A country with a rich history, continuous monarchy, Parlimentary Democracy, relatively tolerant, easy going, welcoming.
Standard stuff I'd go along with.
A nation of traders,
traders !! thats a good one - a ntion of bankers and insurance companies more like - we don't make anything any more.
gardeners,
well you can scratch that as the years go by - take a drive down any non-euro neighbourhood and count the number of tidy lawns and flowers.
eccentrics.
Eccentricity is a national identity - oh good.
Good at innovating,
Really ?? thats why our car industry has died ? Why our aircraft industry is dependant on license production deals and joint ventures ?, why the initial prime contractor for our new aircraft carriers was a French company until the government stepped in. ? Why universities are finding it hard to enrol physics and engineering students ??
stubborn,
or do you mean fearful of change ??
proud
proud of what ??
and not prone to hysterical displays of emotion or fervour or extremes.
like the stately conservatism of Princess Dianas funeral ??
I think we are still that,
Then I'm afraid you are living in a London postcard fantasy.
and actualy thats why people want to come here.
So they jump on moving trains in France and hide in containers to be an eccentric shopkeeper and have a garden ?? or maybe the free health care and benefits have something to do with it ? or maybe the easy black market working ? or maybe the free housing ??
If they didn't thebn I'd begin to worry!
maybe , just maybe you should be worrying.
Tell me, if laws were passed that allowed businesses owned by Moslems to be run under Islamic law, i.e. non equality of women etc, would you be happy ?? If arranged marriage against the will of the woman was made legal would you be ok with that ??
Are you happy with cash from imigrant owned businesses being sent out of the country ??
All of the things such as democracy and tolerance are just those things that are under threat here and you suggest that we should just sit back and let change happen as we can't stop it. Have you ever lived in or visited one of the countries from which the majority of these immigrants are coming from for an extended period outside a holiday resort ??
Just one more example of how other countries as liberal as us are seeing a threat. Holland accepted many Somalis as refugees. The dutch benefits system is as good as ours and the Netherlands is a liberal and free country. However the dutch had a requirement that allocated which districts new arrivals could live in in order to spread them around and encourage integration. These Somalis - so grateful to get out of their war torn country were, however, not that grateful and wishing to continue their own ways in their own community but in a safer country and not integrate left Holland and went to ....... Britain. Specifically 2-3000 of them and specifically to one or two streets in Liecester - now virtual no go areas. These people do not want to integrate - they want their own countries culture with the western culture benefits. I think your own signature says with rights come responsibilites ....... well those benefits have not arisen in the cultures and countries they left - thats why they left. The right to the benefits requires the responsibilty to continue the culture that makes them possible.
