not of Nigerian descent.

Take your pick. It wasn't intended to be a political point over who is or is not British.

jedisco:
The Tories have stuggled to attract 30-50 yr olds as in times past. The UK has recently not seen much of the Right wing tilt that happens as people get older and richer. Perhaps, this is due to a stagnant economy and rising inequality but then, viewpoints can change quickly.

A lot of young people are mad at the Tories and aren't turning conservative because they have nothing to conserve. The Tories have focused more and more on pensions, meanwhile young people have had to deal with soaring house prices keeping them out of the housing market.

In 1993 the average house price was £56,000 and the average salary was £17,784. Therefore, it would take also 3.1 times the average salary to buy the average house.

In 2023 (figures from 2022), house affordability took another turn for the worse as the average house price rose to £280,000 and the average salary had only risen to £33,000. Therefore, it would take 8.5 times the average salary to buy the average house.

(I'm a Brit. Hope you don't mind me posting here).

The problem that Reform or the Conservative party have with their current agenda is that it tends to mostly appeal to old ppl.

The UK has a generational gap in attitudes between generation (I'm 34) and the older generation.

I talk to my grandparents and they're worried about illegal immigration from channel crossings, knife crime in London etc. Their generation also has a number of ... quite racist people in it but they won't necessarily show it openly.

Now, it is possible that this changes in the future. In Europe we're seeing a far right swing among young people but that hasn't materialized in the UK ... at least yet.

I have seen young people having concerns around immigration but that seems to mostly be focused around house prices and inability to afford a property due to there not being enough.

(This is what I've observed from personal experience)

yahoodetector:
Where is the lie in what he said? Are they not the Nigerians with highest population in the UK? He even sugar-coated it...

The numerous crimes they commit there from Housing Insurance frauds, Health Insurance frauds, child molestation etc is the reason UK is beginning to shut their doors.

Truth is bitter.

Oh my lord.

This isn't true! It's nothing about Nigerians at all. Most people I know are generally positive about Nigerians. My experience with Nigerians in the UK have all been positive. (Well, I think some of you can be a little bit paranoid)

Nigerians are starting to get a reputation as being hard working in the West. You shouldn't worry.

It's literally just people worried about the net migration figures and the strain on resources.(Houses, schools etc)

There's some racists too but they're mostly old. I love my nan but...

Why do you guys like making everything about yourselves though? The country is stopping foreign students from bringing in dependents, and you're creating headlines that make it look as if you're the target. The UK receives more immigrants from India than from Nigeria, but once they make a policy change, y'all assume it's all about you. Nawa

The UK (and Canada) both have housing shortages. It's not really about Nigerians.

"There are now around 8.5 million people in the UK with 'unmet' housing needs, according to the National Housing Federation, as continued weak supply has been exacerbated over the last 20 years by a growing UK population."

Exactly! Imagine the citizens of such countries reading those comments and they do!

You now want to go there and look them in the face even claim right ontop? Why are we so loud mouthed and extremely foolish in this country? No orientation, manners or etiquette in any form. We just act like animals. Well they say the emptiest barrels make the loudest noise so it makes sense

I hope you don't mind me posting in Nairaland as a Brit.

But as some who has read these kinds of comments I think they're mostly funny. A sign of a people who don't take themselves too seriously (a positive).