For the Labour voting contractor

[Pip in a Poke]

The problem both parties face is the insurgency of the stupid.
The stupid want to be rich too because they're worth it, innit.
But they can't compete with all these hard-working immigrants.
So they want to kick them out - but they don't want to do the work that will thus be produced - they want handouts.

And the electoral power of the stupid is immense because we've allowed them to breed on the state and they've become a majority.
And that is why both the Tories and Labour have to be socialist in this election, that is why May steals Labour's ideas, every politician in the UK now has to have a redistributive policy to pay off the stupid.

HTH, BIDI

I was watching an arable farmer being interviewed on BBC television yesterday.

He was saying that after Brexit he won't be able to get the operatives to harvest his crops so all his produce will be left to rot in the fields. He said he would have to think about growing something else that didn't need manual labour.

The thought that went through my head was what on earth did he do before free movement of labour? Farmers used to grow crops that were picked by hand back in the day. From memory, I seem to recall it was common to use gypsies and students but I'm sure there were other groups too.

I suspect his real beef is an economic one in that he won't have cheap as chips labour on tap anymore.

[SueEllen]

I was watching an arable farmer being interviewed on BBC television yesterday.

He was saying that after Brexit he won't be able to get the operatives to harvest his crops so all his produce will be left to rot in the fields. He said he would have to think about growing something else that didn't need manual labour.

The thought that went through my head was what on earth did he do before free movement of labour? Farmers used to grow crops that were picked by hand back in the day. From memory, I seem to recall it was common to use gypsies and students but I'm sure there were other groups too.

I suspect his real beef is an economic one in that he won't have cheap as chips labour on tap anymore.

They used to have visas for foreign farm workers.

Prior to that women and kids use to do the harvest in summer.

[BlasterBates]

They used to have visas for foreign farm workers.

Prior to that women and kids use to do the harvest in summer.

They all retired. We have an ageing and declining working population. Apparently the farmers used to be able to count on ex steel workers from Sheffield.

What will happen if immigration is cut is that high value industries will disappear and just as happened during the Thatcher years people will skill down to do the unskilled work.

Basically you can't run an economy without the unskilled, but you can without the skilled. It's a bit like plants can exist without animals but not vice versa. The most basic vital industries are fishing, farming and food production, where most of the people working in it are just "unskilled hands".

That means in low immigration Britain life is going to pretty sh*t.

[Pip in a Poke]

They used to have visas for foreign farm workers.

Prior to that women and kids use to do the harvest in summer.

Visas for people from where?

Not Eastern Europe, that's for sure, because they weren't allowed out of their countries in the period I'm referring to (the '80s).

People from the rest of Europe didn't flock here to harvest crops either (with the exception of a Portuguese contingent in the Channel Islands, but that's not the UK..).

As for women and children doing it - well, maybe in Victorian times.

No. It was largely done by gipsies, students and other home grown manual labour.

As an aside, do students still take off to France to follow the grape harvest? I did it once. So did lots of people I know. I just don't hear of anyone doing it these days. It was bloody hard work but it used to fund a good few weeks in the sunshine afterwards.

[BrilloPad]

I was watching an arable farmer being interviewed on BBC television yesterday.

He was saying that after Brexit he won't be able to get the operatives to harvest his crops so all his produce will be left to rot in the fields. He said he would have to think about growing something else that didn't need manual labour.

The thought that went through my head was what on earth did he do before free movement of labour? Farmers used to grow crops that were picked by hand back in the day. From memory, I seem to recall it was common to use gypsies and students but I'm sure there were other groups too.

I suspect his real beef is an economic one in that he won't have cheap as chips labour on tap anymore.

Easy peasy! Cut benefits to zero. People get a choice between harvesting crops or digging canals(spot the reference )

[original PM]

Visas for people from where?

Not Eastern Europe, that's for sure, because they weren't allowed out of their countries in the period I'm referring to (the '80s).

People from the rest of Europe didn't flock here to harvest crops either (with the exception of a Portuguese contingent in the Channel Islands, but that's not the UK..).

As for women and children doing it - well, maybe in Victorian times.

No. It was largely done by gipsies, students and other home grown manual labour.

As an aside, do students still take off to France to follow the grape harvest? I did it once. So did lots of people I know. I just don't hear of anyone doing it these days. It was bloody hard work but it used to fund a good few weeks in the sunshine afterwards.

Nail on head.

Today's media studies snowflakes will not be interested in getting their hands dirty and can live of BOMAD.

Generally these positions will be filled - farmer palmer may have to pay a little more and may need to not expect people to work 12/14 hour days......

I picked spuds one summer hard work but I got a good tan, got a bit ripped and made some new friends.

[Pip in a Poke]

Easy peasy! Cut benefits to zero. People get a choice between harvesting crops or digging canals(spot the reference )

The Irish?

[AtW]

Tories will remove difference between self-employed and employed insofar as taxation is concerned - they will make companies charge employer NICs on "self-employed", 13.8% - a far bigger catch than 1-2% increase in personal NICs for those.

[ChimpMaster]

Hi Pip

[Pip in a Poke]

Hi Pip

Hi CM, how are you this goodly afternoon?