The Politics Thread 4

[Rex Kramer]

I dont think i could prove I have been here with 4 a year and I was born here!

Don't worry Errkal, you could probably sit an English exam instead....

[satriales]

I thought it was 1 document per year you've been here. Crikey. Even that would be virtually impossible to get, 4 is out of the question.

Apparently someone got turned away despite having full tax records for 30 years.

[Moggy]

I thought it was 1 document per year you've been here. Crikey. Even that would be virtually impossible to get, 4 is out of the question.

Part of the problem has been a requirement to provide four pieces of evidence for each year that a person has been in the country.

Windrush migrants must prove they have been in the UK continually since 1 January 1973, when they were granted the right to stay in the country permanently. Anyone who has left the country for more than two years loses their right to remain.

The Home Office did not keep records of the people to whom it granted indefinite leave to remain in the 1970s. Some stayed but did not apply for British citizenship meaning there is no official record of their legal status.

To gain this official recognition, people must apply for an official stamp known as No Time Limit (NTL), at a cost of £229.

The Home Office has put the onus on the individual to provide evidence.

It has not been using central tax and pension records, which could prove someone has been working, to support people's applications. Instead, the current system relies on people having kept their own documentation including payslips and bank statements.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43795077

Nobody keeps records like that, which is why there is such a problem now, especially as the Home Office also didn't keep any records and has now destroyed the few records that it had.

All of this was made worse by Theresa May as part of her attempts to make the UK a hostile environment for migrants (remember that van?!)

Changes to the immigration system during Theresa May's tenure as home secretary clamped down on people living in the UK illegally.

The Immigration Act 2014 introduced requirements on landlords, employers, banks and the NHS to check people's immigration status. This was designed to restrict illegal immigrants' access to work and public services like healthcare, benefits and housing.

These requirements were made more stringent in 2016.

Some people who arrived legally decades ago are being caught out by these checks when they try to rent a house or get medical treatment, but aren't able to prove their status.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43795077

[Squinty]

I have to admit, I was willingly to chock it down to government incompetence, but with each passing day, it's looking even more morally bankrupt than the last.

[satriales]

twitter.com/AllyFogg/status/986528249651126273

[Vermilion]

http://www.southendnewsnetwork.net/news ... d-kingdom/

Poor Rasta

[Moggy]

twitter.com/bbcnewsnight/status/986725387584528384

[Preezy]

So I've got my local council postal vote and I have no idea who to vote for. I only have the choice of Tories and Labour

Neither side has sent any bumpf through the post so I know nothing about either candidate, and a cursory web search doesn't seem to help much.

What is a voter to do?

[KK]

Still haven't got anything from my Labour controlled council. Conservatives, Greens and Lib Dems have all been sending leaflets or doorstep canvassing. I don't know what attitude Labour are going for, either 'We couldn't give a strawberry float' or 'We're so confident of winning we don't even need to bother'.

[Hypes]

They're probably confident of winning

[Moggy]

So I've got my local council postal vote and I have no idea who to vote for. I only have the choice of Tories and Labour

Neither side has sent any bumpf through the post so I know nothing about either candidate, and a cursory web search doesn't seem to help much.

What is a voter to do?

There are no other candidates at all other than Tory or Labour?

Who runs your council at the moment? Are they doing a good job? Do you want a change in the council?

If you don’t care about the local council, which party do you want to send a message to on a national level?

[Preezy]

So I've got my local council postal vote and I have no idea who to vote for. I only have the choice of Tories and Labour

Neither side has sent any bumpf through the post so I know nothing about either candidate, and a cursory web search doesn't seem to help much.

What is a voter to do?

There are no other candidates at all other than Tory or Labour?

Who runs your council at the moment? Are they doing a good job? Do you want a change in the council?

If you don’t care about the local council, which party do you want to send a message to on a national level?

No other candidates for my area.
I believe the current council is Labour. There are lots of potholes about which is the only thing that I've noticed. My bins tend to get collected on time. I don't really have any other metrics with which to measure performance

I want to send a message to both parties, that message being "bugger off".

Perhaps I'll abstain.

[Hypes]

So I've got my local council postal vote and I have no idea who to vote for. I only have the choice of Tories and Labour

Neither side has sent any bumpf through the post so I know nothing about either candidate, and a cursory web search doesn't seem to help much.

What is a voter to do?

Do some proper research?

Alternatively, do you like the way the council has run things? Are there potholes in the road, are bins collected regularly, are libraries open, are streets clean, are you happy with your level of council tax?
If you're happy enough, vote for the incumbent. If you're unhappy or think things could be better, vote for the other

[Moggy]

So I've got my local council postal vote and I have no idea who to vote for. I only have the choice of Tories and Labour

Neither side has sent any bumpf through the post so I know nothing about either candidate, and a cursory web search doesn't seem to help much.

What is a voter to do?

There are no other candidates at all other than Tory or Labour?

Who runs your council at the moment? Are they doing a good job? Do you want a change in the council?

If you don’t care about the local council, which party do you want to send a message to on a national level?

No other candidates for my area.
I believe the current council is Labour. There are lots of potholes about which is the only thing that I've noticed. My bins tend to get collected on time. I don't really have any other metrics with which to measure performance

I want to send a message to both parties, that message being "bugger off".

Perhaps I'll abstain.

Don’t abstain by not voting, that just allows the politicians and others to write you off as lazy.

If you genuinely don’t want to vote for either party, spoil your ballot. Write “none of the above” or draw a massive cock all over the paper. Make sure you are counted as voting, even if you don’t select either useless party.

[Preezy]

I genuinely might do that

[Moggy]

I genuinely might do that

Do. The number of spoiled ballots are counted and it might give one of the counters a laugh to see your cartoon penis.

[Earfolds]

Spoilt ballots are becoming more noticed by the media, and not just the sheer number of them. If you must spoil your ballot, I recommend you follow the advice of Vote NONE, if only so your protest doesn't get filed under "Voter's intention uncertain":

[Vermilion]

I'd vote for Windy Miller.

[Garth]

twitter.com/steve_hawkes/status/986967236366749696

twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/986968007128895488

[Moggy]

twitter.com/miqdaad/status/986960357448134656