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The pictures of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy found washed up on a beach in Antalya, Turkey, appear to have (finally) brought it home to the British commentariat that more must be done to help those refugees currently fleeing from war and dictatorship.
As such, David Cameron is coming under increasing pressure to let in more refugees. Up to now the prime minister has responded that Britain is doing a great deal to help refugees – but by spending money on aid to be sent to the areas where people are fleeing in the first place.
But are the prime minister’s critics right – should Britain take in more refugees? Or is Britain, as the PM likes to point out, already doing its bit?
Have your say – the results of the poll will be published early next week.
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94 Responses to “Poll: Should Britain take in more refugees?”
vanessa
How can we take more people when our NHS is at braking point, not enough school places in some areas. It is always reported that too many are living of the state. If foreigner’s are coming in and taking jobs how can we get our own back into work. How can we look after others if we cannot look after our own.
Tilly
lets go to England : we will get free Nhs , a free house , free benefits, we will get everything. When us (UK ) public cannot even get a house, lots of people have been on the council house waiting list for years and haven’t got anywhere. We are not rasist we simply cannot except more immigrants , and David Cameron and the rest of em need to wake up and smell the coffee. Nearly half or more of the UK public are jobless , we don’t have money to spend to donate to help these internationals ,our tax and ni money is being spent on them. we donate for our own charity’s like cancer and the homeless . Oh and mentioning the homeless. There is a massive homeless crisis , these people have probly worked all of there life and have hit financial difficulties which has resulted in them loosing there homes and family’s but yet they are still sleeping in doorways. Try helping us (UK) instead of helping others. If this happens and the big guys let all these people in the country that’s it , the country will go down hill , we wil be in debt , company’s will cut jobs like they done with the police jobs . We as British people don’t have a say in the matter. If it was the other way round and the UK hit bad times and we had to flea the country no one would take us in. We are the mothering country and always have helped other countries . But no more this has to stop now
mr_fatty
Who said anything about lodging them in people’s houses? Mind you, some people have volunteered to put refugees up in their own homes. Personally, I live in a small flat and don’t have the space. If bankers, financiers, big corporations and cabinet ministers didn’t wriggle out of paying their taxes, and if wealthy individuals weren’t allowed to buy up a lot of properties and then just keep it vacant, there would be housing available for all. It’s not the refugees’ fault that things are this way. Try to imagine yourself in their situation.
David McKendrick
The NHS is at breaking point because every government for decades has reduced the number of hospitals and NHS beds. In 1982 there were 650,000 trained nurses. Now there are only 371,000.
We reduced class sizes without increasing the number of teachers or schools.
Foreigners are more likely to create jobs by starting businesses and being self employed.
Goerge Osborne increased the minimum wage but reduced benefits to the law paid, effectively pushing more working people into poverty.
Certainly it is time to look after our own but this and the previous governments have not looked after our own, have they, because they are too busy looking after the well off and the bankers and big employers?
David McKendrick
Perhaps if a foreigner who hardly speaks English and has little understanding of our culture and educational systems can take your job the fault is not with the foreigner ……