Any Thoughts?

[RAZZELL]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2079618/Brussels-rules-let-11-000-migrants-year-slip-UK-door.html

RAZZ

[bobrussell]

Free movement of labour is a key part of the EU. Free movement to gain access to the most generous benefits is not. Perhaps we should harmonise our benefits system to match the country of citizenship so there is no advantage in moving to claim more generous benefits available in other countries. Still seems fair to me!

[RAZZELL]

Free movement of labour is a key part of the EU. Free movement to gain access to the most generous benefits is not. Perhaps we should harmonise our benefits system to match the country of citizenship so there is no advantage in moving to claim more generous benefits available in other countries. Still seems fair to me!

Exactly

RAZZ

[7by7]

My initial reaction? It's the Daily Mail, take it with a pinch of salt.

Having read it, make that a barrel load of salt!

The article makes it appear that anyone can turn up in an EU country and claim citizenship; this is not true. The article cites a couple from Ecuador who were granted Spanish citizenship. Under Spanish nationality law as they are from Iberoamaerica they do not have to have lived in Spain for 10 years as is the norm; but they would have still needed to have lived in Spain for at least two years (source). Yet the article gives the impression that they were granted it immediately so they could move on from Spain to the UK!

As an MP Ms Patel should know, or find out before she pontificates, which public funds EEA nationals are allowed to claim and which they are not. See page 18 of this document for the full list. Naturally, British citizens residing in another EEA state have similar rights to that state's public funds.

I don't see housing benefit on that list. The article claims this couple is receiving it; yet it doesn't explain how this can be when EEA nationals cannot claim housing benefit. They may well be a legitimate reason why they can receive this benefit; but if there is it would be an exception, not the rule. I suspect that as usual the Mail is cherry picking 'facts' to suit it's prejudices and ignoring those that don't.

Any EEA national is allowed into the UK to exercise their economic treaty rights; and any UK citizen can do exactly the same in another EEA state. This does include job seeking; but they cannot remain in the UK indefinitely if they do not find work and cannot live to the UK merely to take advantage of the UK's benefits system.

[samran]

My only thought: It is the Daily Mail. Best used to wrap fish and chips.

[RAZZELL]

My only thought: It is the Daily Mail. Best used to wrap fish and chips.

True...However, they seem to be one of the only newspapers who see immigration as an "issue".

RAZZ

[samran]

My only thought: It is the Daily Mail. Best used to wrap fish and chips.

True...However, they seem to be one of the only newspapers who see immigration as an "issue".

RAZZ

probably cause it sells papers. And what better story to sell papers than to beat up on migrants? Gets the blood boiling - however irrational the basis.

Even better when you can get around the dog-whistle politics by getting the child of migrants to bash up on migrants. Then you can say - 'see we aren't racist'.

Cheap shots from a cheap paper.

Edited December 30, 2011 by samran

[bobrussell]

My only thought: It is the Daily Mail. Best used to wrap fish and chips.

I would want a few layers of clean paper between my chips and The Mail!