As anyone who has been a foreign correspondent will tell you, taxi drivers – at least those who speak at least some English – are the fount of all wisdom. I have been to countries of which I learnt nothing more than what the taxi driver told me on the way from the airport – everything else was but confirmation. Barbers are also good sources of information, though fewer of them in foreign parts speak English.
I happened recently in England to take a long taxi ride with a Polish taxi driver……..read full article
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Unfortunately the world has moved on since 1974 when we joined the EU-it is not realistic I think to believe that we can replace the EU with the oldCommonwealth (presumably Canada,Australia,New Zealand etc)
They have rightly moved on-for example Canadas economic ties are with NAFTA primarily.
If wishful thinking could solve our current self created problems I would have no fears for the future
“He certainly did expect to be rounded up and deported.”
Maybe there’s a word missing there … Cleanup on paragraph four.
Thank you. Yes it is a typo
“He did not think that Brexit would affect him much. He certainly did expect to be rounded up and deported.”
I presume that’s a typo for “did not expect”?
Yes it is a typo Thank you
Perhaps the Polish taxi driver had heard from his grand parents generation that there was a large influx of Poles after WW2 (hence many towns today that still have Polish social clubs). This earlier wave of immigration was absorbed quickly and easily, as will be the current one. My only slight regret, as a brexiteer, is that our foolish leaders might decide a reduction in Eastern European immigration resulting from brexit will take the pressure off them concerning immigration overall, and allow them to bring in more Africans, Asians, and Arabs to further “enrich” our culture.
Why should we want anyone to come into our Country? The idea that we ‘need’ immigrants, which is what we hear a lot about from liberals and the left, is very recent.
If seems to me to be a very patronising attitude towards the British, as if we couldn’t survive without a constant stream of foreigners coming here.
How on earth did we manage to be in the vanguard of the Scientific Revolution, lead the world into the Industrial Revolution and build and rule, largely to its very great advantage the greatest Empire by population and extent the world has ever known, on the whole to its very great advantage, without any immigrants to speak of, if they are so necessary?
Mr Broughton:
It’s true that we managed very well without much immigration in the past. That was before the liberal left arranged for the native population to leave our schools and universities without any useful skills, but with a strong conviction that their human rights will be violated if they don’t receive lots of money for little or no work. Until British people start acquiring skills and attitudes that are acceptable to British employers, skilful, hard-working foreigners will be needed here. We may require a second referendum on the abolition of liberal-lefty educational ideas before the need can be reduced.
Meanwhile, Dr Dalrymple’s taxi driver sounds to me like the kind of man who ought to be welcomed here whether he’s needed or not. I concede that there are many, many immigrants who are not so nice; close scrutiny of applications for immigration is urgently needed.
One quick answer to M. Broughton’s (rhetorical?) question is: technically and scientifically, Britain was literally centuries ahead of the peoples it subjected (wooden, global-ranging warships vs canoes; Maxim guns vs. spears; Royal Navy cannon vs. halberds and shields; compass and accurate chronometers vs. sun worship and sundials etc). Thanks to rapid technology transfer, now it no longer is. Chinese and Indian space programs, naval and air prowess, all dwarf the UK’s own.