I’ve unexpectedly done a lot of work on this because of a YouTube video I’ve made, so let’s upset the racists by debunking some lies about ‘small boat’ people.
I put a clip on YouTube of a discussion on the BBC’s Politics Live, in which the panel of the day discussed Rachel Reeves’s plan to cut social security benefits. You can see it here:
Imagine my shock when the comment column for this clip was overrun by irate complaints about “illegal migrants”, with the most common thread being that taking away the perks they enjoy would save billions of pounds.
The commenters provided examples of what they considered such perks to be – so I looked them up and responded with the facts.
Let’s go through them here.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Before we start: I do get it – there’s a lot of anger about people coming to the UK illegally in small boats. I’m with you on this. I don’t want to see my country suffering a gradual invasion as millions of people turn up on our beaches in search of a life that – let’s be honest – doesn’t exist.
But I know that the solution isn’t as simple as trying to catch them all and send them back to France (or wherever). Stopping the boats involves a lot of co-operation with law-enforcement organisations in all the countries between here and the migrants’ countries of origin, and an awful lot of negotiation with the governments of their countries of origin in order to create conditions there that mean people will not feel the need to leave their homes.
That being said, some of the claims I have seen are misguided.
One commenter stated: “Benefits should be stopped to anyone outside this country , 5 wives must be stopped immediately, foreign aid gone. Hotels stopped too.”
I looked up the facts and reported back: “The only people outside the UK who receive UK state benefits are UK citizens.”
“Really so how come India get them?” Apparently this person thought everybody in India gets UK state benefits.
I put them straight: “If an Indian citizen previously lived and worked in the UK and paid enough National Insurance (NI) contributions, they may still receive a UK State Pension after retiring in India. However, their pension will be frozen at the amount they first receive (it will not increase annually, unlike for pensioners in the UK or in certain other countries).
“If a deceased person paid UK National Insurance contributions, their surviving spouse in India may be entitled to certain bereavement benefits, such as Bereavement Support Payment (if they meet the eligibility criteria).
“Some Indian citizens who worked in the UK may receive payments from workplace or private pensions, but this is not a state benefit.
“If an Indian citizen previously lived in the UK and was receiving a disability benefit (like Personal Independence Payment, PIP), they might still qualify under certain conditions, though most UK disability benefits do not continue outside the UK and this would therefore be very rare.
“Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, and other income-based benefits are not paid to people living in India and the UK does not have a social security agreement with India that allows benefits to be transferred.”
Another person suggested: “How about cutting benefits to migrants, use old army camps instead of hotels, stop giving them phones and game stations etc, turn the boats back to France? This would save a couple of billions a year.”
Again, I looked up the facts, which are as follows: “The government doesn’t give phones and game consoles to migrants. Some charities and refugee organisations (like the Red Cross or Refugee Action) may provide basic second-hand phones (usually cheap feature phones, not smartphones) to help asylum seekers stay in contact with legal services and family. In some cases, if an asylum seeker is in temporary Home Office accommodation, they might get a prepaid SIM card to communicate with authorities.
“The idea that asylum seekers receive PlayStations or X-Boxes is a myth, often spread through social media. Some charities working with vulnerable children may provide donated toys or entertainment, but this is not funded by the government.
“Asylum seekers cannot claim benefits and are not allowed to work – but it is true that they may get basic accommodation (often shared) and £47.39 per week for food and essentials.
“Refugees (those who have been granted asylum) have the same rights as UK citizens to work and claim benefits – that’s the law. They do not get special treatment beyond access to mainstream welfare, like Universal Credit, if they qualify.
“Oh, and the Home Office does indeed house migrants in old army camps and dedicated asylum centres that are former armed forces camps or prisons. Housing them in hotels – with multiple people in a single room – has proved problematic, and the government is exploring cheaper and more sustainable options.
“I’m going to assume that your suggestion that people should be sent back to France is not serious. Stopping the boats will be a long-term process involving law enforcement organisations in multiple countries along the migrants’ route from their own countries, and negotiations with those countries to create conditions in which those people don’t have any reason to leave.
“Personally, I think the government should intensify publicity campaigns explaining the reception that migrants will receive if they come here – the minimal help they would get from the government and the hostility from many members of the general public. It worked in Albania and may be a good stop-gap until the long-term projects start to show good results.”
And here’s another: “We should be cutting all overseas aid immediately until such times as we have looked after our own people, cut all illegal migrants benefit down to £25 per week…they already have everything paid for whilst they are illegally in our country.”
I had already covered some of these points so I stuck to those I had not: “Cutting all overseas aid would vastly reduce the UK’s influence abroad so no politician in their right mind is going to do that. And have you tried living on £25 per week? It can’t be done. Trust me, I’m on Universal Credit.”
I’m sure others will turn up but in the meantime, feel free to copy any information that will help you when somebody comes out with an unsupported claim they heard online, and paste it into your own response.
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Let’s upset the racists by debunking some lies about ‘small boat’ people
I’ve unexpectedly done a lot of work on this because of a YouTube video I’ve made, so let’s upset the racists by debunking some lies about ‘small boat’ people.
I put a clip on YouTube of a discussion on the BBC’s Politics Live, in which the panel of the day discussed Rachel Reeves’s plan to cut social security benefits. You can see it here:
Imagine my shock when the comment column for this clip was overrun by irate complaints about “illegal migrants”, with the most common thread being that taking away the perks they enjoy would save billions of pounds.
The commenters provided examples of what they considered such perks to be – so I looked them up and responded with the facts.
Let’s go through them here.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Before we start: I do get it – there’s a lot of anger about people coming to the UK illegally in small boats. I’m with you on this. I don’t want to see my country suffering a gradual invasion as millions of people turn up on our beaches in search of a life that – let’s be honest – doesn’t exist.
But I know that the solution isn’t as simple as trying to catch them all and send them back to France (or wherever). Stopping the boats involves a lot of co-operation with law-enforcement organisations in all the countries between here and the migrants’ countries of origin, and an awful lot of negotiation with the governments of their countries of origin in order to create conditions there that mean people will not feel the need to leave their homes.
That being said, some of the claims I have seen are misguided.
One commenter stated: “Benefits should be stopped to anyone outside this country , 5 wives must be stopped immediately, foreign aid gone. Hotels stopped too.”
I looked up the facts and reported back: “The only people outside the UK who receive UK state benefits are UK citizens.”
“Really so how come India get them?” Apparently this person thought everybody in India gets UK state benefits.
I put them straight: “If an Indian citizen previously lived and worked in the UK and paid enough National Insurance (NI) contributions, they may still receive a UK State Pension after retiring in India. However, their pension will be frozen at the amount they first receive (it will not increase annually, unlike for pensioners in the UK or in certain other countries).
“If a deceased person paid UK National Insurance contributions, their surviving spouse in India may be entitled to certain bereavement benefits, such as Bereavement Support Payment (if they meet the eligibility criteria).
“Some Indian citizens who worked in the UK may receive payments from workplace or private pensions, but this is not a state benefit.
“If an Indian citizen previously lived in the UK and was receiving a disability benefit (like Personal Independence Payment, PIP), they might still qualify under certain conditions, though most UK disability benefits do not continue outside the UK and this would therefore be very rare.
“Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, and other income-based benefits are not paid to people living in India and the UK does not have a social security agreement with India that allows benefits to be transferred.”
Another person suggested: “How about cutting benefits to migrants, use old army camps instead of hotels, stop giving them phones and game stations etc, turn the boats back to France? This would save a couple of billions a year.”
Again, I looked up the facts, which are as follows: “The government doesn’t give phones and game consoles to migrants. Some charities and refugee organisations (like the Red Cross or Refugee Action) may provide basic second-hand phones (usually cheap feature phones, not smartphones) to help asylum seekers stay in contact with legal services and family. In some cases, if an asylum seeker is in temporary Home Office accommodation, they might get a prepaid SIM card to communicate with authorities.
“The idea that asylum seekers receive PlayStations or X-Boxes is a myth, often spread through social media. Some charities working with vulnerable children may provide donated toys or entertainment, but this is not funded by the government.
“Asylum seekers cannot claim benefits and are not allowed to work – but it is true that they may get basic accommodation (often shared) and £47.39 per week for food and essentials.
“Refugees (those who have been granted asylum) have the same rights as UK citizens to work and claim benefits – that’s the law. They do not get special treatment beyond access to mainstream welfare, like Universal Credit, if they qualify.
“Oh, and the Home Office does indeed house migrants in old army camps and dedicated asylum centres that are former armed forces camps or prisons. Housing them in hotels – with multiple people in a single room – has proved problematic, and the government is exploring cheaper and more sustainable options.
“I’m going to assume that your suggestion that people should be sent back to France is not serious. Stopping the boats will be a long-term process involving law enforcement organisations in multiple countries along the migrants’ route from their own countries, and negotiations with those countries to create conditions in which those people don’t have any reason to leave.
“Personally, I think the government should intensify publicity campaigns explaining the reception that migrants will receive if they come here – the minimal help they would get from the government and the hostility from many members of the general public. It worked in Albania and may be a good stop-gap until the long-term projects start to show good results.”
And here’s another: “We should be cutting all overseas aid immediately until such times as we have looked after our own people, cut all illegal migrants benefit down to £25 per week…they already have everything paid for whilst they are illegally in our country.”
I had already covered some of these points so I stuck to those I had not: “Cutting all overseas aid would vastly reduce the UK’s influence abroad so no politician in their right mind is going to do that. And have you tried living on £25 per week? It can’t be done. Trust me, I’m on Universal Credit.”
I’m sure others will turn up but in the meantime, feel free to copy any information that will help you when somebody comes out with an unsupported claim they heard online, and paste it into your own response.
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