Alan Eastlake

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Ok, you're 100% right. There is absolutely nobody out there abusing the benefit system that could work.

Oh dear, so I do, real people in real situations. The reality you never seem to address, offered to counter this undefined group you keep mentioning without a single piece of evidence. A mystical group that apparently exists somewhere, yet nobody can identify them. I am sorry if I prefer facts, evidence and lived experience over conspiracy and envy, but that is how grown-up discussion works.

I am sick of hearing that Britain was built by immigrants. No. No it was not. It was built by British men and women. We should be proud of that.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 You keep giving examples of people that want to work 🤦🏻‍♂️

Oh right, and how many of these people are there? Are we talking about the person who loses their job and sends 143 applications without a single reply? The person who is not clinically diagnosed with a mental health condition but is clearly depressed because no matter how hard they try, they cannot get an interview? The person whose benefits do not even cover their basic household costs? Is that who you think is “choosing a life on benefits”? Because life on benefits is not easy. It is not comfortable. It is not the land of milk and honey. Look at the long-term outcomes for people and their children. Nothing about that is enviable. And if being on benefits were truly “better than working”, far more people would be doing it. They are not. Most benefits in this country go to people who are in work, or to pensioners, carers and disabled people. Very little goes to the group you imagine. This claim you keep repeating simply does not match the reality of how people live or how the system works.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Anyone that is able to work but chooses not to because a life on benefits is better than working.

Wow. They are even more mystical than I thought. So there is now a group of people we cannot define, cannot name, cannot measure and cannot identify, yet somehow they deserve to be labelled “lazy” because someone on a social media platform says so. That is not evidence; it is folklore. If we are going to talk seriously about work, welfare and responsibility, we need facts, not imaginary categories that expand or shrink depending on the argument of the moment.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 There is no group to name, these people havent formed a club but you know full well there are plenty of them that abuse the system and you wont know the numbers until something is actually done about it.

I disagree with you. You absolutely can be clearer. Who exactly are these mystical lazy people you keep referring to? Who are these vast hordes choosing not to work and living off taxpayers? Because every time we test this claim against real evidence, it collapses. And who decides they are “lazy”? You? A minister? A random stranger on social media? Life is complicated, circumstances change, and people move in and out of work for all sorts of reasons. Reducing human beings to a label because it fits an argument is neither fair nor accurate. If you are going to make sweeping claims, name the group you are talking about and explain how you know. Otherwise, it is just a stereotype dressed up as certainty.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 2 examples of people that should again be helped. I cant say it much clearer, those who choose NOT to work because they are lazy should NOT be a burden to any tax payer.

Ah, so now we decide who is “deserving” based on your personal scoring system. Let me give you two real examples. The nursery worker who starts at 16, works hard until she is 20, and is then pushed out because the private equity owners refuse to pay her an adult wage. Her low pay meant she contributed little in tax, but every penny was earned. Does she not deserve support while she finds her feet again? Or the full-time carer who spent ten years looking after a child or a spouse, unpaid, saving the state tens of thousands a year. When their loved one dies and they are suddenly trying to rebuild their life, do they deserve nothing because they were not “on the payroll”? Life is not as tidy as you make out. People fall through gaps for reasons they did not choose. A decent society recognises that and supports them. The idea that we can divide human beings into “worthy” and “unworthy” from the comfort of a keyboard is exactly why these debates become so toxic. The real world is more complicated, and much kinder, than the caricature you are painting.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Those people should be looked after bc they have worked and paid in to the system.Those arent the people im talking about,there are many who want to work but cant find work, many disabled that want to work but physically cant,our system is for those people,not bone idle ones.

@Bundy_84 @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 It is only your judgment call that they do not want to work, trying to be one of 600 made redundant at the same time in the same area, when a major national retailer closes and its warehouse/distribution centre shuts, or a steelworks lays off people.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Thats why i said she was waiting for the opportunity to do it

@Bundy_84 @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Actually, you were the only person to mention those word, you brought them into the debate. "THEY" love to throw those names around, but they did't, did "THEY"?

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Consideration for people that dont want to work?

Then what was the point of saying it then, was it to provoke and be divisive? How about society creating jobs for people, how about society being fairer, where working full-time, paid the bills and allowed people to live? Look at shareholder returns, and where that money ends up? Look at the gap between the bottom 30% and the top 10%. Maybe, reserve your judgment, and have more consideration.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Fortunately my MP is Rupert Lowe

@Bundy_84 @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Then speak to your MP and tell them that, as the Government chooses the accommodation and does not allow Asylum Seekers to work until their cases are processed and a settled status is granted.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 She was waiting for me to slip up in wording, its the way the left of society work. They love to throw those names around

@Bundy_84 @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 Well, here's the rub, you failed to distinguish between any group, not mentioning them until now. Also, no one has called you a racist or bigot; these are labels you have now suggested yourself. It is you who makes that judgment call.

@csljohnkirby @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 I said IF, meaning i know full well you cant do that. But why allow people to sit back, do nothing, claim benefits and be a burden on the people that do work hard & do contribute? Many of these people could work but choose not to.

@Bundy_84 @GillianFTaylor1 @RupertLowe10 It certainly sounded that way, you went well beyond the realms of reasonableness, even suggesting you would deport British people who take. How can you deport British people from Britain, and who is going to decide who goes?

@GillianFTaylor1 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Can you not distinguish between lazy bone idle that sponge and people that have disabilities and cant work and also those that are retired? You're trying to pick holes so you can call me a racist or bigot and you're failing.

@Bundy_84 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Yeah you did. You said you'd deport British people that take and take ie. those that don't work or contribute.

@GillianFTaylor1 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 I havent said all of them are, im saying deport the ones that are, the country doesnt need them. I simply want a functioning society that people contribute to.

@Bundy_84 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 'Economic migrant' is not a defined term, nor are all people who migrate are only here to get benefits. You sound deeply intolerant. Instead of picking on people worse off than you, look again at those sowing division & ask why thry do that.

@GillianFTaylor1 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Thats clearly not what i'm suggesting 😂

@Bundy_84 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Are you planning to deport the disabled, and elderly too ? That's what you are suggesting.

@GillianFTaylor1 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 No it means theyve come here to sponge off the system. Clearly you cant have a discussion without resorting to insults

@Bundy_84 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 If someone is an economic migrant, that means they've come here to work. See how stupid you are ?

@GillianFTaylor1 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Illegals? Immigrants on minimum wage cost more than they contribute

@Bundy_84 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Thry perform useful work here, pay taxes, spend money here, and generally contribute to our economy.

@GillianFTaylor1 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 I dont care about race and youre free to practice your religion, but it doesnt mean the whole country has to bend over to appease it.

@Bundy_84 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Define 'British'. Don't forget all the races, cultures, and religious groups from Celts and Picts to Jutes, Viking, Jews, Moors, and Africans who have settled & blended in through past millenia.

@GillianFTaylor1 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 We've creates opportunities for that because of our benefits system, start making changes to that and reward people for working and that will soon change. Britain for the British

@Bundy_84 @csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Someone has to do those jobs. Just as we need carers, cleaners, and vegetable pickers. Those jobs are essential, but immigrants do them because white British don't or can't.

@csljohnkirby @RupertLowe10 Talent doesnt arrive anymore, illegals do. Useless legals that then work in petrol stations or deliver take away or out stay their student visa, thats the type of people we end up with

Oh @RupertLowe10 Let's think about this a minute. 1. Prince Albert – German-born consort who transformed British science, industry and culture. 2. George Frideric Handel – German-born composer whose work defines British musical heritage. 3. Sir Ernst Chain – German refugee who turned penicillin into a usable, life-saving antibiotic. 4. Michael Marks – Polish-born co-founder of Marks & Spencer. 5. Marc Isambard Brunel – French-born engineer whose work paved the way for Britain’s greatest infrastructure era and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel. 6. Sir Alec Issigonis – Born in Turkey to Greek parents, creator of the Mini. 7. Sir Ludwig Guttmann – German-Jewish refugee and founder of the Paralympic movement. 8. Judith Kerr – German-Jewish refugee and beloved British author. 9. Sir Ben Helfgott – Polish-born Holocaust survivor and British Olympic weightlifter. 10. Sigmund Warburg – German-born banker who modernised Britain’s financial markets. 11. Joseph Bazalgette’s Huguenot ancestry – Immigrant lineage behind the engineer who built London’s sewer system. 12. David Ojabo – Nigerian-born representative of modern engineers contributing to UK electrification and infrastructure. 13. Sonia Friedman – American-born producer reshaping British theatre. 14. Zaha Hadid – Iraqi-born architect who transformed Britain’s built environment. 15. Anya Hindmarch – British designer born abroad, shaping global perceptions of UK fashion. 16. Sir Anish Kapoor – Indian-born sculptor behind landmark British public artworks. 17. Mo Farah – Somali-born Olympic legend representing Britain at its best. 18. Nadiya Hussain – Bangladeshi-born cultural figure reshaping British food media. 19. Ralph Miliband – Belgian-Jewish refugee and influential British political thinker. 20. Claudia Jones – Trinidad-born activist, founder of Notting Hill Carnival. 21. Sake Dean Mahomed – Indian-born entrepreneur who introduced shampooing and Britain’s first curry house. 22. Sir Charles Kao – Shanghai-born physicist behind fibre-optic communication. 23. Sir George Iacobescu – Romanian-born engineer who built Canary Wharf. 24. Sir Mohamed Mansour – Egyptian-born business leader and major UK employer. 25. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou – Greek-Cypriot founder of easyJet. 26. Ivan Magill – Irish-born anaesthetist whose innovations revolutionised modern airway management. 27. Sir Frederick Stern – German-born horticulturalist who transformed British botany. 28. The Tata family – Indian-born industrialists shaping British steel, automotive and manufacturing. 29. Sir Peter Jonas – American-born impresario who revitalised English National Opera. 30. Sir David Tang – Hong Kong-born entrepreneur and philanthropist. 31. Henry Wellcome – American-born pharmaceutical pioneer, founder of the Wellcome Trust. 32. Sir John Ritblat – Czech-born property developer shaping London’s modern skyline. 33. William Herschel – German-born astronomer who discovered Uranus while working in Britain. 34. Peter Mark Roget – Geneva-born physician and creator of Roget’s Thesaurus. 35. Sir Jacob Epstein – American-born sculptor who shaped modern British art. 36. Faraday’s Huguenot ancestry – Immigrant roots behind one of Britain’s greatest scientists. 37. Lucian Freud – German-born artist who transformed modern British portraiture. 38. Sir Michael Balcon – Jewish-Lithuanian background; driving force of Ealing Studios and British cinema. 39. Malala Yousafzai – Pakistani-born Nobel laureate influencing British education and human rights. 40. Sir Salman Rushdie – Indian-born literary figure. 41. Mona Hatoum – Lebanese-born contemporary artist. 42. Sir Trevor McDonald – Trinidad-born broadcasting icon. 43. Sir Leszek Borysiewicz – Polish-born scientist, former head of the Medical Research Council and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge. 44. Billy Butlin – South African-born founder of Butlins, shaping British leisure culture. 45. Hans Krebs – German refugee biochemist; discovered the Krebs cycle in Sheffield. 46. Max Born – German-Jewish refugee mathematician, Nobel laureate and mentor to British scientists. 47. Karl Popper – Austrian-born philosopher who shaped British political thought. 48. Jacob Bronowski – Polish-born mathematician, philosopher and broadcaster. 49. Freddie Mercury – Tanzanian-born British music legend. 50. Sir Mo Ibrahim – Sudanese-born telecommunications entrepreneur who helped build the modern global mobile network from a UK base. Britain wasn’t built by immigrants. It was built with them, strengthened by them and carried forward by them. From engineering to medicine, music to mathematics, literature to the Paralympics, our story is a tapestry woven by hands from every corner of the world. The UK has always been at its best when talent arrives, contributes and becomes part of the national fabric. That isn’t something to fear or deny. It’s something to be proud of. #BritainsQuietStrength #BuiltByMany #HumanKindness #StrongerTogether #ProudOfBritain #ThisIsWhoWeAre