Arise, the new Baltic state of East Anglia

[Fungus]

This is all down to enlargement of the EU, which is another one of Blair's hobby horses, isn't it. I wonder why.

1. To gain more allies against the French and Germans?

2. To increase the potential market for UK goods?

3. To increase the size of the European empire when he becomes president of it?

4. Any other ideas?

5. To create one giant centrally controlled socialist utopian superstate where the non-standard banana fears to tread.

6. To create more bureacracy so that whenever someone does Il Presidente a favour, they can be made "Our man in Europe", with a nice fat expense account, and salary, for doing diddly squat. What did happen to the Kinnocks and Mandy?

R.e. 3, the biggest emerging market is China, and we are exporting ~zilch to them, unlike Germany, Japan etc.

I happen to think 5. is the case. These politicians seem to think that all you need to do is create 1 million laws, rules and regulations, and the world will be perfect. Except that Europe will no longer be able to compete in the world, and what industry is has left will die.

Fungus

[xoggoth]

“We want to ensure that the contribution of migrant workers is valued and understood. Even though they send money home they actually contribute more money per head to the region’s economy than local people.”

Total and utter crap. Does anyone have a link for this report? If true it would imply that the average adult income in that fairly affluent area is the minimum wage less any money repatriated. Yet we know average income in the uk is over £25k a year. How do these people get away with peddling such drivel?

Or are they comparing it with population as a whole, the sick, the aged, children etc? Long term, assuming many of these are permanent migrants, that is an irrelevant comparison becase they too will get ill/get old/have kids.

We will have a standard of living that is no better, a more crowded country and reduced quality of life.

[vetran]

Total and utter crap. Does anyone have a link for this report? If true it would imply that the average adult income in that fairly affluent area is the minimum wage less any money repatriated. Yet we know average income in the uk is over £25k a year. How do these people get away with peddling such drivel?

Or are they comparing it with population as a whole, the sick, the aged, children etc? Long term, assuming many of these are permanent migrants, that is an irrelevant comparison becase they too will get ill/get old/have kids.

We will have a standard of living that is no better, a more crowded country and reduced quality of life.

Don't forget they are only measuring the ones that pay tax.

[TGAOTU]

Sounds a bit like the Monty Python Architects' sketch... with all those whirling knives...

Yeah, they never would let him join, the blackballing bastards!