David Staddon - ᛞᚨᚢᛁᛞ ᛊᛏᚨᛞᛞᛟᚾ

Male refugees from Afghanistan and Syria in Germany show a keen interest in forming relationships with local women, but the local women show little interest in forming relationships with them. Germany, in particular, received over 1,4 million refugees between 2014 and 2016, predominantly from Muslim-majority countries such as Syria and Afghanistan. The majority of these arrivals consisted of young, single men within prime marriageable age brackets. This study examines partnership preferences of male refugees from Afghanistan and Syria who arrived in Germany between 2014 and 2016 and female residents of similar age. Overall, our results indicate a high level of openness among male refugees towards partnering with female members of the resident population, but a comparatively low level of openness among the latter towards partnering with recently arrived male refugees. This implies a substantial incongruence in partnership preferences among the two groups. Regarding the educational level of a potential partner, we found that all respondents prefer highly educated partners over those with lower levels of education. This suggests that, for refugees, securing a highly educated partner might serve as a means of upward social mobility and integration into higher-status networks in the host society. Furthermore, it is possible that highly educated women, due to their greater exposure to diverse social environments and potentially less discriminatory attitudes, are perceived as more open to intergroup partnerships, making them a more attractive choice for refugees seeking acceptance and social integration. On the other hand, the reluctance of resident women to accept partnerships with refugees is largely explained by their rejection of the ‘imported’ religious Islam. It is possible that resident women perceive the religious practices of newly arrived refugees as different from their own, reinforcing a social distance that limits intergroup partnerships. Moreover, this reluctance might not only reflect religious differences but also concerns about gender norms or perceived lifestyle incompatibilities.

BBC does report on Wales becoming “too dog friendly.” “What do you think has it all gone a bit too far?” In 2024 a Welsh Government report suggested creating dog-free areas to improve ‘inclusivity for ethnic minorities, including Muslims’ and tackle ‘racism.’

Greater Manchester Police say they have no evidence of family voting after an extensive investigation, including speaking to Democracy Volunteers and seizing CCTV: We’ve concluded our investigation into alleged ‘family voting’ at last month’s Gorton and Denton by-election, finding no evidence of any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting. Our investigation into alleged influencing of voters at a polling booth (under Section 62C Representation of the People Act 1983 (Ballot Secrecy Act 2023)) began after a criminal report from the Reform UK party following a public statement made by independent electoral observers at Democracy Volunteers. We have spoken to the four Democracy Volunteers observers present at polling stations on the day of the by-election (26 February) who have shared with us their eyewitness account. This includes some instances of more than one voter going into a booth at the same time, and instances of people looking over the shoulder of voters. The information they have provided to us estimates this may have happened on 32 occasions across 15 polling stations. The observers do not allege any verbal instruction or physical conduct that indicated one person was directing or coercing another regarding how to vote. This is a crucial part of the legislation to prove such an offence was committed. Our investigation team, led by an experienced senior investigating officer, spoke to all four volunteers from Democracy Volunteers as part of our enquiries – obtaining a copy of their observations. We also spoke to the Presiding Officers at 15 stations as well as the Acting Returning Officer, none of whom received any reports other than from Democracy Volunteers. We have received no further criminal reports. For us to investigate allegations, we require an understanding of who the potential suspects may be, and evidence that may corroborate eyewitness accounts. For an investigation to meet the criminal threshold for prosecution, we require admissible evidence of intent or action aimed at influencing the vote. We have asked Democracy Volunteers for descriptions of those alleged to be involved, and timings on when these are believed to have occurred. These details were not documented by observers or the complainant, and we have not been provided with any identities or descriptions to pursue. The absence of this information means there is no remaining reasonable line of enquiry. This also includes limitations with CCTV as an absence of descriptions, and votes not being time-stamped, meaning we are not able to identify individuals from footage. We have approached all 45 polling stations in the Gorton and Denton constituency to ask for CCTV from the day. Forty-one of those polling stations told us they did not have CCTV activated in the building as it would have compromised the secrecy of the vote during polling day, in line with advice given. We have seized and viewed CCTV from three of the remaining four polling stations. These are three polling station that Democracy Volunteers visited. We have spoken to the Presiding Officer from each one. However, these stations do not show any evidence of anyone directing or coercing another regarding how to vote – the crucial part of the legislation to prove such an offence was committed. There is no evidence to suggest any intent to influence or refrain a person from voting as stated in the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023. We have been liaising with the Electoral Commission, who we have shared our findings with. We have also shared our findings with the Returning Officer. We have updated the complainant about the work of our investigation and the conclusion we have reached.

WATCH: Starmer on ‘beating himself up’ over Mandelson is worth watching because I really think it’s a very rare & believable moment where Starmer reveals how he’s really feeling; showing some vulnerability and anger with himself over the decision he took