Anti-immigrant rhetoric

Dealing with #Racism? Here's the Top Four Comebacks :-) pic.twitter.com/SlM7RQy2W2

— Far Right Watch (@Far_Right_Watch) 5 August 2017

Brexit and health and social care - News from Parliament - UK Parliament

The Health Committee publishes its report on the effect of Brexit on health and social care.

• Read the conclusions and recommendation
• Read the full report: Brexit and health and social care—people & process

Background
The UK's withdrawal from the European Union—"Brexit"—will affect many aspects of the provision of health and social care in the United Kingdom. Given the range and complexity of the questions involved, we took evidence in advance of the triggering of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). This report was intended to be the first phase of our inquiry, addressing the immediate. Further phases of our inquiry have necessarily been cut short by the general election but we hope that our successor committee will return to this issue...

Read full report: Brexit and health and social care - News from Parliament - UK Parliament

Government responded to “Exempt Non-EU NHS professionals from £35,000 salary threshold”

So, there was this petition, which ran as follows:

Exempt Non-EU NHS professionals from £35,000 salary threshold

Since April 2016, Non-EU citizens wishing to remain permanently in the UK have been required to earn £35,000 a year on a single contracted salary. I find this rule discriminates unfairly against those who chose to work in the NHS, where such a salary is impossible within first 5 years of employment.

Like many others I came to the UK to complete my MSc and now wish to remain working for NHS making differences to people's lives on a daily basis. I have been living here for over 7 years and working extra hours during nights/weekends to meet the threshold however it is not good enough to secure my place here unless something changes. 

Sadly there are many others facing the same hardship and I believe that the threshold should be lowered to at least the average UK salary £28,000 for NHS staff.

The petition having reached 10K signatures (it's open for signatures until 3rd May), the relevant Govt. department was required to issue an official reply. The current Secretary of State for the Home Department is Amber Rudd (see photo). The Petitions Committee will also take a look at this petition and its response. They can press the government for action and gather evidence.

Please note: this response was issued after the announcement of a General Election on 8th June.

My 9-year-old sold the Big Issue and revealed the truth of Brexit Britain - iNews

I was in the market town of Shrewsbury with my 9 year old on a recent Saturday. We stopped to buy The Big Issue and chat with Samaria, who is Romanian and has been in the UK for three years.

Despite the pouring rain and pregnancy-induced back ache, Samaria hadn’t sat down or eaten all day. We got her some lunch but she refused to rest because she had only sold enough to cover her transport costs. With two hungry children at home, she was resolute. What followed next was the proudest moment of my life. My son said, “Don’t worry, I’ll sell while you eat!” But my pride gave way to dismay...

Read on: My 9-year-old sold the Big Issue and revealed the truth of Brexit Britain - The i newspaper online iNews

Immigration: who needs a deal? – UK in a changing Europe

The status of EU nationals in the UK and UK nationals in the EU is likely to be the first item on the agenda for the Article 50 negotiations, as I explain here. What is far less clear is whether, and when, there will be any substantive discussion about the UK’s post-Brexit immigration policy.  There are two possible approaches that the government – and other EU member states – could take.

The first is that advocated before the referendum by Vote Leave – that, after leaving the EU, the UK should adopt a “non-discriminatory” system, under which non-UK nationals seeking to migrate to the UK would be treated the same, regardless of their country of origin (with a few relatively minor exceptions, non-EEA/Swiss nationals all currently face the same rules)...

Read on -> Immigration: who needs a deal? – UK in a changing Europe by Professor Jonathan Portes

Brexit: are you angry yet?

As I write this, Theresa May is poised to trigger Article 50* and start the process of taking us out of the EU.

 Now that it’s certain we’re going to set this juggernaut in motion, I expect Leave voters are feeling pleased and a little relieved that we’re finally getting on with the job. If you’re one of them, I’d like to take a moment to address you directly now. I know you won’t want to hear what I have to say, I know this will seem like a “Remoaner” rant (and I have to admit that it is), but please bear with me on just this one journey. If you’re a Remain voter, or didn’t vote, I think you need to hear this too...

Read on: Brexit: are you angry yet? | Citizen of Nowhere by David Hills

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* This act of incommensurable stupidity was committed shortly before 12:30 pm on 29 March, 2017