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HAVE YOUR SAY

SHOULD BRITAIN GIVE IMMIGRANTS BENEFITS?

Around 167,000 migrants are now claiming benefits

Wednesday May 21,2008

By Tom Whitehead Home Affairs Correspondent

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(157)

THE number of Eastern European migrants claiming benefits has almost doubled in a year, costing the taxpayer up to £190million annually.

Around 167,000 migrants who came here to work are now receiving or claiming benefits – almost a fifth of those who have arrived since 2004.

The huge drain on public funds came as tens of thousands more Poles and their neighbours arrived in the first quarter of this year.

The latest Home Office figures are another example of the huge strain migration has placed on local authorities and the public purse.

Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green said: “Yet again we see their estimates on the number of accession migrants who would come here were woefully inadequate.”

Do YOU think Britain should give immigrants benefits?

Should OUR benefits bill for Eastern Europeans be soaring to £190M?

*** HAVE YOUR SAY NOW! ***

CORRECTION

26.06.08, 3:01pm

I fully agree with rollo 1st point of view, except the reference to England. We actually have a British Government and my Country is called the UK.

• Posted by: JK50 • Report Comment

SHOULD BRITAIN GIVE IMMIGRANTS BENEFITS

22.06.08, 10:44am

The answer is a resounding NO people should only be given benefit both financial and housing when they have worked for 5 years in this country paying tax and not having received any form of assistance with regard to housing or family benefits if foreign nationals bring there familys to this country they should be prepared to pay for it and not expect to receive handouts .also the stupid way we give childrens allowance to children not resident in this country is ludicrous this should be supplied by there country of residence .I have also heard that we pay for there children to go to our universitys where as we nationals have to pay?
One has to hope that the next government is run for the benefit of the English and not the benefit of who ever comes here .

• Posted by: rollo1st • Report Comment

NO!

10.06.08, 1:27pm

Immigrants should have to provide evidence of adequate funds to support a stay which has pre-agreed time-liimits. They should only be allowed any benefits if they are later admiitted to full UK citiizenship. There shoulld be a 10,000 per year cap on foreign admiissions to UK ciitizenship. Anyone caught exceeding the time-limit of their stay should be exported back to where they came from within one week, with no legal right to appeal.

• Posted by: HenryPJ • Report Comment

MARIGOLD

10.06.08, 8:57am

You are sooooo right - the European Super State is at the root of our problems. I too want a government with the guts to take us out. until we get that I am praying the Irish will stand up to it and vote NO on Thursday to stop the EU steamroller dead in its tracks.

• Posted by: Peter_Pan • Report Comment

SOLDIER BLUE

10.06.08, 8:03am

A main stream party will not do it.
To utter such policies would be against EEC policies.
If the majority of British people dont like it then they should vote for the party who will take them out of the EEC.
What it really requires is for the whole population of Europe to protest. Italy has done so and the French do so on occasions but we sit at our computers and grumble.
We have been complacent and compliant for 30 years. Maybe its time for a change.

• Posted by: marigold • Report Comment

LABOURS IMMIGRANTS

09.06.08, 6:25pm

NO, NO, NO!
Immigrants should, on entry into the country prove that they have sufficient funds to last them during their visa permit, after that it should be 'SORRY OUT YOU GO BY, BY!" it has also come to my notice that an immigrant working here qualifies for benefits for his family still in their own country! can this be true?
I feel that I must also mention that my vote goes to the party who will say ON TV, that they wIll stop all immigration into this country until such time as the fiasco started by another party is sorted out, and gives assurances that any MP who believes that it is ok to swindling the country be named, shamed and fired.
I believe that any one of the main stream parties who take up this stance win by a resounding victory!

• Posted by: soldierblue • Report Comment